A municipal policy of addressing problems as they crop up, principally on an ad hoc, piecemeal basis, will wear local government down, and only produce worse policies. (Ad hoc policy, that is, literally a for this [purpose] policy.) One should begin each discussion and problem from the vantage of a fundamental philosophy of government, adjusting…
City
City, Politics
The GOP in Whitewater, Presidential Primary of 4.5.16
by JOHN ADAMS •
I posted yesterday about political yardsigns in the city (the city proper). I’m curious, among other things, how Trump (a non-traditional GOP) candidate will fare here in November. Democrats have a traditional ideological nominee in Hillary Clinton, but Trump is markedly different from other Republicans before him, and from other Republican challengers this year. (Disclosure: I’m a libertarian…
City, Politics
Few Political Signs, So Far, in Whitewater
by JOHN ADAMS •
As I’ve been riding though the city in the evening, I’ve been recently on the lookout for political signs. There have been a scattering of yardsigns for local or state candidates, but almost nothing for national politicians (and what I’ve seen has mostly been for Sanders). November’s not that far off, although perhaps there will…
Business, City, Development, Economy
Grocery Preliminaries (Part 3)
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve written a bit about the search for a grocery in Whitewater, but admittedly it has not been a principal topic for me. That’s not because I don’t think a grocery or co-op would be nice to have; it’s because I know it’s hard to sustain one. Retail grocers (independent ones most notably) operate under…
Business, City, Development, Press Release
City Press Release on Grocery Store Recruitment, 7.21.16
by JOHN ADAMS •
Update: the press release was changed during the day from its original wording, as indicated below. Posted immediately below is the full and unaltered text of a City of Whitewater press release on recruitment of a grocery store. Needless to say, I don’t represent the city, but it’s fair to pass along the complete municipal…
Business, City, Development, Economy, Government Spending, Open Government, University
Grocery Preliminaries (Part 2)
by JOHN ADAMS •
I wrote yesterday about a grocery in town, in a post entitled, Grocery Preliminaries. The post’s subject line used the word ‘preliminaries’ because it seems likely that Whitewater will get a new grocery, whatever one thinks of a public subsidy to entice one. In this way, that post presumed a deal, and so was meant…
City, Development, Economy
Offer, Cooperation, Gentrification
by JOHN ADAMS •
Let’s assume that one believes, as Whitewater’s political class has professed for the last generation, that attracting newcomer families to the city is a worthy goal. (I share this goal; for those who don’t, the conversation’s over, so to speak. They need say no more, and may watch out their windows as the city stagnates,…
City, Economy, Politics
The Other Problem with Bad Data
by JOHN ADAMS •
Surveys, polls, and studies by their nature typically rely on the measurement of something. (They’re not poetry; they’re not song.) The accuracy of that measurement should matter, both to those collecting it and those receiving it. It should matter in-and-of itself, and for its consequences. Many communities, including Whitewater, have had a data problem: a…
City, Culture, Local Government, Politics
Do you remember when Gen. MacArthur called for dedication to ‘Duty, Honor, Country, and Local Government’?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Do you remember when Gen. MacArthur called for dedication to ‘Duty, Honor, Country, and Local Government’? Neither do I. He called, of course, for dedication to Duty, Honor, Country. It wouldn’t have occured to him to exhort a commitment to municipal government. America speaks – when she speaks most movingly – in the language of…
City, Politics
The Search for a Majority in Whitewater (Identity Politics Won’t Get You There)
by JOHN ADAMS •
I posted yesterday about the search for a majority in Whitewater. A political majority, whether temporary or permanent, requires three satisfied conditions: (1) a means of communications, (2) an understanding of the demographics of one’s audience, and (3) an issue around which a majority will form. More means of communication are better than fewer, but we have ample…
City
The Search for a Majority in Whitewater
by JOHN ADAMS •
It’s right for government to reach – informatively, accurately – as many residents as possible. Efforts in that direction are to the good. Three conditions have to be fulfilled to achieve a majority opinion on an issue: one needs the means to reach many, one needs to see those many as they actually are, and…
CDA, City, Development, Government Spending, Open Government
Informed Residents
by JOHN ADAMS •
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.…
Business, City, Economics, Economy, Free Markets, Government Spending, Politics
The Growth That Uplifts
by JOHN ADAMS •
In a recent interview, Ana Revenga, senior director of the World Bank’s Poverty and Equity Group, talks about ending extreme poverty. See, Ending Extreme Poverty: World Bank Economist Ana Revenga @ The Christian Century. (The World Bank defines extreme poverty as living on less than $1.90 per person per day, and the article describes how…
City, Economy, Poverty, Walworth County
Inequality in the ‘Whitewater-Elkhorn’ Area
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over at the Economic Policy Institute, there’s a newly-published study of income inequality in America, and it ranks Walworth County as one of the most income-unequal places in the nation. The study refers to the ‘Whitewater-Elkhorn’ metropolitan area, but with a population of 102,000, it’s clear that the reference is to Walworth County, using the…