A simple rule about public spending on infrastructure, that some forget, and others would prefer remained that way: adding infrastructure is only beneficial if a resulting economic gain (should there be one) is greater than the cost of its acquisition (capital, labor, etc.). There is no way around this. Just about everything one hears about…
Local Government
CDA, City, Corporate Welfare, Local Government, Marketing, Politics
‘The Future Writes the History of the Present’
by JOHN ADAMS •
It’s an oft-repeated truism that the future writes the history of the present. That’s true in Whitewater as much as anywhere. It is a truth (like the most important truths) apart from both independent present-day commentary and contrasting, mendacious marketing and press-flacking. All the marketing in the world cannot shield against this simple question from…
Business, CDA, City, Corporate Welfare, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Local Government, Politics, University
Local Crony Capitalism via the WEDC (and similar schemes)
by JOHN ADAMS •
Whitewater’s had a decades-long problem of a few town insiders manipulating government and public resources for their own private ends. That time is drawing to a close, but there are yet some years ahead in which aging, mediocre town figures will push their self-promoting lies. As their chief motivation is personal vanity and pride, they’ll…
Local Government, Press
Anger and Exhaustion Stalk Local Elites
by JOHN ADAMS •
Years of asking for money for big-ticket projects for big-talking cronies, and insisting on imaginary successes and fabricated accomplishments, have left local insiders facing community anger and exhaustion. Of the two, exhaustion is – by far – the more debilitating to town squires’ plans. Anger flares over a project, here and there, and sometimes prevails…
Local Government, Politics
‘Movers and Shakers’ Get It Wrong, Again
by JOHN ADAMS •
Across Wisconsin, a majority of counties are now issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. (As of Tuesday afternoon, the number was at 50 of 72 Wisconsin counties, or about seventy-percent of them. By Wednesday in my area, Rock, Jefferson, and Walworth County were issuing licenses to gay couples.) (See, from Craig Gilbert of the Journal…
Business, Corporate Welfare, Economy, Local Government
Rand Paul on Chamber of Commerce Republicans
by JOHN ADAMS •
Sen. Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, often moves (sometimes quixotically) between libertarian and conventionally conservative, Republican positions. Still, there’s unquestionably some libertarian in him, and in his libertarianism he shares a dynamic philosophy (if not party label) with a huge number of other Americans (about 22%, or just under one-in-four people). Here’s what Paul, speaking…
Local Government, Politics
Why Don’t Politicians and Bureaucrats Get Any Better?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Someone wrote and asked me why I thought that politicians and bureaucrats don’t seem to learn from past mistakes. When controversies arise, why don’t officials seem to improve, responsively, over time? Why do they seem to have learned almost nothing? Well, many do learn and improve, but those who don’t are conspicuous. I’ll suggest a…
Corporate Welfare, Government Spending, Local Government, Taxes/Taxation
Creating Taxpayers as Government’s Goal
by JOHN ADAMS •
When seeking to persuade Milton, Wisconsin’s councilmembers to regulate food trucks, an incumbent merchant recently said that more competition might put him out of business, after which he would no longer be a taxpayer. That’s telling: the incumbent’s appeal to government – to a room full of politicians and municipal bureaucrats – is that they…
Corporate Welfare, Government Spending, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Local Government
Would They Run On It?
by JOHN ADAMS •
When local government’s politicians and bureaucrats propose big projects, they should ask themselves: would we run on it? That is, would they run on a standalone vote for (or against) their proposal? The open secret of local politics is that I’d guess many – if not most – of the big projects proposed would fail…
Local Government, Open Government, Press
Janesville Doubles Down
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s an update about Janesville’s fire station debacle: Janesville’s city attorney reportedly contends that Wisconsin law does not allow a petition to overturn what the City of Janesville contends is an administrative decision. See, City attorney: Fire station question not for voters to decide. For now, consider the politics of this position. (Here, I mean…
Local Government, New Media, Press
Insiders’ Press Choices: Stagnation or Decline
by JOHN ADAMS •
There is not a single newspaper in our part of Wisconsin that is not stagnant or in decline. Not one. (Stagnation, truly, applies only if one keeps the interval of measurement small; look over any reasonable period and you’ll find ongoing decline.) When town squires and self-declared ‘movers and shakers’ look for a compliant publication,…
Local Government, Open Government, Press
How the Local Press Fails
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a story at Channel 3000 (the website for WISC-TV) entitled, Janesville resident to petition council’s decision to build a new fire station. The story says much about (1) government spending, (2) unlawful use of closed sessions to conceal projects, and (3) press competition. Here’s the cause of residents’ ire: Janesville resident Billy McCoy is…
Business, Corporate Welfare, Government Spending, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Local Government
What’s an Entrepreneur?
by JOHN ADAMS •
I would think, and perhaps you would think, too, that an entrepreneur is a man or woman who runs a private business, bearing the risks and demands of his or her enterprise. For this reason, Americans are sympathetic to entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial efforts – we admire the creativity and effort of business men and women…
Local Government
The Truth About Preferential Treatment
by JOHN ADAMS •
Cases in which a person successfully demands preferential treatment from government (that is, an unfair advantage not available to other residents), require two parties, not one. There must be an entitled man or woman who demands access or opportunities that would routinely be denied to others, but also a craven official who acquiesces to that…