What a bad day for Wisconsin.
Wisconsin is a state known for its extremes in its seasons. Winters often see temperatures drop well below zero and the summers can sometimes rival Floridian heat and humidity. As a result of this, rarely do Wisconsinites have a time of the year where they are not running the air conditioning or their heat. After all, winter is the best seven months of the year in Wisconsin.
For some reason, out of the eight people representing Wisconsin in the House of Representatives, only three of them had the sense to vote against the toxic American Clean Energy and Security Act, which is riddled with all kinds of tax increases and fees that most people do not even know exist.
Some of the number crunching has led some actuarial tables to calculate a staggering 171% increase in natural gas prices due to the new legislation. That it bad news for Wisconsin since it does not have so-called "clean energy" in any great amount such as nuclear power plants. Wisconsin is expanding its wind power capacity which is akin to filling a swimming pool with a dixie cup.
The summers will not be much of a bargain for Wisconsinites either as they are now faced with the possibility that the purely evil coal industry is staring directly into the face of another tax increase.
Are these legislators that out of touch that they cannot see that these costs will be passed on to the people that pay their utility bills? Can they not see that they just dramatically raised prices on their constituents should this legislation pass through the Senate?
Here in Wisconsin, the neighbor immediately to the south has nuclear power plants. That just may convince more Wisconsin-based companies to leave.
The Kyoto Protocol does not include China and India. Many more Wisconsin jobs will likely continue to move abroad to get out of this state and nation's toxic tax environments.
And then there is the 2009 Wisconsin State Budget.
Here are just a few of the tax and fee increases: garbage tax, elimination of QEO for state teachers, in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, increased capital gains taxes, cell-phone tax, digital downloads tax, cigarette tax, work permit fee, increased auto insurance coverage requirement, etc.
This budget is toxic and is increasing taxes, fees, and spending in a recession.
The two combined are a major blow to anyone living in Wisconsin for any prolonged amount of time.
Both bills are major fiscal blunders. The Senate can stop "Cap and Trade," but it is unlikely. The unintended consequences could lead to this bill being one of the top five worst public policy blunders ever made.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Walking Toward a Better Wisconsin
“Whimsically Persnickety” is not a partisan blog. Instead, it is a blog that examines public policy in the interest of the people that pay for the public officials and benefit from their decisions. “Whimsically Persnickety” is not a fulltime or daily blog, but a common observer of local politics of southeast Wisconsin, the state of Wisconsin, and the United States.
After seeing the Wisconsin state deficit spiral out of control to the tune of nearly $7 billion, the bureaucracy of the local and state governments expand obscenely, and the tax levies increase in several communities on the local level as well as statewide, “Whimsically Persnickety” endorses Scott Walker for governor of Wisconsin.
Scott Walker’s leadership of Milwaukee County has been a bright spot in a state that has become a tax hell. Walker has been able to avoid raising taxes and has been able to effectively cut unnecessary items from the Milwaukee County budget. He has done this despite working with a Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors that has been rather hostile toward most of his proposed budget cuts. Its chairman, Lee Holloway, has been one of Walker’s most consistent critics.
Walker’s combination of refusing to increase taxes, accept temporary federal stimulus money, and add unnecessary items to the county budget have enabled Milwaukee County to run a budget surplus in a state that has consistently seen its fiscal number run in the red.
Walker has left the option of school choice as one to be pursued with greater vigor. This has not made him friends within WEAC, but instead offers an alternative for families of students that live within sub-par school districts. This position offers a choice to people that previously did not have a choice when it came to education.
Scott Walker will have a difficult time should he win election in 2010, but he inherited a bloated Milwaukee County bureaucracy and has managed it superiorly. The state of Wisconsin needs this management in order to raise and exceed the existing standards and credibility set by the current administration.
After seeing the Wisconsin state deficit spiral out of control to the tune of nearly $7 billion, the bureaucracy of the local and state governments expand obscenely, and the tax levies increase in several communities on the local level as well as statewide, “Whimsically Persnickety” endorses Scott Walker for governor of Wisconsin.
Scott Walker’s leadership of Milwaukee County has been a bright spot in a state that has become a tax hell. Walker has been able to avoid raising taxes and has been able to effectively cut unnecessary items from the Milwaukee County budget. He has done this despite working with a Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors that has been rather hostile toward most of his proposed budget cuts. Its chairman, Lee Holloway, has been one of Walker’s most consistent critics.
Walker’s combination of refusing to increase taxes, accept temporary federal stimulus money, and add unnecessary items to the county budget have enabled Milwaukee County to run a budget surplus in a state that has consistently seen its fiscal number run in the red.
Walker has left the option of school choice as one to be pursued with greater vigor. This has not made him friends within WEAC, but instead offers an alternative for families of students that live within sub-par school districts. This position offers a choice to people that previously did not have a choice when it came to education.
Scott Walker will have a difficult time should he win election in 2010, but he inherited a bloated Milwaukee County bureaucracy and has managed it superiorly. The state of Wisconsin needs this management in order to raise and exceed the existing standards and credibility set by the current administration.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Ryan's Voting Record Shows Inconsistencies
Paul Ryan has been representing Wisconsin’s first congressional district since his election to the House of Representatives on November 3, 1998. Since then, he has championed fiscal conservatism by emphasizing the need for limited government, limited spending, tax cuts, and limited regulation over American trade. He is currently the ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee and has been an eloquent voice in favor of what he has coined as his “Roadmap for America’s Future.”
He is young and is considered by many to be one of the brightest stars in the Republican Party that has taken severe beatings in the last two election cycles – losing control of the House and the Senate in 2006 and then sustaining further losses in both houses of Congress as well as losing the White House in 2008. Many of the established names of the Republican Party have become more moderate over time, much to the frustration of the conservative base, but several younger politicians have emerged to reestablish conservatism into the Republican Party. Ryan has gained much notoriety since his party’s debacles of 2006 and 2008. He frequently is seen on CNBC and has had editorials published numerous times in the Wall Street Journal.
It may come as a surprise to several conservatives that Ryan appears to have moderated his fiscal conservatism. Starting in September of 2008, Ryan voted in favor of the first bailout to the tune of $700 billion to rescue AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers, and several other lending institutions that were in danger of going bankrupt. He then voted in favor of the $14 billion bailout in December of 2008. Some speculated that this was due to troubles within his constituency where there happens to be a major GM manufacturing plant in Janesville. Finally, on March 18 of this year, Ryan voted in favor of H.R. 1586: a 90% tax levied on the bonuses awarded to AIG executives. AIG had received TARP money in the original bailout of the previous fall. This bill has since been shelved in the Senate.
Ryan represents a very diverse district where it is likely that the automakers had some pull on his decision for the so-called “Big 3 Bailout.” Ryan also stated publicly that the TARP vote was going to hurt him politically and that it went against his own political and fiscal principles. He followed that by saying that if something was not done, the economy may suffer dire consequences. Ryan was quoted as saying “It sucks, but it has to pass…The easiest thing would be to vote no and go hide in my office and watch the markets collapse. I will suffer politically for this, but I will sleep at night.” With regard to his most recent surprising vote, only one member of his home state’s delegation had voted against the AIG tax. James Sensenbrenner voted against it saying it was unconstitutional and would be thrown out in court.
Paul Ryan spoke to a rally in Madison on April 15 and indicated that the Democrats just “want you to pay up and shut up” and said the Democrats’ view of the American public’s duty is “to pay more and more taxes, because our government is smarter than you are.” His voting record has been very conservative as well save the three major exceptions of the past year. This would make him far from being what many conservatives refer to as a Republican in Name Only (RINO). The question of whether or not this will come back to undermine Ryan’s credibility as a fiscal conservative remains unknown, but is a worthy question.
He is young and is considered by many to be one of the brightest stars in the Republican Party that has taken severe beatings in the last two election cycles – losing control of the House and the Senate in 2006 and then sustaining further losses in both houses of Congress as well as losing the White House in 2008. Many of the established names of the Republican Party have become more moderate over time, much to the frustration of the conservative base, but several younger politicians have emerged to reestablish conservatism into the Republican Party. Ryan has gained much notoriety since his party’s debacles of 2006 and 2008. He frequently is seen on CNBC and has had editorials published numerous times in the Wall Street Journal.
It may come as a surprise to several conservatives that Ryan appears to have moderated his fiscal conservatism. Starting in September of 2008, Ryan voted in favor of the first bailout to the tune of $700 billion to rescue AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers, and several other lending institutions that were in danger of going bankrupt. He then voted in favor of the $14 billion bailout in December of 2008. Some speculated that this was due to troubles within his constituency where there happens to be a major GM manufacturing plant in Janesville. Finally, on March 18 of this year, Ryan voted in favor of H.R. 1586: a 90% tax levied on the bonuses awarded to AIG executives. AIG had received TARP money in the original bailout of the previous fall. This bill has since been shelved in the Senate.
Ryan represents a very diverse district where it is likely that the automakers had some pull on his decision for the so-called “Big 3 Bailout.” Ryan also stated publicly that the TARP vote was going to hurt him politically and that it went against his own political and fiscal principles. He followed that by saying that if something was not done, the economy may suffer dire consequences. Ryan was quoted as saying “It sucks, but it has to pass…The easiest thing would be to vote no and go hide in my office and watch the markets collapse. I will suffer politically for this, but I will sleep at night.” With regard to his most recent surprising vote, only one member of his home state’s delegation had voted against the AIG tax. James Sensenbrenner voted against it saying it was unconstitutional and would be thrown out in court.
Paul Ryan spoke to a rally in Madison on April 15 and indicated that the Democrats just “want you to pay up and shut up” and said the Democrats’ view of the American public’s duty is “to pay more and more taxes, because our government is smarter than you are.” His voting record has been very conservative as well save the three major exceptions of the past year. This would make him far from being what many conservatives refer to as a Republican in Name Only (RINO). The question of whether or not this will come back to undermine Ryan’s credibility as a fiscal conservative remains unknown, but is a worthy question.
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