×
President BarackObama spoke to an estimated 6,000 enthusiastic union members and their familiesat Milwaukee’s Laborfest yesterday.
But they weren’t onlyenthusiastic about Obama’s appearance. And they’re not the only ones whosupport the agenda items he listed in his wide-ranging half-hour speech.
You can say what youwill about his pollnumbers right now, but Obama’s fighting for the same policies that a broadswath of Americans support.
Some items Obamamentioned on Labor Day:
But they weren’t onlyenthusiastic about Obama’s appearance. And they’re not the only ones whosupport the agenda items he listed in his wide-ranging half-hour speech.
You can say what youwill about his pollnumbers right now, but Obama’s fighting for the same policies that a broadswath of Americans support.
Some items Obamamentioned on Labor Day:
- Support for renewableenergy: A June survey of Wisconsinites from UW-Milwaukee found that 68%support developing renewable energy sources, and a new survey of Midwesternvoters found that 82%of respondents want cleaner sources of energy. Americans are so on boardwith increasing our use of renewable energy sources that a nonpartisan surveytaken earlier this year showed that even a carbontax was approved by 60% of those surveyed if the revenues went towarddeveloping renewable energy programs. The results break down to 70% Democrats,51% GOP, 54% independent.
- Closing the genderpay gap: Last fall, the Pew Research Center found that 72%of women and 61% of men support “making changes to give men and womenequality in the workplace.”
- Raising the minimumwage: Bipartisan majorities support raising the minimum wage. In June, a UW-Milwaukee survey found that 76%of registered voters in Wisconsin supported raising the minimumwage—including 85% of women, 61% of business-owning households and 61% ofRepublicans. The most common wage cited by respondents was about $10 an hour,close to the $10.10 that Obama is pushing.
- Union support: Obamasaid that he’d join a union if he needed to advocate for better workingconditions. And a majority of Americans—53%—supportunions, according to a new Gallup survey. That said, 71% in the same surveysaid they’d vote for a right to work law.
- The Affordable CareAct: According to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s tracking survey, althoughopposition to the law is increasing, 60%say they want Congress to improve the law and only 35% say they want itrepealed. The latest Marquette University Law School poll found that 58% believe Wisconsin should accept federal funds available under the ACA to fully expand Medicaid programs in the state. That’ssomething that was included in the original version of the ACA but taken out bythe U.S. Supreme Court. Gov. Scott Walker didn’t take the funds and insteadcreated a massive tax bill for Wisconsin residents. A new report by thenonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau found that Wisconsintaxpayers would have saved $206 million over two years, and insured anadditional 87,000 people, if Walker had accepted the ACA’s funding.
