Here in Whitewater, one has heard the most optimistic (indeed, truly fantastic) projections for Foxconn’s employment opportunities. Look more closely, however, and even under Foxconn and state officials’ self-interested projections on behalf of the project, many of the projected employees will be entry-level workers, as Rick Romell reports: But there’s another aspect of the 22-million-square-foot…
Government Spending
Babbittry, Bad Ideas, CDA, City, Development, Economy, Government Spending, Local Government, Marketing, Planning, Poverty, That Which Paved the Way, WEDC
A Candid Admission from the Whitewater CDA
by JOHN ADAMS •
Sometimes, however rarely, even in places with the most stubborn boosterism, an official admits – wittingly or unwittingly – the failure of longstanding policy. Dave Carlson, executive director of the Whitewater Community Development Authority, is such an official. In a press release from March 27th, lauding a provision of the Trump tax bill, Carlson quotes…
CDA, City, Development, Economics, Foxconn, Government Spending, Local Government, State Capitalism, State Government, That Which Paved the Way
Another Pig at the Trough
by JOHN ADAMS •
Jason Stein and Rick Romell report Foxconn: Glass maker could want hundreds of millions of dollars to locate alongside massive Wisconsin factory: To locate in Wisconsin, a key glass supplier to Foxconn wants financial help from the Taiwanese electronics giant or state taxpayers that could run into the hundreds of millions of dollars. … Corning…
Bad Ideas, CDA, City, Corporate Welfare, Development, Economics, Economy, Government Spending, Local Government, State Capitalism, Taxes/Taxation, That Which Paved the Way
‘Crony Capitalism and Social Engineering: The Case Against Tax-Increment Financing’
by JOHN ADAMS •
Whitewater’s residents may have heard, as I have, ignorant and false boasting about the benefits of tax incremental financing. It’s variously described as increment or incremental financing, but either way, it’s a plan to entice developers with taxpayer funds by segregating from the general fund, if any, the revenue generated from a development to pay…
CDA, City, Development, Economics, Economy, Foxconn, Government Spending, Local Government, State Capitalism, State Government, That Which Paved the Way
A Sham News Story on Foxconn
by JOHN ADAMS •
About a month ago, a local business lobbying group in Whitewater invited an operative of the Walker Administration to the city to talk about Foxconn. The nearby Jefferson County Daily Union sent a stringer to cover the presentation. See Foxconn impact outlined in Whitewater. In the 38-paragraph story, the paper simply reproduces – without the…
Bad Ideas, Business, CDA, Corporate Welfare, Development, Economics, Economy, Foxconn, Government Spending, Local Government, State Capitalism, State Government, That Which Paved the Way, WEDC
Foxconn as Alchemy: Magic Multipliers
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Foxconn plant isn’t even built yet, but the Walker Admin and its allies (including a few local apologists for corporate welfare in Whitewater) now resort to fantastic, magical claims about how much economic development will come from nearly four billion in taxpayer subsidies. So magical, so fantastic, that they now claim an 18-1 multiplier…
City, Development, Free Markets, Government Spending, Laws/Regulations, Local Government
Owner-Occupied Housing in the Whitewater Area
by JOHN ADAMS •
During these years I have written, and long before, one has heard from local officials and residents that the City of Whitewater needs more single-family housing. Single-family housing is a kind of owner-occupied housing (e.g., one owner, two adult owners, a single-family). Indeed, one hears that the City of Whitewater needs more single-family housing the…
Government Spending, University, UW System
Subsidies for Subsidies
by JOHN ADAMS •
In Wisconsin, UW System schools typically rely on private foundations to offset the costs of some university expenses. This make sense – alumni and other donors can support activities at their schools. What happens, though, when private foundations designed to supplement public programs wind up depending, themselves, on public money? One finds that even subsidies,…
Foxconn, Government Spending, State Capitalism
Foxconn Devours Tens of Millions from State’s Road Repair Budget
by JOHN ADAMS •
Foxconn has been much touted in Whitewater, with the local business lobby bringing in a longtime political operative to flack the project at a local restaurant. One now reads that Foxconn is devouring funds needed for communities’ road repairs: A new road project serving the $10 billion Foxconn plant in Racine County could reduce funding…
Business, Economy, Foxconn, Gov. Walker, Government Spending, State Capitalism, Trump
The Man Behind the Foxconn Project
by JOHN ADAMS •
Embed from Getty Images You may have read, recently, of a public official who came to Whitewater to talk about the Foxconn project. Why settle for the tired claims of a mid-level state-government operative when one can hear about Foxconn from the one man behind the entire project? Matthew DeFour reports on the real force…
Business, Development, Economy, Employment, Environment, Foxconn, Government Spending, State Capitalism, That Which Paved the Way, Water, WEDC, Wisconsin
10 Key Articles About Foxconn
by JOHN ADAMS •
➤ Foxconned (“How much is Wisconsin paying for a Taiwanese manufacturer’s jobs?”): Already, it is hazy just how much of a boost to the local economy Foxconn is expected to make. The company said it planned to hire 3,000 workers over four years, whereas the state said the new facility would create 13,000 jobs with an average…
Development, Economy, Foxconn, Government Spending, Infrastructure, Laws/Regulations, Local Government
Foxconn Deal Even Worse Than Most State Capitalism
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Jason Stein reports Foxconn package cost Wisconsin eight times as much per job as similar 2017 state jobs deals: To land the massive Foxconn factory, Gov. Scott Walker has committed the state to paying more than eight times as much per job as Wisconsin will provide under similar job creation deals struck…
Education, Government Spending
Milton’s School Referendum (and How to Fix Milton’s Mess)
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Milton School District held a school construction referendum last night, the second within the last year. The 2016 construction referendum was for $87 million, the 2017 referendum was for $69.9 million. In fact, the 2016 referendum for the larger amount (with a different electorate, to be sure) was closer than the 2017 referendum for…
Foxconn, Gov. Walker, Government Spending, State Capitalism, WEDC, Wisconsin
Foxconn? What’s Foxconn?
by JOHN ADAMS •
One reads that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker downplays Foxconn because deal not a sure campaign winner: MADISON – Scott Walker said the state would ink a $3 billion contract this week with Asian tech giant Foxconn Technology Group, even as he downplayed the deal and pointed to other jobs being created through his administration. As Walker launches…