Whitewater has more than one food-shopping option in town, but only Walmart is of significant size. Many residents would like something beyond what we now have here in Whitewater: a dedicated grocery or a co-op. Over these last few months, I’ve received emails from readers favoring one option, the other, both, or neither. (My thanks…
Local Government
Babbittry, CDA, City, Development, Economy, Local Government, Marketing, Mendacity, Negligence, Poverty, Public Relations, State Capitalism, That Which Paved the Way, WEDC
Whitewater Listed as the Poorest City in Wisconsin
by JOHN ADAMS •
Samuel Stebbins and Michael B. Sauter, from 24/7 Wall Street, report Which town in your state is the poorest? Here is the list @ Gannett’s USA Today. For Wisconsin, they contend it’s Whitewater: Town median household income: $30,934 State median household income: $54,610 Town poverty rate: 38.2% Town population: 14,840 Whitewater has both the lowest median household income and the…
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…
Babbittry, Bad Ideas, City, Local Government, Marketing
Romancing Whitewater
by JOHN ADAMS •
Embed from Getty Images A man walks into a party, and sees a woman universally acknowledged as intelligent, knowledgeable, and beautiful. He’s instantly smitten, and decides that he must – simply must! – declare his admiration that very evening. The man approaches, introduces himself, and tells her that he’s wholly captivated. He proclaims a commitment…
Bad Ideas, City, Crime, Local Government, Misconduct, Police
On Public Urination in Whitewater
by JOHN ADAMS •
Well, here we are: after all these years of hearing that the town fathers were descended from Olympus, to a city of their unsurpassable design, one hears the Whitewater Common Council discussing the sometime problem of public urination. Needless to say, I don’t support this foul habit, and have not met anyone who does. Confronted…
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…
City, Conflicts of Interest, Corporate Welfare, Economics, Economy, Ethics, Gov. Walker, Local Government, Mendacity, Paul Ryan, Politics, State Capitalism, That Which Paved the Way, Trump
The Price of Trumpism is Ruin
by JOHN ADAMS •
Craig Gilbert looks at the careers of Priebus, Ryan, and Walker: They led the “Cheesehead Revolution,” the GOP’s audacious conquest of Wisconsin. They offered a model for bridging Republican frictions between establishment and base. They became national figures. They ran into Donald Trump. They suffered. They bent to his rise. Now one (Priebus) has left…
Local Government, Paul Ryan, Trump
What Paul Ryan’s Departure Means for Whitewater
by JOHN ADAMS •
Paul Ryan hasn’t been Whitewater’s congressman since the last gerrymandering. We’ve faraway septuagenarian multi-millionaire James Sensenbrenner now. Ryan, however, has been more powerful than Sensenbrenner ever could be. Janesville’s Ryan has held greater political power than anyone in our town, to be sure, ever has or ever will. And yet, and yet, Ryan’s done. If…
Bad Ideas, City, Culture, Local Government
Jefferson’s Dirty Dogs Turn Mangy
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve been critical of the so-called ‘Harry Potter Festival’ that last year migrated from Edgerton to Jefferson, Wisconsin. It’s left so many people disappointed, taxpayer-salaried city officials have only doubled-down on their support for the shabby event, and (predictably) the Daily Union‘s initial stories about problems quickly gave way to laughable boosterism. See Attack of the…
Babbittry, Culture, Local Government, That Which Paved the Way, Trump
A Local Problem Before It Became a National One
by JOHN ADAMS •
Philip Bump contends The only information Trump supports is information that makes him look good: Trump highlighting [conservative-leaning pollster] Rasmussen isn’t quite like putting your best friend as a reference on a job application, but it’s not as though he’s going out of his way to list former employers. He also goes a step further,…
City, Elections, Local Government, Politics, State Government, Wisconsin
Local Results from the Spring General Election 2018
by JOHN ADAMS •
Wisconsin’s spring general election’s now over, and in the paragraphs below I’ll consider the local results for state, district, and city-wide races. These results are unofficial; online detail may be found for the counties of Walworth, Jefferson, and Rock (where Rock County’s detail applies only to the WUSD race). Contest/Question Candidates/Preference City Vote % WI Supreme Court…
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…