Hamilton, also president of the Wisconsin Brewers’ Guild, participated in a discussion Thursday on Capitol Hill with about a dozen executives from craft breweries around the country and Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and other senators.

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There’s been a lot of growth among small brewers in the United States, and Jeff Hamilton of Milwaukee’s Sprecher Brewing concedes that craft brews are pretty popular right now: “There are a lot more of them opening up, so in that sense yes, things are going pretty good.”

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“That would do more to fuel the economy. Most employers pay individual, not corporate income taxes,” the governor said Monday at a Forward Manufacturing Roundtable at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College.

The state Department of Revenue estimates the state would receive $95 million in annual revenue from Internet sales taxes that are not now paid, said Secretary Rick Chandler.

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Washington finally appears willing to treat Main Street fairly.

But the House still needs to act, after the big bipartisan vote in the U.S. Senate this week.

The issue is fair collection of state sales taxes. Too many big online retailers without physical stores in most states now avoid collecting sales taxes even though brick-and-mortar shops have to. That gives these online giants an unfair advantage on cost over the local business people who live and invest in our communities.

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Some of the elements of the bill include adding a program to help agriculture producers and businesses in rural areas invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects so they can cut energy bills and earn additional income by selling the energy they produce.

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ENDA would bar companies from factoring sexual orientation or gender identity into employment decisions. Employers are already prohibited by federal law from discriminating over race, religion, age, gender or disability. The proposal exempts businesses with fewer than 15 employees as well as religious organizations.

For the ENDA bill, Merkley’s co-sponsors include Democratic Sens. Tom Harkin (Iowa) and Tammy Baldwin (Wis.), as well as Kirk and fellow Republican Susan Collins (Maine). A companion bill has been introduced in the House by Reps. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.).

According to the Human Rights Campaign, 21 states and the District of Columbia already have ENDA-style laws on their books for sexual orientation, while 16 states and D.C. include such laws for gender identity. Many companies have already put such policies in place voluntarily.

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Says Baldwin: “I believe there are common sense actions we can take to prevent gun violence and it is my hope that we can work across party lines to find common ground.

“There is broad support in Wisconsin for expanding universal background checks to all gun sales and giving law enforcement additional tools to crack down on both gun traffickers and the straw purchasers who help get guns into the hands of criminals,” the Democratic senator explains. “We also need to do more to treat those with mental illness and strengthen school safety to protect students. As a gun owner and a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, I am confident that we can take a balanced approach and produce results that respect Wisconsin’s traditions and heritage, prevent gun violence in our neighborhoods, and save lives.”

Tammy Baldwin is in touch with Wisconsin on this issue.

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Tuesday in Eau Claire, people stood together to call attention to what they say is a wage gap. It’s called Equal Pay Day.

They say women still make 77 cents to every dollar a man makes. They say women are more educated in 2013, but will lose out on about $430,000 over their 40 year careers.

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Some big city mayors, including Milwaukee’s Tom Barrett, are pushing Congress to pass firearms legislation that requires a background check for all gun purchasers. Last week, Barrett said he did not quite know where Wisconsin Senators Baldwin and Johnson stand on the proposed legislation. During a Baldwin visit to Milwaukee today, the senator called the background checks a common-sense step forward.

“When you hear that 40 percent of sales and exchanges occur without any sort of background check, without any inquiry [into] whether the purchaser is a felon or dangerous in other ways that would be identified through a background check, it’s really outrageous, and we can do a lot better. I think it’s one of those common-sense measures.”

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