Well, Craig’s mistaken that there aren’t any. I’ll say that I think that credits were a bad idea, and are a form of corporate welfare. The free marketers of this state should be up in arms over the latest government handout to big business.Apparently, Wisconsin taxpayers will pony up $25 million in tax credits to…
Government Spending
Government Spending
Downsizing the (Federal) Government
by JOHN ADAMS •
Last Friday’s comments included proposals to reduce military spending and spending on bridges & bike paths that go nowhere. There’s a lot that’s been said about Alaska’s proposal for a Bridge to Nowhere, but it’s true that we have our own, genuine, half-completed project in Whitewater. We’ve not had the publicity, and reporters’ attention, that…
Government Spending, Libertarians, Taxes/Taxation
Cato Institute’s DownsizingGovernment.org
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Cato Institute has a fine new website, entitled DownsizingGovernment.org, offering a ‘department by department guide to cutting the federal budget.’ Faced with debilitating federal deficits, for years to come, there’s no better time to consider downsizing government than now. A smaller, more limited government would advance liberty and prosperity. Here’s an advertisement that Cato…
Government Spending, School District, Taxes/Taxation
A Referendum for Whitewater’s Schools (Part 3)
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a story today about the removal from the ballot of one of two referendum questions concerning our public school district. (The story rightly describes this as a ‘pause.’) See, Whitewater referendum ‘paused’. I’ve written about a referendum approved in August for Whitewater’s public schools. The first question of two authorized for the November ballot…
Government Spending, Politics, Taxes/Taxation
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Next Wisconsin Governor Faces Big Deficit
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a story on Wisconsin’s difficult fiscal situation entitled, Next Wisconsin governor faces big deficit. The story has detail and analysis of all three major party candidates’ (Barrett, Walker, Neumann) views. Here’s a summary from the story: The gubernatorial candidates have unveiled plans to deal with a $2.7 billion projected shortfall…
City, Government Spending, Politics, Poverty, Taxes/Taxation
Dockside Inspections, a Lost Decade, and Municipal Obstructionism
by JOHN ADAMS •
Years ago, in the 80s, when trade with Japan was controversial, Americans leveled legitimate criticisms about how Japan used dockside inspections of cargo as a way to prevent importation of foreign goods. The regulations were often small, and although rational individually, they were collectively irrational and counter-productive. By inhibiting free trade, Japan’s insidious protectionism actually…
Government Spending, Taxes/Taxation
CSI Walworth County Sunday Editorial: The Growing American Divide
by JOHN ADAMS •
As fears grow that the economy is sputtering into a double-dip recession, it has become all but impossible to overstate the extent of the disconnect that now exists between the public and private sectors. While the latter remains crippled by high unemployment, tight credit, onerous taxation and consumer belt-tightening, the former feasts happily on its…
Government Spending, Law, Laws/Regulations
Wisconsin: State Journal: Shame those who hide state contracts
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Government Accountability Board deserves credit for trying to put some teeth into the law that requires state agencies to post online the details of any contracts that involve more than $10,000 in state money…. Problem is, that website [to post details] has been mostly blank, as agencies have routinely ignored the requirement for online…
Economy, Government Spending, Politics
Reason.tv: Give Us Liberty? Q&A with Dick Armey & Matt Kibbe of Freedom Works
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s a post with two Tea Party supporters, one of whom was once Republican majority leader in Congress. There are differences between the Tea Party movement and libertarianism, but simarities, too. Here’s a description from Reason accompanying the video: Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hK7j4bBqhtY Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is the latest victim of the Tea Party insurgency that’s…
Free Markets, Government Spending
Pres. Obama’s Mission Accomplished Moment at GM – Forbes.com
by JOHN ADAMS •
….[the] administration’s wanton disregard for both taxpayers and the company shows just how desperate it is getting to deliver some sliver of economic good news to angry voters ahead of the November elections. But its actions only bespeak of the dangers of government bailouts. GM has a long way to go before it is truly…
Government Spending, Planning
Chris Rickert: What problem would commuter rail solve?
by JOHN ADAMS •
…. when I look around the Madison metropolitan area, I wonder, what problems would trains solve? Relatively speaking, commutes to Madison are short and parking is not only plentiful but cheap. Plus, local officials seem more than willing to look kindly on the kind of dense, urban development trains inspire — even without any actual…
Government Spending
Reason.tv: Porker of the Month – Congressman Hal Rogers (R-KY)
by JOHN ADAMS •
What led to U.S. Representative Hal Rogers’s victory as the Citizens Against Government Waste’s Porker of the Month? Here’s the description accompanying the embedded video: Conservation or nepotism? Since 2007 Rogers has been promoting a bill which would provide federal grants to overseas wildlife protection for lions and cheetahs. Rogers’ daughter is the grants administrator…
City, Government Spending, School District, Taxes/Taxation, University
Calls for Public Spending in a Small Town
by JOHN ADAMS •
There are, I think, two principal ways that a government spending proposal in a small town succeeds. (There are more than two ways, but here I’m simply considering principal ways.) The first way is how all spending proposals should be considered — on the merits. Is it necessary to tax for a public purpose, and…
Economy, Government Spending, Taxes/Taxation
Bury Keynesian Voodoo Before It Can Bury Us All: Kevin Hassett
by JOHN ADAMS •
If the economy is in deep trouble, there are two economic policy steps that one could take in order to create a positive stimulus: reduce tax rates, or spend more money. (The so-called tax cuts in the 2009 stimulus had little effect because they were primarily credits and deductions, rather than reductions in marginal rates.)…