If you want to know what unvarnished grit looks like in Wisconsin, look toward Fox Crossing tomorrow morning.
My peer, county board supervisor, and fellow wheeler Carl Schulze—known online as "Quad Carl"—is firing up his power wheelchair on Friday, July 10th. He is kicking off his Second Annual Drive for Change, a grueling 127-mile trek on open asphalt from the Fox Valley all the way to the steps of the State Capitol in Madison.
He isn't doing this for a photo op. He’s doing it because the system meant to keep disabled people independent is systematically being starved to death.
From Policy to the Pavement
Just last week, I published An Open Letter to Congress: We Refuse the Cage, exposing the malicious pincer movement happening in Washington. Between a predatory Department of Justice memo allowing states to bypass community integration for "administrative convenience" and massive federal budget cuts hitting Medicaid, the bureaucrats are sending a clear message: You are too expensive to live in public.
While Congress debates spending caps in air-conditioned rooms, Carl is putting his body on the line to protest the immediate fallout.
Right now, the home health aides who help us get out of bed, dress, and live with dignity are paid an insulting $12 to $15 an hour through state programs. They can make more money flipping burgers. This engineered shortage leaves vulnerable people with two terrible choices: stay trapped in bed, or be forced into a state-sanctioned warehouse.
The Reality of the Breakdown
This isn't a hypothetical policy debate. It hits right now, in real-time. As I sit here typing this, my own power wheelchair is experiencing critical mechanical failures. I am currently stuck in the mud of standard, agonizing corporate healthcare vendor gridlock just to get basic parts authorized so I don't wind up bedridden myself.
When the tools of your survival and independence are treated like line-item liabilities by bureaucrats, you don't just sit there. You fight.
They want us hidden away in nursing homes on a pathetic $45-a-month allowance? Carl is going to show them 127 miles of pure refusal.
How to Back the Drive
Carl is live-streaming the entire adventure on his YouTube channel, proving that none of us are hidden away in the shadows anymore. We have smartphones, we have social media, and we have voices.
- Watch the Journey: Follow the live stream directly on Carl's YouTube Channel.
- Fuel the Drive: To support his journey and the advocacy groups meeting him on the Capitol steps, back his logistics directly via Venmo:
@CarlSchulze.
Keep the rubber side down, Carl. The community is watching, and we're right behind you.
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