One can be a longtime critic of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, and still learn even worse things about that agency. With the Foxconn deal pending, WISGOP legislative leaders Vos & Fitzgerald want the WEDC board to be able to see the full text of the Foxconn contract. See Walker Delays Commenting On Possible Change…
WEDC
WEDC
Legislative Audit Bureau: WEDC Still Fails at Basic Tasks
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Wisconsin’s Legislative Audit Bureau, as required by state law, has “completed a biennial financial audit of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) and a program evaluation audit of WEDC’s economic development programs.” Perhaps the politician-publisher of the Banner, who has hawked these programs so many times, and is himself the recipient of a WEDC award,…
City, Government Spending, Innovation Center/Tech Park, WEDC
Far Less Than 10.7%
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Whitewater’s residents may have recently read (3.7.17) another City of Whitewater press release from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) – this time concerning more public spending on selected businesses. (For remarks on a prior release, please see The Simplest Condition for a ‘Shovel-Ready’ Site is an Empty Lot.) There are few better ways to argue against…
City, Government Spending, Innovation Center/Tech Park, WEDC
The Simplest Condition for a ‘Shovel-Ready’ Site is an Empty Lot
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Whitewater’s residents may have recently read (just yesterday) a City of Whitewater press release about a Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) designation for the city’s thirty-five empty acres of tech park land. I’ve reproduced the release in full at the bottom of this post. A few key points: 1. The simplest condition for a “shovel ready” site is…
CDA, Development, Economics, Economy, Gluttony, Government Spending, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Local Government, Press, Public Relations, WEDC
‘WEDC has been a disaster from the get-go’
by JOHN ADAMS • • 1 Comment
After years of defending the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, one newspaper (out of several in the area) finally concedes the obvious: ‘WEDC has been a disaster from the get-go.’ See, from 11.28.15, http://www.gazettextra.com/20151128/our_views_consider_two_steps_for_salvaging_state8217s_job_creation_agency, subscription req’d. Yes, it has been a disaster, as politicized intervention in the economy, to the benefit of one’s well-fed, white-collar executive…
Assault Awareness & Prevention, City, Corporate Welfare, Culture, Economics, Economy, Free Markets, Government Spending, Local Government, University, Waste Digesters, WEDC, WGTB, WHEN GREEN TURNS BROWN
Boo! Scariest Things in Whitewater, 2015
by JOHN ADAMS • • 3 Comments
Here’s the ninth annual FREE WHITEWATER list of the scariest things in Whitewater for 2015. The 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 editions are available for comparison. The list runs in reverse order, from mildly frightening to truly scary. 10. The Coming Ferret Invasion. Alternative title: The Unprepared Will Be Doomed. Earlier this year,…
Business, Corporate Welfare, Development, Economics, Economy, Liberty, Local Government, WEDC
Business v. Free Markets
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
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, Corporate Welfare, Gluttony, Government Spending, Local Government, WEDC
WEDC Spends More, Produces Less
by JOHN ADAMS • • 1 Comment
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…
Corporate Welfare, Gluttony, Government Spending, Politics, WEDC
The Weakness of Sugar Cubes
by JOHN ADAMS • • 2 Comments
When conditions are dry, sugar cubes are fairly sturdy. When placed in coffee, they don’t last long. View image | gettyimages.com Cronyism is like this – it does well in the dry jar of municipal officials, insiders, press-toads, big-business lobbyists, and their lightheaded cheerleaders. In the bracing coffee of careful analysis, sound economics, and impartial…
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 • • 13 Comments
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…
Business, Corporate Welfare, Gluttony, Government Spending, WEDC
The New Crony Capitalist
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Gov. Scott Walker on Thursday appointed banking executive and frequent GOP donor Mark Hogan to lead the state’s troubled job-creation agency [WEDC]….. M&I Bank faced its own problems several years ago with bad loans and a crashing stock price and ended up being absorbed by BMO Harris of Canada in 2011. M&I loan losses during…
CDA, Economics, Economy, Gluttony, Gov. Walker, Government Spending, WEDC
The WEDC Taints Walker (and local officials even more)
by JOHN ADAMS • • 2 Comments
The WEDC is a state and national story that has local implications. Some of the toughest political battles are intra-party ones: Republicans or Democrats fighting against fellow party members for their respective primary nominations. For rival Republicans, Gov. Walker’s creation of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation will offer a legitimate and compelling line of attack against his…
Business, Corporate Welfare, Gluttony, Government Spending, WEDC
WEDC Leader Quits: “It is time for me to return to my previous retired status”
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Having presided over the national embarrassment that is the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, WEDC leader Reed Hall now heads for the exit: The state’s top economic development agency, stung by a series of scathing audits, media reports about questionable loans and accusations of mismanagement, is once again seeking new leadership. After three years steering…
CDA, City, Corporate Welfare, Economics, Economy, Gluttony, Government Spending, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Local Government, Politics, WEDC, Wisconsin
The State’s WEDC and Whitewater’s Facsimiles
by JOHN ADAMS • • 2 Comments
Ongoing revelations about the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation are a double concern: they’re stories of statewide malfeasance, and those revelations beg the question of how local officials in Whitewater are managing their own pools of public money. First, the latest stories (it’s a steady stream) of state-level error, waste, and negligence: Madison— Failing to run…