Paul Soglin: Waxing America

Becky Young: Mom, Lawyer, Legislator, Educator, Friend, Environmentalist

Becky Young never asked for anything in return.

She simply did the right thing.  Rather than worry about the political consequences or the political payback, she asked nothing more than you do the same.

Whether it was transportation planning or children, family enhancement or university expansion, she demonstrated real leadership. She engaged citizens and colleagues, with purpose, because the reward was the successful program or plan, not personal aggrandizement.

She came from what I call the 'Tom Sawyer' school of management. She got everyone to paint the fence, though unlike Tom, she never sat by idly; she was a full participant.

Eloquently, George Hesselberg in the Wisconsin State Journal, best described her, Rebecca Young, pillar of Madison politics, dies at 74

Rebecca Young, an approachable icon of congenial modesty and achievement for 30 years in Madison's political landscape, a steady and informed advocate with a welcoming ear for issues involving women, children, transit and the environment, died Tuesday at home of cancer at the age of 74.

She took buses, raised four daughters with her husband, Crawford Young, and kept a breathtaking schedule from the moment she arrived in 1963, starting with the League of Women Voters. She ran for election 12 times, winning every time, including County Board, School Board and seven terms in the state Assembly.

She moved up the political ladder, in stature and influence, never plotting her next step. The only course she followed was her political compass heading towards a better life for kids.

There is a lesson in there somewhere.

 

Economic Disaster That A Fool Could Forecast

Like most states, we are caught up in the cruel torture of national policies that are driven by greed, imperialism, and stupidity. Readrers of Waxing America will recall that in the spring of 2007 I forecasted a stock market crash and repeated it last January, Another War; Another Recession. Whatdidyah Expect?

Last  spring I used my limited abilities in forecasting the economy and predicted a stock market crash... For the second time in my lifetime a stupid, foolish war built on lies not only wrecked havoc with another country but it is destroying the American economy.

It does not take a rocket scientist to get it right... Go on take 10% of your income and set it on fire, throw it down the toilet, or just rip it up. And just for good measure, borrow a lot of money and rip it up too.

It is so simple. You cannot destroy your resources and your assets. Imagine the homes and schools that might have been built. Billions of dollars - now that is stimulation for the economy.

I am not a genius in these matters; it is that I am not driven by blind ideology in arriving at conclusions about the ecomony. A few years experience in the public and private sectors, an understanding of history and a willingness to distance myself from bad public planning, or lack of planning, no matter how politically popular the proposal, do help.

As the fall elections approach, candidates for the Wisconsin legislature and Congress from both political parties will warm your frontal lobes with cuddly promises of 'no tax increases,' cutting fat from the budget, and reducing spending.

If you are attracted to those soft sweet sounds, complete the job and instead of voting, just get a lobotomy.

If you want a candidate who will  provide a lump of coal to warm you in your decrepit retirement, and a dull knife so you can remove your spouse's appendix by candlelight in your toothless waning years, I suggest looking for the following promises:

• A pledge to the business community to provide an educated, trained workforce, not lower taxes.
• A pledge to increase spending on education from kindergarten through the University of Wisconsin and Voc-Tech Systems.
• A commitment to spend money on infrastructure that places a priority on the environment, health, and safety.
• A commitment to regulate where appropriate and needed.
• That infratstructure will be funded through borrowing as should any reasonable capital budget item.
• The operating budget, unlike the capital budget, will be funded by general purpose revenues, and only general purpose revenues. No borrowing here.
• It will be necessary to increase taxes. The increase will be progressive and will fall on wealthier taxpayers.
• A commitment to regulate where required for health and safety.
• A declaration that international trade which exports great jobs and imports poisonous pet food and baby formula is not working.
• There will be no reductions of state revenue payments to local units of government. These reductions only end up with increase in the property tax which has the impact of shifting taxes from the wealthy to the middle class.
• On the national level there will be increases in the income tax- progressive increases.
• If we fight a war, there will be honest talk. It is impossible to have guns and butter. If we fight a war there must be sacrifices at home as well as on the battlefield.
• If the candidate tells you they are highly regarded by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC), tell that candidate to move to Alaska.

 

 

It does not take a rocket scientist to get it right... Go on take 10% of your income and set it on fire, throw it down the toilet, or just rip it up. And just for good measure, borrow a lot of money and rip it up too.

It is so simple. You cannot destroy your resources and your assets. Imagine the homes and schools that might have been built. Billions of dollars - now that is stimulation for the economy.

Solving the Financial Crisis. A Modest Proposal

As much as it disgusts me, the bailout of the financial institutions run by greedy, egotistical managers and executives presents a less devastating result than letting them go under.

Ten years from now, my family, my friends, the working people who make this country great and ask for nothing more than a fair shake, will be better off with a properly structured loan to an industry run amuck.

Before we get into the details, the first thing we must understand is that bailout or not, the Republican Party, the author of this ideological meltdown, is responsible for the biggest tax hike and the biggest waste of taxpayers dollars in history.

For a bailout to work:

• There must be a return to Glass-Steagall, the Depression-era body of law that provided safeguards against these excesses.
• No foreign banks deserve one cent of American money. If their respective nations wish to save them, they can bail them out. They already made enough money in the past decade.
• A special investigator should be appointed to look into the relationship of banking lobbyists and the principals responsible for this former disaster, special financial guru to John McCain, former Texas Senator Phil Gramm, and hit man Newt Gingrich, who thinks the solution to this problem is eliminating the capital gains tax.
• Any borrower should be allowed to extend their home loan one month for each year left on the mortgage and those deferred payments should have a maximum interest rate of 3%.
• No executive of a bailed-out company shall be compensated more than $1 million annually, and that will include company cars, homes, boats, contributions to retirement plans and life insurance. Life insurance can be taken out on the executive if the United States government is the beneficiary until the institution's loans are paid off. Frankly I am being too generous, but I cannot stand to see pirates cry.
• Labor, real work that contributes to the growth of the economy has to be recognized as being more honorable, more noble, and more essential, than flim-flam paper exercises that are nothing more than speculation in industries that are exporting jobs to countries where workers are paid less than $5 a day.
• For every million dollars a financial institution receives, they must repay the entire amount at an interest rate of 3.75%.  All loans must be repaid within a decade.

  
   

Who Is Responsible for the Economic and Financial Crisis?

The present crisis is the culmination of a series of events that go back to the election of Ronald Reagan as President and flowed through the subsequent years as the right wing mastered modern day communications, particularly cable TV.

The pinnacle was in 1999 with the repeal of Glass-Steagall, the Depression Era legislation that brought regulation and some degree of consumer protection to the financial marketplace. The public would not be wandering the dark hall of manipulators, oil speculators, and other creeps who took the art of capital formation to a new low, making money by pushing paper and never creating anything of value.

The Reagan Administration gutted regulation administratively in key areas of commerce and finance and was followed by the Republican control of the Congress and the ascendancy of Newt Gingrich, culminating in the adoption of the Financial Modernization Act of 1999.

This piece of legislation was drafted in 1998, and over the next year the Republicans overcame all opposition. To understand what happened it is necessary to examine the legislative process and the political climate of the time.

The Republicans were dominant and the Democrats were on the run. Fearful of losing more Congressional representation, the Democrats often capitulated, fearful if they stood up to  Gingrich, they too would lose their next election.

True Believers:   Lead by the bill's principal author, Phil Graham, this group were cronies of the oil interests and the speculators. It included reactionaries from Gingrich to Grover Norquist.

The Supporters:  These were all of the Republicans and one Democrat in the Senate accompanied by a similar alignment in the House of Representatives, though there were more blue-dog Democrats who joined the GOP. The critical vote came when the Senate version of the bill was adopted.

On  May 6,1999, the Senate adopted its version of the bill on a vote of 54-44.  Supporting that bill was John McCain; in opposition were all Democrats except Hollings of South Carolina. Joe Biden wisely voted 'no.'

For a more detailed explanation see this post, The crisis is so bad the financial press turns bolshie, February 17, 2008.

After the House vote, the bill went to conference committee.

The Negotiators. In conference committee, negotiators  from both Houses of Congress worked out their differences. President Clinton got involved realizing that with final passage there would be a veto proof majority. The final version of the bill was adopted by the Senate in November by 90-8. Joe Biden again voted 'No.'

John McCain, in the most blatant example of cowardice, refused to vote for or against the bill. He voted 'present.'

 

For more detail: John McCain's lying is contagious

 

 

 

 

 

Is it the water or the air in Milwaukee?

It could be Milwaukee's air, or the water, or both.  Last week I posted  What Do We Do About the Parents - Incarceration- Especially Blacks, leading with 

Every time we hear right wing analysis about societal problems, whether it comes from Mark Belling or his protege, Charlie Sykes, the rant is about the parents. The not so unsubtle message is that drug addled, unwed inner city residents, authority dissin' and probably black, are incapable of rearing their children.

Then, before the Internet ink was barely dry, Rick Esenberg was in my face with "Inconvenient Truths?" leading with:

Paul Soglin is upset with right wingers for blaming poor educational results in MPS on the "parents."

Before going any further, would someone, anyone, show Rick where there is a reference to the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS). I did mention the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD), but not Milwaukee.

But Rick's errant missive does not end with the first paragraph. Writing in paragraph three, the legal scholar observes,

It doesn't seem to be a simple function of racism and poverty and the absence of social programs because the degree of dysfunction has increased as both have decreased.

Rick, go to MPS and get a graph of the number of children in households where they are eligible for the free lunch program. Kids in the free lunch program is a good measurement of poverty in a school district. Compare that over the past twnety years and then come back and we can continue the conversation.

Just for the record, kids in the free lunch program in Madison have increased from 20% in the late 1980's, to 26% in the mid 1990's, to over 48% presently.  Of course most of that is because of the migration of families to the Madison area from other Midwestern cities, including Milwaukee. What is amazing about Madison is that despite this significant increase in poverty, academic standards have not  been severely impacted.

Much of the success is the result of the kind of programming that goes beyond direct education of the kids. It impacts the family, it enhances the family, and it set neighborhood standards that even Rick admires. Unfortunately, even Madison is in danger as budget cuts jeopardize many of these programs.

But so long as Rick and his compatriots blame the parents without any recognized programs to break the cycle, Milwaukee will be fighting a desperate losing battle.

Rick gets one thing right. It is something I suggested to him last year as being part of the problem.

Is it the abandonment of poor neighborhoods by the black middle class?

Yes, middle class blacks left the city just as their white middle class counterparts had done years before. So that is part of the problem, but only part of it. There were other institutions and structures available years ago that are no longer effective against poverty and crime.

There are ways to fix the problem. Blaming the parents and leaving it at that is no solution. Frankly, I don't think everyone praying cuts it either.

Rick, racism for middle class blacks may be on the decline, but I am not so sure that poor black families felt any signicant improvement in the past decade.

Mark Belling: Milwaukee's White American

Mark Belling is not "Standing Up for Milwaukee."

In a column on Wednesday, Millions can’t solve moral bankruptcy in central city, Belling launched into a two pronged attack attacking the city's black community and ridiculing Joseph Zilber's $50 million gift to strengthen Milwaukee neighborhoods.

For starters, the right wing commentator notes money already spent combating poverty and crime in the inner city:

How many billions in welfare, charitable programs and "investment" have been poured into predominantly black neighborhoods?

Then comes this gem:

Most blacks have tuned out white America...

Belling has a Milwaukee view, or perhaps a world view that makes him incapable of understanding the problems of poverty and crime and how to fix them.

For starters he knows nothing about Zilber's gift. An examination of the announcement reveals that the approach is significantly different than traditional efforts to institute change. It is community base building, not welfare.  It is economic development, not handouts.

Secondly, while Belling realizes that moral leadership is essential to improving Milwaukee, he has no clue as to how economic and social justice play a critical role in shaping community standards in Milwaukee or any other city around the world.

Zilber's gift is a challenge to Milwaukee leadership to add additional funds to a well crafted effort.

Milwaukee business leaders have a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to the city. They can sit on the sidelines with Belling, or they can learn about the fundamental principles underlying Zilber's commitment and open their own wallets.

As for Belling, he might want to tell us what he means by his "white America."

Zilber's Gift: It Is More Than The Money

When it was announced that Milwaukee business and civic leader, Joseph Zilber, was giving $50 million to fund neighborhood initiatives the response, as expected, expressed gratitude and hope.

Zilber gives $50 million Philanthropist hopes to revive low-income areas in city, encourage others to give

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett called the action "an unbelievably generous gift from Joe Zilber to this city."

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel article focused on something just as important as the size of the gift, it's scope:

The Zilber Neighborhood Initiative, as the effort will be called, will work with local organizations to support specific efforts to improve the quality of life in up to 10 neighborhoods...

...A key early step will be creating or selecting a "central intermediary," an organization to oversee the effort and make decisions on where money should go, while giving neighborhood organizations and representatives a strong voice in what goes on.

The gift to the people of Milwaukee measured in dollars is obvious.  Not so obvious is the thought and planning that went into the structure of the gift. As Zilber noted:

...There are a great many individuals and foundations prepared to invest resources to strengthen our community. For months I have worked behind the scenes with these entities. My mission is to mobilize them with good ideas, strong proposals and the promise that our shared commitment to our great city will yield positive results...

Joseph Zilber and his advisers gave careful thought to the structure of neighborhoods, how neighborhoods change, and the importance of building upon neighborhood assets:

We can (and must) act quickly and decisively to support programs that work, replace those that don't, bring proven and promising solutions to scale, sustain them long enough to gain traction and provide them with sufficient resources to get the job done.

The selection of Susan E. Lloyd of the Program on Human and Community Development to direct the effort is just one more indicator that this is a well planned gift. The money is important, but the context makes it even more valuable.

Blacks in Madison and Wisconsin

It is no surprise to Madisonians that a black youth has a thirteen times greater chance of being arrested than his white peer. We know that there are some in our state who look at that number and simply respond, "So? Blacks commit more crimes."

A number of leaders from Madison's black community called for action, as The Capital Times reported:

Coalition wants Madison to face race issues

A coalition of leaders in the African-American community called today for a renewed assault on the disparate conditions that separate Madisonians by race...

..."The State of Black Madison 2008: Before the Tipping Point," a report unveiled at a news conference Tuesday, summarizes data on criminal justice, education, economic development, health, housing and political influence. The report was commissioned by the State of Black Madison Coalition, whose members include Gray; Robert Wynn, Asset Builders of America; John Odom, Charles Hilton Houston Institute; Richard Harris, Genesis Community Development Corporation; Ray Allen, publisher of The Madison Times; and Kenneth Black, 100 Black Men.

When I took up this issue last fall, Wisconsin Policy Research Institute: Milwaukee Can Tolerate More Black Murders Part II, one of the antagonists finally muttered, "Some of those proposed ideas for reducing black crime sound good to us (strengthen families and reintegrate fathers into communities, bringing people to God), and some sound like more of the same things that have failed (more spending on education, jobs programs).

Wrong. Read their report, read the well documented study I referenced:

Effects of a School-Based, Early Childhood Intervention on Adult Health and Well-being

A total of 1539 low-income participants who enrolled in the Child-Parent Center program in 20 sites or in an alternative kindergarten intervention...

...For preschool participation, by age 24 years, the preschool group relative to the comparison group had significantly lower rates of felony arrest (16.5% vs 21.1%, respectively; P = .02; a 22% reduction) and incarceration (20.6% vs 25.6%, respectively; P = .03; a 20% reduction). They also were less likely than the comparison group to be found guilty of a crime both overall and for a felony (15.8% vs 19.9%, respectively; P = .03; a 21% reduction)...

... That the impacts of intervention extend beyond educational performance is not surprising given the well-documented links between education outcomes and adult health, mental health, and social behavior.^{25-26,36-38 ..}

^{...This study provides evidence that established early educational interventions can positively influence the adult life course in several domains of functioning. The scope and magnitude of intervention effects reveal not only the benefits to participants in fundamental indicators of health and well-being but also the potential returns to society for investments in early educational programs.} 

Prayer is nice but just like abstinence, it does not work. what works is education, education, education, job training and family enhancement. Not necessarily in that order. Spending on education and jobs programs that are properly managed work. Spending money on education and jobs programs that are not properly managed  do not work. That is not the fault of the recipients.

Wisconsin Business and Entertainment Climate: Belling Style

You have to wonder why Mark Belling hates Wisconsin and Milwaukee as much as he does. In his latest rant, subtitled, State’s business climate far from welcoming, the right wing radio entertainer asserts:

We are driving businesses out and telling new ones to stay away by raising taxes to obscene levels, regulating businesses to death, imposing impossible environmental restrictions and levying some of the nation’s highest health care costs. Until those things are fixed, the business climate is not going to improve.

With so-called friends like Belling, it is no wonder that there is more than a little confusion in the Milwaukee business community.

There is not one word in Belling's quiver about the most important challenge facing Milwaukee and the state, growing a vital workforce. The key to Wisconsin's future is eduction, job training and workforce development.

Other key elements that Belling gets wrong:

• Collections of taxes and fees in Wisconsin is average compared to the rest of the nation.


• Taxes on Wisconsin businesses are significantly lower.

• When businesses make location or expansion decisions the quality of the schools, the environment, safety, and the workforce all trump tax rates.

• Government and the private sector can work together within the M-7 environment. In fact, that collaboration will allow a frank and candid discussion of the changes that both government and the private sector need to make.

• Lowering the bar so that wage rates compete with China or even Alabama are not what Wisconsin business needs.

• The new economy is not solely based on "biotech and drug industries." The secret for Milwaukee is not to copy others but to work from its strengths, its industrial and financial base.

It is evident that there are elements in Wisconsin including Belling and the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce who are less concerned about the quality of Wisconsin's business climate, and more concerned about using the business community to drive a right-wing ideological political program.

For a true understanding of how far Belling is off the planet, take a look at the  Milwaukee 7 website and scroll down to the Strategic Planning link and look at the thoughtful reports. I may not agree with all of their findings but certainly, this is more substance than "inane cheerleading."

Marketing and Business Recruitment, Wisconsin Style

A few observations:

• John Shiely and his brethren who fault those on the left who have negative knee jerk reactions to "anything business" are correct. There are a suspicious lot of lefties who start with the assumption that anything that is good for business is bad for everyone else. That must change.
• That said, Shiely has little that is positive to contribute to the discussion and the rest of his charges just make life more difficult for everyone trying to build a positive environment.
• For those of us on the left who do want to see a business and labor partnership in growing Wisconsin's economy, Shiely does not make the job any easier. Comparing Wisconsin wage rates to southern states does not cut it. We are not interested in lowering the bar, and there is plenty of proof that a well-paid workforce more than makes up for the additional labor costs in everything from productivity to having more successful kids in the public schools.
• Other than Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) there is really no rationale for using tax cuts and incentives to lure business. TIF has that vital "but for" test, and that standard should not be waived.
• Consistently, taxes are down the list in determining where a company locates. High on the list are the "quality factors": parks and recreation, safe neighborhoods, great schools, sound transportation systems (both public and private), a clean and healthy environment, cultural activities.
• Working on enhancing the presence of existing businesses is always a more productive goal than recruiting outsiders. If the outsiders find that the work done to develop the local business environment is sound, they will come.

When you have a runaway plant, a company determined to go to the site with the cheapest labor force, no matter what the consequences, it is difficult to compete since the values between the company and the community are so disparate. You have to change the values of the company, not the community standards.

For those new to this discussion, here is the background.

Since the explosive presentations at the Public Policy Forum Milwaukee Business Leaders Meet Their Worst Enemy - Themselves, we have the following, which is far from a complete list:

• Illinois thinks we are doing just fine: We Don't Need No Stinkin' Limousines: Ask the Flatlanders.
• Minnesota thinks we are doing just fine: Milwaukee has good company in having image problems.
• Some think Madison and Milwaukee's problems are the same: Blaska's Blog: Read Milwaukee, think Madison.
• And some just do not want to quit:  Somehow, we have to put an end to Milwaukee's zero-sum culture , or as Jim Rowen notes  Briggs & Stratton CEO Urges "Positive" Tone, Then Has A Counter-Productive Meltown Himself.
• And up until now we have not touched upon another dozen bloggers who entered the fray, including the penultimate battle  Our own worst enemy finding Steve Jagler, of the Small Business Times and a friend of Wisconsin Business, taking on a plethora of entertainers from right-wing talk radio.