The federal government gave millions in tax dollars to Whitewater, the Whitewater Community Development Authority, and UW-Whitewater for a reason. Here’s that reason: September 7-September 11, 2009 …$4,740,809 to the Whitewater Community Development Authority, the University of Wisconsin Whitewater, and the City of Whitewater, Wisconsin, to fund construction of the new Innovation Center and infrastructure…
Taxes/Taxation
City, Government Spending, Politics, Taxes/Taxation
Cuts to State Shared Revenue: Whitewater’s Politics of It All (First Take)
by JOHN ADAMS •
Whether Gov. Walker’s proposal to restrict public-employee collective bargaining is victorious or abandoned, cuts to state shared revenue are on the way, for Whitewater and its school district. I have supported cuts to government spending, not as a matter of budget repair, but as a long term-goal — for smaller, more limited, more responsible government.…
Politics, Taxes/Taxation
Republican Paul Ryan defends tax deal from conservative critics – JSOnline
by JOHN ADAMS •
“A lot of people are making these political arguments, which are, ‘What is the proper political chess move against Obama?’ And that is not the way we should be thinking right now when it comes to jobs and economy,” Ryan said in an interview Tuesday. Via Republican Paul Ryan defends tax deal from conservative critics…
Taxes/Taxation
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of the Tax Deal | Cato @ Liberty
by JOHN ADAMS •
Daniel Mitchell’s assessment seems right to me — Compared to ideal policy, the deal announced last night between congressional Republicans and President Obama is terrible. Compared to what I expected to happen, the deal announced last night is pretty good. In other words, grading this package depends on your benchmark. This is why reaction has…
Crime, Law, Laws/Regulations, Libertarians, Press Release, Taxes/Taxation
Wes [Benedict of the LP] for Wesley Snipes | Libertarian Party
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Libertarian Party issued the following press release about tax protester Wesley Snipes. Note that Snipes was acquitted(!) of tax fraud and conspiracy, but he’s been sentenced to three years’ imprisonment on a misdemeanor conviction merely for being a non-filer. Wes for Wesley Snipes Why men can’t jump on Wesley Snipes WASHINGTON – Wes Benedict,…
City, Government Spending, Poverty, Taxes/Taxation
Whitewater, Wisconsin’s Next Municipal Budget
by JOHN ADAMS •
Whitewater voted on its 2011 budget this week, and there were no surprises. The city lacks a majority of incumbents willing to cut spending, on a budget of over nine million. (Quick note: a local paper has reported that Whitewater’s tax levy is nine million; that’s incorrect. The budget is nine million, a portion of…
Government Spending, Politics, Taxes/Taxation
Rep. Paul Ryan on Tax Increases
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin’s first congressional district, on federal taxation, as his remarks appeared on Monday, November 15th in USA Today. Ryan is set to become chairman of the House Budget Committee in the new Congress Stop the Tax Hikes By Paul Ryan Congress should act now to prevent across-the-board tax increases from…
Taxes/Taxation
Why Paychecks Will Likely Shrink in January – WSJ.com
by JOHN ADAMS •
Utter folly — Congress may fail to reach agreement on the Bush tax cuts by Dec. 31, and that means most Americans will see higher withholding on their paychecks starting in January. Also, the Making Work Pay credit ends, and that will shrink paychecks, too. Via Video – Why Paychecks Will Likely Shrink in January…
Government Spending, School District, Taxes/Taxation
An Exercise in Allocating Responsibility
by JOHN ADAMS •
A woodworker builds and sells birdhouses. He gathers materials, maintains a shop, and makes a few at a time for display and sale. To advertise his trade, he puts a sign in the window of the workshop: REASONABLY-PRICED BIRDHOUSES FROM A LOCALLY-OWNED AND OPERATED WORKSHOP ONLY $29.95 EACH A customer visits the shop, takes a…
Government Spending, School District, Taxes/Taxation
An Exercise in Moderation
by JOHN ADAMS •
A man walks into a restaurant, and orders seven cheeseburgers for dinner. Still hungry an hour later, he orders eight more. After just another hour, he looks into his wallet, and sees that he has enough money to order yet nine more. He motions to the waiter, and prepares to order nine burgers. Just as…
Government Spending, Politics, Taxes/Taxation
Coolidge as the ‘Great Refrainer’
by JOHN ADAMS •
Amity Shlaes, author of the fine The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression, has an essay originally published at Forbes in which she praises Calvin Coolidge as The Great Refrainer. Shlaes writes that When Harding died suddenly in 1923, Coolidge knew he was going to need another pair of hands to launch…
Economy, Government Spending, Politics, Taxes/Taxation
Number of the Week: Slow Growth Adds to Deficit – Real Time Economics – WSJ
by JOHN ADAMS •
If, for example, the U.S. economy grows at an inflation-adjusted annual rate of 1.7% — about the rate it’s currently growing — government debt will reach 122% of annual economic output as of 2015, up from 93% now. Annual growth of 2.7% would cut that estimate to 110%. The difference equates to about $2.2 trillion,…
Government Spending, Taxes/Taxation, Wisconsin
Cato Institute’s 2010 Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Cato Institute has released its 2010 Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors, and Wisconsin fares poorly in the report. I’ve be a sometime critic of the outgoing Doyle Administration’s policies, but candidly, his Republican predecessors (Thompson, McCallum) left the state’s finances in poor condition, too. The return of a Republican to the governor’s…
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…