One week ago, at a Common Council meeting, one heard that Whitewater’s municipal government would use a software application to increase opportunities for residents’ input on local issues. See, Common Council meeting of 6.21.16, https://vimeo.com/171809282, beginning at 1:28:17. Assuming that the means are reliable and accessible, more opportunities for collecting opinion are better than fewer.…
CDA
Business, CDA, City, Development
About that Development Deal Near the Roundabout in Whitewater…
by JOHN ADAMS •
These last few months, I’ve watched the efforts of out-of-town developers to build a multi-use facility (by their account, a hotel, sports complex, and senior housing) near Whitewater’s east side roundabout. Two quick, easy points. First, this proposal was, in virtually every aspect, suspect and disreputable. Review of notes, recordings, and research into the developers’…
CDA, Development, Economics, Economy, Gluttony, Government Spending, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Local Government, Press, Public Relations, WEDC
‘WEDC has been a disaster from the get-go’
by JOHN ADAMS •
After years of defending the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, one newspaper (out of several in the area) finally concedes the obvious: ‘WEDC has been a disaster from the get-go.’ See, from 11.28.15, http://www.gazettextra.com/20151128/our_views_consider_two_steps_for_salvaging_state8217s_job_creation_agency, subscription req’d. Yes, it has been a disaster, as politicized intervention in the economy, to the benefit of one’s well-fed, white-collar executive…
CDA, Development, Economy, Gluttony, Government Spending, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Local Government, Newspapers, Poverty, Press
Theranos as a Cautionary Tale
by JOHN ADAMS •
Theranos is a much-hyped biomedical start-up that’s fallen in valuation and reputation (not always the same thing) following published doubts (e.g., @ Wall Street Journal, Fortune) about its supposedly revolutionary technology. Here’s the meaning of this story for Whitewater: Theranos had the participation (and attention) of some of the most gifted men and women in America,…
Business, CDA, City, Corporate Welfare, Economy, Government Spending, Local Government
On Big Banks, Big Businesses
by JOHN ADAMS •
In the video above, Sec. Clinton tells Steven Colbert that she’d let big banks fail. There’s something in her (briefly stated) position for a libertarian to admire, although other points to doubt. (I’d not urge breaking banks up, but would surely urge government to allow large banks or businesses to fail. Clinton, admittedly, is referring…
Business, CDA, City, Economy, Government Spending, Local Government, State Government
Gov. Thompson Rejects WEDC-Style Loans
by JOHN ADAMS •
Republican Tommy Thompson, who served for fourteen years as governor, has written in opposition to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s loan program. It’s the right position to take, and shows that Thompson understands the problems with WEDC. Explicitly, Gov. Thompson’s opposition to WEDC-style loans includes local communities’ doling of loans through their own programs. (Whitewater’s Community…
Blogging, Business, CDA, City, Free Markets, Gluttony, Local Government, New Media, New Whitewater, Politics
If Market-Based Solutions Are Superior to Cronyism, Why Are There So Many Cronies?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s a question, concerning even small towns like Whitewater, for which the Financial Times publishes an answer: If market-based solutions are superior to cronyism, why are there so many cronies? First, there aren’t that many cronies (or insistent insiders) in Whitewater or elsewhere, but the few there are manipulate or intimidate weak reporters at local papers into representing their numbers as…
CDA, City, Corporate Welfare, Economics, Economy, Gluttony, Government Spending, Local Government, Politics
Fog Lifts
by JOHN ADAMS •
View image | gettyimages.com Whitewater started the day with fog, but there has never been a place, anywhere or ever, in which the fog did not lift. There’s reason for confidence that even befogged places see, in the course of events, clear skies. I’d guess, though, that most policymakers in town (such as they are)…
CDA, Corporate Welfare, Gluttony, Government Spending, Local Government, WEDC
WEDC Spends More, Produces Less
by JOHN ADAMS •
It should come as no surprise that the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s millions in taxpayer handouts to well-fed executives and political cronies are producing less with each successive spending spree: The state’s flagship job-creation agency handed out nearly $90 million more in economic development awards last year than the previous year, yet those awards are…
CDA, Economics, Economy, Gluttony, Gov. Walker, Government Spending, WEDC
The WEDC Taints Walker (and local officials even more)
by JOHN ADAMS •
The WEDC is a state and national story that has local implications. Some of the toughest political battles are intra-party ones: Republicans or Democrats fighting against fellow party members for their respective primary nominations. For rival Republicans, Gov. Walker’s creation of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation will offer a legitimate and compelling line of attack against his…
CDA, City, Corporate Welfare, Economics, Economy, Gluttony, Government Spending, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Local Government, Politics, WEDC, Wisconsin
The State’s WEDC and Whitewater’s Facsimiles
by JOHN ADAMS •
Ongoing revelations about the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation are a double concern: they’re stories of statewide malfeasance, and those revelations beg the question of how local officials in Whitewater are managing their own pools of public money. First, the latest stories (it’s a steady stream) of state-level error, waste, and negligence: Madison— Failing to run…
CDA, City, Development, Government Spending, Local Government, Planning
Demand
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s a follow-on to yesterday’s post, Business Dependency in Whitewater. There’s a huge effort locally, from the Community Development Authority in particular, to spur growth through large, publicly-funded incentives. These addled few are like men who’ve heard the expression, ‘if you build it, he will come,’ but don’t understand when it applies and when it…
Business, CDA, City, Development, Economy, Government Spending, Local Government, WEDC
Business Dependency in Whitewater
by JOHN ADAMS •
For residents facing poverty, one would hope for, and understand, a combination of private and public relief. Churches and other private organizations do much in this effort; government expenditures for the genuinely needy amount to a small portion of all government spending. Support of this kind is a worthy effort. Whitewater also has two large…
CDA, City, Corporate Welfare, Development, Gluttony, Government Spending, Local Government, Public Relations, University, WEDC
Another Six-Figure WEDC Loan to an Unworthy Applicant
by JOHN ADAMS •
View image | gettyimages.com Across the state, revelation after revelation shows that the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation has been a mistake, a wasteful political endeavor contrary to sound economics. Locally, support for the WEDC, from Whitewater’s Community Development Authority, Chancellor Richard Telfer, City Manager Cameron Clapper, etc., shows not only that they’re ignorant of sound…