The conservative populists talk endlessly about the dangers of socialism (however poorly they grasp the term), but truthfully they’re happy with government mandates or prohibitions that advance their own preferences. Some private employers want to require masks, and others want to require vaccinations, but these right-wing interventionists now screech that private businesses should not be…
Business
Business, Insurrection, Politics
The Sedition Caucus Gets Paid
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) reports This sedition is brought to you by… In the wake of the Capitol insurrection on January 6th, nearly two hundred corporations and industry groups said they would pause or altogether stop making political contributions to the 147 members of Congress who voted against certifying the election and…
Business, Economy, Free Markets, Labor, Lobbyists
Businesses, Workers, Goods, and Services
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Over at Dan Shafer’s Recombobulation Area, guest columnist Shawn Phetteplace reminds us that WMC Doesn’t Speak for All Businesses. Phetteplace, the state manager for the Main Street Alliance, writes that When former Gov. Scott Walker declared Wisconsin “Open for Business,” what he meant was it was open for deregulation, tax cuts, and special deals to…
Business, Corporate Welfare, Foxconn, State Capitalism, State Government
After Years of Promises, Foxconn Will Think of Something…by July
by JOHN ADAMS • • 2 Comments
Years of claims, promises, declarations, announcements (and private homes destroyed along the way), and yet Foxconn still needs a bit of time to think of something to make. Just give ‘em a sec, they come up with something by July: Liu said that the company will announce what it will make in Wisconsin before July.…
Business, City, Coronavirus, Economy, Free Markets
Buy Local Will Change
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
The pandemic has made takeout and delivery more valuable than ever, not only for convenience but also for reduced exposure. In larger cities, some changes to restaurant delivery (among other services) have been building for years, and are likely to be permanent. See Heated patios, QR code menus and pop-ups: Milwaukee restaurants got innovative during…
Business, CDA, Charity, Development, Economics, Economy, Failure, Free Markets, Government Spending, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Poverty, Press Release
Markets and Markets
by JOHN ADAMS • • 4 Comments
One reads that Whitewater now has an option, for most of the city, of grocery delivery from nearby cities. As it is, Whitewater has a Walmart, but no stand-alone, full-service grocery. Private delivery service is a benefit to the community. It’s better to have more grocery options than fewer. These are private enterprises providing private delivery…
Bad Ideas, Boosterism, Business, CDA, Corporate Welfare, Foxconn, Gov. Walker, Government Spending, Speaker Vos, State Capitalism, Taxes/Taxation, Technology, Trump, WEDC, Wisconsin, WISGOP
Highlight’s from The Verge’s Foxconn Assessment
by JOHN ADAMS • • 2 Comments
No failure better reveals the bankruptcy of corporate welfare in the Walker and Trump years than the Foxconn project in Wisconsin: exaggeration upon exaggeration, but nothing productive. This was a failure of judgment so obvious and significant that everyone involved should retire from policymaking. Walker Administration, Trump Administration, the WISGOP, the WEDC, down to Whitewater’s Community…
Bad Ideas, Boosterism, Business, CDA, Corporate Welfare, Foxconn, Gov. Walker, Government Spending, Speaker Vos, State Capitalism, State Government, Technology, WEDC, WISGOP
Accountability Comes Calling at Foxconn
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
After years of grandiose – ludicrous, truly – claims about Foxconn from Trump to Vos to boosters in Whitewater, Accountability has made her way to Foxconn. If not Accountability personified, then at least Missy Hughes (the new, Evers-appointed leader) of a slightly-reformed WEDC. Josh Dzieza of the national publication The Verge reports Wisconsin denies Foxconn tax…
Biden-Harris, Business, Joe Biden
Community Hero: Inez
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Business, Coronavirus, Economy, Joe Biden
Kevin, a Small Business Owner, Backs Biden for President
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Business, City, Coronavirus, Laws/Regulations, Libertarians, Liberty, Local Government, Open Government, Public Health, School District, University
Whitewater, Wisconsin’s Temporary Mask Ordinance: 7 Points
by JOHN ADAMS • • 10 Comments
Updated evening of 7.22.20 with meeting video. (The discussion on Whitewater’s mask ordinance runs from 31:09 to 3:37:50.) At last night’s meeting of the Whitewater Common Council, the seven-member council voted unanimously for a temporary mask ordinance, taking effect 8.1.20 and running through 12.31.20, requiring masks in parts of buildings open to the public, and…
Business, Federal Government, Government Spending
Trump Admin Conceals Recipients of Hundreds of Billions in Public Business Loans
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Advertising, Bad Ideas, Business, Marketing, Newspapers
The Janesville Gazette‘s Time-Share Stage of Decline
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
A nearby newspaper, the Janesville Gazette, part of an out-of-state chain (APG) owned by a family that made billions in billboard advertising, recently tried to position half-off advertising as a ‘community grant‘ program. See That’s Not a ‘Community Grant’ – It’s Half-Off Advertising. It’s an old – often true – adage that bad goes to…
Business, CDA, Coronavirus, Economy, Free Markets, Government Spending, Local Government, Public Health, Retail/Merchants
Consumer Sentiment
by JOHN ADAMS • • 2 Comments
Much of the ‘reopening’ advocacy rests on the idea that after allowing a business to reopen, that business will see an adequate return of customers. While some businesses may see adequate customer demand, it’s almost certain that others will not. It has never been true that simply opening a business would assure its survival. If…