Embedded below readers will find the City of Whitewater’s proposed 2016 budget. An open and confident government would embed the budget on the city’s main webpage; an inquisitive and worthy press would embed (or at least link) to the budget file. For the city there’s still a long way to go; for the print press there’s…
Local Government
Economics, Economy, Local Government
The Rise and Fall of the Chinese Economy
by JOHN ADAMS •
You’ll find in the video above a concise, balanced assessment of China’s economic prospects from economist Tyler Cowen. The short-term is sure to be rocky, but there are good, long-term prospects for China. (Prof. Cowen doesn’t say so, but those long-term prospects are likely to include – indeed, to require – a China without the…
Business, CDA, City, Economy, Government Spending, Local Government, State Government
Gov. Thompson Rejects WEDC-Style Loans
by JOHN ADAMS •
Republican Tommy Thompson, who served for fourteen years as governor, has written in opposition to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s loan program. It’s the right position to take, and shows that Thompson understands the problems with WEDC. Explicitly, Gov. Thompson’s opposition to WEDC-style loans includes local communities’ doling of loans through their own programs. (Whitewater’s Community…
City, Local Government, Politics, University
Whitewater’s Major Public Institutions Produce a Net Loss (And Why It Doesn’t Have to Be That Way)
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve often contended – and about this I’m sure – that most people are sharp and capable. It’s only on this foundation that a prosperous and dynamic culture like America’s would be – could be – possible. Whitewater’s major public institutions – her city government, school district, and local university – produce this unexpected result: although members of…
Blogging, Business, CDA, City, Free Markets, Gluttony, Local Government, New Media, New Whitewater, Politics
If Market-Based Solutions Are Superior to Cronyism, Why Are There So Many Cronies?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s a question, concerning even small towns like Whitewater, for which the Financial Times publishes an answer: If market-based solutions are superior to cronyism, why are there so many cronies? First, there aren’t that many cronies (or insistent insiders) in Whitewater or elsewhere, but the few there are manipulate or intimidate weak reporters at local papers into representing their numbers as…
Business, Corporate Welfare, Development, Economics, Economy, Liberty, Local Government, WEDC
Business v. Free Markets
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over at Cato, David Boaz writes about The Divide between Pro-Market and Pro-Business. (I’ve also linked to Boaz’s post at my libertarian website, Daily Adams.) Boaz observes that, too often, business (especially big business) is an opponent of free markets: In 2014 big business opposed several of the most free-market members of Congress, and even a Ron Paul-aligned…
CDA, City, Corporate Welfare, Economics, Economy, Gluttony, Government Spending, Local Government, Politics
Fog Lifts
by JOHN ADAMS •
View image | gettyimages.com Whitewater started the day with fog, but there has never been a place, anywhere or ever, in which the fog did not lift. There’s reason for confidence that even befogged places see, in the course of events, clear skies. I’d guess, though, that most policymakers in town (such as they are)…
City, Culture, Local Government, Politics
Small Groups Don’t All Fare the Same
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’m not sure if it should be true everywhere, but in Whitewater it seems as though small (apolitical) community groups fare better than small political groups. I’ve not made a study of this; the observation rests on impressions, here or there, only. There’s not enough to say as much with confidence. Many would note –…
CDA, Corporate Welfare, Gluttony, Government Spending, Local Government, WEDC
WEDC Spends More, Produces Less
by JOHN ADAMS •
It should come as no surprise that the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s millions in taxpayer handouts to well-fed executives and political cronies are producing less with each successive spending spree: The state’s flagship job-creation agency handed out nearly $90 million more in economic development awards last year than the previous year, yet those awards are…
City, Culture, Education, Local Government, Politics
The Desiccator
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over at National Review, conservative Peter Spiliakos writes in reply to conservative Washington Post blogger Jennifer Rubin on Scott Walker’s campaign. (Rubin thinks Walker has gone too far to the right, but Spiliakos thinks that Walker – and many Republicans leaders – have lost touch with huge parts of their own electorate.) For Rubin the matter…
City, Economy, Government Spending, Local Government, Press, WEDC
What City Officials and the Press Haven’t Told You About the HyPro Layoffs
by JOHN ADAMS •
Updated, 9.9.15, 2 PM, and bumped forward from original 9.8.15 post date. I’m always eager for more discussion about WEDC – To reconcile the figures of $1,300,000 and $262,000: There are differences in the dollar amounts of tax credits depending on whether one considers the maximum authorized or the amount HyPro has so far taken. In…
City, Culture, Local Government, Politics
Language is Often a Necessary, But Seldom a Sufficient, Condition of Inclusion
by JOHN ADAMS •
The City of Whitewater hopes to improve communications with Spanish-language residents. That goal is, of itself, a good one. It’s a practical, worthy ambition. Language, however, is not the cause of local government’s self-acknowledged problem of attracting plentiful participation on public boards and committees. Greater facility with language, however admirable, is not the solution to government’s low participation…
City, Culture, Local Government
The Solution to the ‘Same Ten People Problem’
by JOHN ADAMS •
What happens when, as is sometimes true in Whitewater, the same several people keep showing up on municipal committees? That’s a question city officials considered at a July 21st strategic planning meeting. The goal, of course, isn’t to discourage ten people; the goal should be to attract twenty, thirty, etc. One proposal would be simply…
City, Culture, Liberty, Local Government, New Whitewater, Politics
The (Welcome) End of ‘Big’ in a Small Town
by JOHN ADAMS •
I don’t think much of the term ‘movers and shakers’ (that a nearby newspaper used to describe supposedly influential people) or ‘big’ people, etc. The terms almost always exaggerate actual influence. I am sure, though, that a combination of diverse social media, the decline of print, the shifting demographics within Whitewater, and the next generation’s…