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City, Economy, Government Spending, Local Government, Press, WEDC

What City Officials and the Press Haven’t Told You About the HyPro Layoffs

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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 2013, HyPro had a maximum tax-credit authorization of over a million dollars ($1,300,00). The company used around $262,000 of that maximum. (The Legislative Fiscal Bureau report below lists legal maximums in Economic Development Tax Credit — Maximum Total Tax Credit Limit.)

That maximum, by the way, assumed 80 jobs created for $1.3 million in tax credits, or $16,250 per job.

In the clip below, WKOW reports that HyPro so far took over $262,000 in credits, and created just two jobs.

The tax credits used were actually 8x less efficient than WEDC estimated.

The WEDC’s own records indicate that HyPro created jobs at the price of over $131,000 per job.  

There should have been no tax credits for this employer; everything received should be paid back.

WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and Sports

Original post, 9.8.15:

Local newspapers have reported that HyPro is laying off over sixty workers at its Whitewater building. Those workers will be out of jobs by early November.  

What city officials and local newspapers haven’t mentioned is that only two years ago, HyPro received $1,300,000 in tax credit [authorization] from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.  

One-million, three-hundred thousand in tax credits.

See, from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau,  Economic Development Tax Credit — Maximum Total Tax Credit Limit (General Fund Taxes — Income and Franchise Taxes), page 16.

Commenting on these layoffs, Whitewater City Manager Clapper is quoted in the Daily Union observing that that “[w]e’re sad to see them go, but we recognize this happens in the life cycle of a business.” See, HyPro Inc. closing Whitewater plant @ http://www.dailyunion.com/news/article_d83ec8d2-5291-11e5-a5a7-1fb4265234ef.html.  

If that should be so, and these developments occur in the life cycle of a business, then why would Wisconsin offer $1,300,000 in tax credits to that business?  Either that money was futile from the beginning or it’s not true that layoffs like this simply happen in the “life cycle of a business.”  

Proponents of the WEDC cite its funding selectively: big talk when the grants, loans, or credits are issued, but then silence when those grants, loans, or credits prove ineffectual.  

(Rep. Jorgensen is quoted in the same story alluding to the failure of tax credits as an incentive, although his printed remarks don’t say directly that HyPro received tax credits, or in what amount. He’s right to be critical of the WEDC; it’s almost a measure of reasonableness.)

City Manager Clapper has been a supporter of the WEDC, likening its work to a natural science like chemistry.  

WEDC funding is nothing like a natural science; it’s akin to alchemy, not chemistry.

HyPro’s workers deserved better than the WEDC.

Politics, Wisconsin

Wisconsin Ill Serves Her Nationally-Ambitious Politicians 

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Over the last generation, Wisconsin has had her share of politicians with national ambitions, to cabinet offices or elected executive office (Democrat Les Aspin, Republicans Tommy Thompson, Paul Ryan, Scott Walker among them).

They’ve not fared so well; Gov. Walker’s effort is still ongoing.  

All of those I’ve listed were regarded in Wisconsin as especially skilled before they took cabinet positions or sought federal executive, elected office.  

When serving federally or running, however, they all hit (or are hitting) difficult waters. 

I’d say part of the reason is that our state press may be critical, but many reporters ask only one (critical) question, if that. There’s either no follow up, or weak follow up to an odd answer.  Politicians here get to slide on shaky claims.

Nationally, there are enough inquisitive reporters, editorialists, and bloggers so that an easy pass isn’t possible.  

One can rise far in a local arena without persistent follow up, but across America, there are competitive Democrats and Republicans who grew up in a more demanding environment.  When Wisconsin politicians meet rivals from other parts of the country, they find themselves facing foes (often within the same party) that are more adroit.   

These rivals are not smarter, truly, as much as they’re more adroit from a demanding environment.

As it turns out, a national-level of conditioning matters a great deal.  

By the time an aspiring politician sees this, however, it may be too late to acquire the necessary skill and insight. 

It’s simply prudent, locally or nationally, to try (as best one can) to meet a national standard all along.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 9.9.15

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Good morning, Whitewater.

Wednesday in town will be mostly sunny with a high of seventy-seven. Sunrise is 6:28 and sunset is 7:15, for 12h 46m 14s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 12.8% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1776, Congress adopts a formal name for America:

On this day in 1776, the Continental Congress formally declares the name of the new nation to be the “United States” of America. This replaced the term “United Colonies,” which had been in general use.

In the Congressional declaration dated September 9, 1776, the delegates wrote, “That in all continental commissions, and other instruments, where, heretofore, the words ‘United Colonies’ have been used, the stile be altered for the future to the “United States.”

On this day in 1954, Janesville residents debate alcohol laws:

On this date Janesville residents participated in a public forum at the Janesville Public Library. The topic of discussion was whether Janesville should allow women to be served at the bar, in taverns. Residents also debated whether dancing should be allowed in taverns. Speaking to lift the bans was Erv Lacey, field director of the Tavern League of Wisconsin. Lacey noted that the law against women being served was discriminatory and contended that Janesville taverns lose business because of the laws. The Rev. Frank Dauner, pastor of United Brethren Church, said the strict prohibitions should remain intact because alcohol threatened public health, safety and peaceful domestic life. [Source: Janesville Gazette]

Here’s the midweek game from Puzzability in this week’s Open Admissions series:

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 9.8.15

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Good morning, Whitewater.

Tuesday will bring thunderstorms to Whitewater, with a daytime high of seventy-six. Sunrise is 6:27 and sunset 7:16, for 12h 49m 04s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 20.1% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1974, Ford Pardons Nixon:

0908_bigWashington, Sept. 8–President Ford granted former President Richard M. Nixon an unconditional pardon today for all Federal crimes that he “committed or may have committed or taken part in” while in office, an act Mr. Ford said was intended to spare Mr. Nixon and the nation further punishment in the Watergate scandals.

Mr. Nixon, in San Clemente, Calif., accepted the pardon, which exempts him from indictment and trial for, among other things, his role in the cover-up of the Watergate burglary. He issued a statement saying that he could now see he was “wrong in not acting more decisively and more forthrightly in dealing with Watergate.”

On this day in 1860, hundreds are lost in Lake Michigan:

1860 – Sinking of the Lady Elgin
On this date the steamship Lady Elgin was lost on Lake Michigan and was one of the lake’s most tragic maritime disasters. The ship had been chartered by Milwaukee’s Irish Union Guards who had been in Chicago attending a fund raiser in order to purchase weapons to arm their unit. Their ship was struck by an unlit lumber schooner and sank. At least 300 lives were lost, many from Milwaukee’s Irish Third Ward community. [Source: History Just Ahead: A Guide to Wisconsin’s Historical Markers edited by Sarah Davis McBride, p. 17]

Here’s Puzzability‘s Tuesday game:

This Week’s Game — September 7-11
Open Admissions
Here’s a mixed doubles challenge for this week’s U.S. Open. Each day, we started with a word or phrase, added the six letters in U.S. OPEN, and rearranged the remaining letters to get a new phrase. Both pieces are described in each day’s clue, with the shorter one first.
Example:
A bit open; fruits sold near the Boscs and Bartletts
Answer:
Ajar; Anjou pears
What to Submit:
Submit both pieces, with the shorter one first (as “Ajar; Anjou pears” in the example), for your answer.
Tuesday, September 8
Newborn child; writing implements requiring separate ink purchases

WGTB, WHEN GREEN TURNS BROWN

The Least Possible Information

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WGTB logo PNG 112x89 Post 29 in a series. When Green Turns Brown is an examination of a small town’s digester-energy project, in which Whitewater, Wisconsin would import other cities’ waste, claiming that the result would be both profitable and green.

There is a story, an editorial, and an editorial reply at the Janesville Gazette about concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). In effect, CAFOs are factory farms with thousands of animals.

There’s a factory farm near Bradford, the owners (from Nebraska) want another one in Green County, and the Gazette aims to reassure anyone in Green County who might accidentally stumble on the Gazette that a factory farm nearby would be just delightful.

The story is Does it smell? Neighbors to 5,000 cows get questions from neighbors of proposed farm (subscription req’d). The editorial is Our Views: Green County residents should welcome big dairy (subscription req’d). In reply, Kara O’Connor, representing small farmers in Wisconsin, writes Local views: New giant dairy would benefit Nebraska family, not Green County.

Part, but not all, of a waste-importation plan would likely rely on trucking waste from CAFOs into Whitewater.

An examination of CAFOs is a big subject, one that I will undertake later in this series. Wisconsinites, both researchers and ordinary residents, have spent thousands of hours studying concentrated animal feeding operations and their effects on human health and the environment. If anything, that’s a conservative estimate of the amount of time collectively spent.

If one read only the Gazette‘s story and editorial, one wouldn’t know about any of that research. One would have only a tissue-thin story about how a few residents are quoted as saying that a nearby factory farm doesn’t smell so bad. Smell, as though the risks were only those of odor (one that commenters point out is far worse than the reporter’s few quotes suggest).

The original story, by the way, looks like an intentional downplaying of risks so that the paper’s editorial board could flack a local big business’s efforts for another factory farm (‘see, it’s not so bad’).

Go ahead, read all three and compare.

What’s telling here is that if one read only the Gazette‘s story and editorial, one would have no idea about the widespread criticism of these huge farms. (In fact, even O’Connor’s reply highlighting problems is brief and mild compared with accounts across the state.)

Downplaying criticism is effective for factory farmers only if information about hazards to people and the environment can be concealed.

It can’t be.

WHEN GREEN TURNS BROWN: Mondays @ 10 AM, here on FREE WHITEWATER.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 9.7.15

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Good morning, Whitewater.

Monday in town will present scattered thunderstorms and a high of eighty-three. Sunrise is 6:26 and sunset 7:18, for 12h 51m 55s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 28% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1957, NBC first broadcast the animated peacock logo with which that network became so closely identified:

 

On this day in 1977, Wisconsin saw her first recall election:

On this date Wisconsin’s first judicial-recall election was held. Dane County citizens voted Judge Archie Simonson out of office. Simonson called rape a normal male reaction to provocative female attire and modern society’s permissive attitude toward sex. He made this statment while explaining why he sentenced a 15-year-old to only one year of probation for raping a 16-year-old girl. After the recall election, Simonson was replaced by Moria Krueger, the first woman judge elected in Dane County history. [Source: Initiative & Referendum Institute]

Puzzability begins a new week-long series entitled, Open Admissions. Here’s the game for Monday:

This Week’s Game — September 7-11
Open Admissions
Here’s a mixed doubles challenge for this week’s U.S. Open. Each day, we started with a word or phrase, added the six letters in U.S. OPEN, and rearranged the remaining letters to get a new phrase. Both pieces are described in each day’s clue, with the shorter one first.
Example:
A bit open; fruits sold near the Boscs and Bartletts
Answer:
Ajar; Anjou pears
What to Submit:
Submit both pieces, with the shorter one first (as “Ajar; Anjou pears” in the example), for your answer.
Monday, September 7
Work or toil, as celebrated today; actor and activist acclaimed for his performances as Othello

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 9.6.15

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Good morning, Whitewater.

Sunday in the Whippet City will be sunny and hot with a high of ninety. Sunrise is 6:25 and sunset 7:20, for 12h 54m 45s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 38% of its visible disk illuminated.

Friday’s FW poll asked if, contrary to the views of police in the German city of Bad Oeynhausen, a Shetland pony should be allowed to ride in the back of a Fiat hatchback. Just over seventy percent of respondents (70.83%) said, sure, they love it.

On this day in 1916, Clarence Saunders begins to revolutionize grocery shopping in America:

After leaving Clarksville, Tennessee, on September 6, 1916, Saunders launched the self-service revolution in the United States by opening the first self-service Piggly Wiggly store, at 79 Jefferson Street in Memphis, Tennessee, with its characteristic turnstile at the entrance. Customers selected goods for themselves from the shelves and paid cash.

The store incorporated shopping baskets, self-service branded products, and checkouts at the front. Removing unnecessary clerks, creating elaborate aisle displays, and rearranging the store to force customers to view all of the merchandise were just some of the characteristics of the early Piggly Wiggly stores. The concept of the “Self-Serving Store” was patented by Saunders in 1917.

Though this format of grocery market was drastically different from its competitors, the style became the standard for the modern grocery store and later supermarket. By 1922, six years after opening the first store, Piggly Wiggly had grown into 1,200 stores in 29 states. By 1932, the chain had grown to 2,660 stores doing over $180 million annually. Piggly Wiggly stores were both owned by the firm and franchised.

The success of Piggly Wiggly encouraged a raft of imitators, including Handy Andy stores, Helpy Selfy stores, Mick-or-Mack stores and Jitney Jungle, all of which operated under patented systems.[1]

Saunders then listed Piggly Wiggly on the New York Stock Exchange.