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…
Local Government
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…
Business, Free Markets, Laws/Regulations, Local Government
Because, you know, it’s government’s job to manipulate results among private businesses
by JOHN ADAMS •
The presumptions of a local government pol: This ordinance has been an attempt to require the food trucks to put some skin in the game,” [Fort Atkinson city councilmember] Lescohier said. “That skin is through a fee structure, through an appropriate place for them to operate and to control the noise. Right now if you…
City, Local Government, Open Government
Confronting Bad News
by JOHN ADAMS •
There are always a number of accidents, crimes, or tragedies in a community. One hopes for as few as possible. The best way for government to address those misfortunes is to act quickly and openly to take whatever actions law and charity require. Along the way, however, it might be useful for big talking officials…
Local Government
The ‘Movers and Shakers’ Who Aren’t
by JOHN ADAMS •
I sometimes write about Janesville’s politics, because the more one sees how confused they are, the more one feels obliged to contend for a better way in our own politics. Just Friday, the Gazette‘s editorialist took a stand (subscription req’d) against the false hopes that a big-talking developer and smarmy politician are spreading about the…
City, Good Ideas, Local Government
Rethinking Fort Atkinson
by JOHN ADAMS •
It has often been said of ancient Israel that her excellence lay in how she differed from her less thoughtful and less civilized neighbors. Not the common and vulgar practices of others, but her own singular beliefs and practices, made her great. Nearby Fort Atkinson has, over recent years, been both an economic rival and…