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Government Spending

Bad Ideas, Confidence Schemes, Daily Bread, Government Spending, Local Government, School District

Daily Bread for 1.4.22: Theranos? Yeah, We Have a Few…

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Good morning. Tuesday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 30.  Sunrise is 7:25 AM and sunset 4:35 PM for 9h 09m 40s of daytime.  The moon is a waxing crescent with 4.5% of its visible disk illuminated.  On this day in 1923, Milton College president A.E. Whitford bans dancing by students in off-campus, semi-public…

Bad Ideas, Corporate Welfare, Foxconn, Government Spending, Scott Walker, WEDC, Wisconsin

Foxconn: Perhaps – Perhaps – a Few Lessons Learned

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Scott Cohn of CNBC reports After Wisconsin’s Foxconn debacle, states and companies rethink giant subsidies. Rethinking is a hopeful prospect, but there has been significant lasting damage, as Cohn reports: Economic development officials in Wisconsin say they are more than ready to move on to other matters now that they have renegotiated a massive subsidy deal…

Bad Ideas, Boosterism, Development, Foxconn, Government Spending, Politics, Scott Walker, Speaker Vos, Trump, WEDC, Wisconsin

Adding the Amounts Spent for Foxconn (So Far)

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Wisconsin’s new deal with Foxconn will reduce the cost to state taxpayers, but local governments have already spent vast sums on a project that will not – by Foxconn’s own belated admission – come close to what was originally, and ludicrously, promised. Bruce Murphy writes of The True Costs of New Foxconn Deal: the true cost…

Bad Ideas, CDA, Corporate Welfare, Development, Economics, Economy, Foxconn, Government Spending, Mendacity, Scott Walker, Trump, WEDC

Foxconn: New, More Realistic Deal Means 90% Reduction in Goals

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After years of flamboyant lies about what Foxconn would be able to achieve in Wisconsin, there’s a new deal with that foreign corporation. That new arrangement reflects a reduction of 90% or more in what Wisconsin expects and what the state will offer. Local governments have already wasted millions on absurdly grandiose, false promises Not…

Government Spending, Lobbyists, Television

Overreaching: WisconsinEye Wants a Paywall and Government Funding

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WisconsinEye is an online and cable network that broadcasts and publishes videos of state government meetings. It’s a useful nonprofit service, that has run on private donations. As donations are drying up, WisconsinEye president Jon Henkes has a two-part plan: erect a paywall (for content older than a day) and seek state funding. Patrick Marley…

CDA, City, Development, Government Spending, Local Government, Poverty, WEDC

Whitewater Common Council Meeting, 1.19.21: 6 Points

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The Whitewater Common Council met last night, 1.19.21. The agenda for the meeting is available. A few remarks, on selected items of the agenda —  1. Public Works Buildings. Whitewater plans to update its public works buildings, now scattered over a multi-acre plot near Starin Road. The total estimated price is high for a small town (about…

Business, CDA, Charity, Development, Economics, Economy, Failure, Free Markets, Government Spending, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Poverty, Press Release

Markets and Markets

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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…

Budget, City, Demographics, Government Spending, University, UW System, Wisconsin

UW-Whitewater’s Budgetary Challenges Require a Studied Approach

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Whitewater is a college town. If a college town, then a college: the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. I’ve written about the university now and again. A simple summary of my views would be that Whitewater benefits from having a university, but that the school’s leaders (notably Telfer and Kopper) have failed both individuals and the community.…