Paul Soglin: Waxing America

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.

Why Not Free Rent for All Public Employees?

Today the Wisconsin State Journal published an editorial, Let cops live free on Allied suggesting that the public benefits of encouraging police officers to live 'rent free' in high crime areas like Madison's Allied Drive were worth the cost:

Just one or two cops living in this high-crime area on the city's Southwest Side could act as a deterrent and add to the mix of residents with different backgrounds and incomes.

The premise is sound, and the logic goes far beyond Allied Drive, police officers, and crime. The principle is known as residency. There was a time when all of the union contracts covering city of Madison employees and most other municipal workers in Wisconsin required that local employees live in the community they served.

It was one of the few areas where I parted ways with my friends in the public employee unions. It should be understood that while everyone has a right to live where they please, there is no right to a public job. As a condition of employment, it was required that you live in the city. The benefits were obvious:

• The city pays your check; you should live with the people who hired you and spend that money you earned locally.
• The heart of the city is the middle class and there is no one more 'middle class' than public employees.
• In an emergency, the employee is close to work, whether it be a fire, a flood or a water main break.
• The presence of the middle class, particularly pubic safety employees such as firefighters and police officers, stabilized communities. As the article noted: "Many neighborhood residents, tired of drug-dealing and violent crime on Allied Drive, would undoubtedly welcome such neighbors."

The end of Madison residency requirements came after the bus drivers strike in 1980. At that time all city employees had a residency requirement and the bus drivers were not city employees - they were technically employees of a management company. As part of the new contract settlement, the Skornicka administration made them city employees.

The police union contract had a "me too" provision. If any other city employees were allowed to live outside the city, so could the police. With the bus drivers under a city contract, the police officers could now move out of the city.  And they did.

Over the years, residency disappeared from one contract after another.  My guess is that today less than half of all city employees live in the city of Madison.

Keeping residency was not made any easier as state legislators offered bills to outlaw municipal residency requirements. That was too bad. Last I looked there were some financial incentives for employees to remain in the city. In any case, the matter is subject to bargaining.

The Holiday Message: What the Morgridges Gave Wisconsin Youth

We are thankful for the work of the Morgridges, a couple of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin natives now living in California. John, the successful entrepreneur who grew Cisco Systems into a billion dollar company, and Tashia a special education teacher, gave us multiple gifts this week.

The first was the donation of $175 million that will go to educate public high school graduates who intend to succeed in Wisconsin public colleges and universities. As The Capital Times reported:

The grants, which do not need to be repaid, are to be awarded through the UW System and the Wisconsin Technical College System. Students will be eligible to receive aid for up to 10 semesters.

The second was the impetus for others to make similar contributions to enhance educational opportunities for our kids.  As John said, "This is just the start. We believe that the fund will grow substantially as others are inspired to join us in this effort."

The last gift was the most important.  Let Tashia Morgridge say it in her own words:

Wisconsin 's public high schools do an outstanding job of preparing students for higher education. We are committed to helping ensure that higher education is accessible and affordable.

It is further exemplified by an anonymous  comment to The Capital Times story:

If concerned and successful citizens see the University of Wisconsin as such a good investment, why doesn't the Legislature?

Anyway, ranting aside, the families of Wisconsin owe a huge thanks for the far-sighted Morgridges. They are using their wealth in the most generous and best possible way: investing in Wisconsin's future.

Private sector gifts are wonderful and necessary. However, Wisconsin and its citizens will never reach the potential that is our destiny if we this simple message is ignored in the Wisconsin State Capitol.

Maybe Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) would like to invite this capitalist to share his views with its members on social responsibility, the purpose of education, and the role of taxes.

Update 7:28 am:  from this morning's Wisconsin state Journal -

Dan Hurley, a state policy analyst with the American Association for State Colleges and Universities, said the donation also will give Wisconsin a competitive advantage in improving its overall education level and economy.

"It 's not about your name or about your alma mater but it 's about an entire generation and an entire state, " Hurley said of the message delivered by the Morgridges. "It 's about competitive advantage in arming the next generation and this gift will go a long way toward opening up access and sending a message to Wisconsin 's youth. " (emphasis added for the benefit of WMC)

Making the World Safer: An Hour of Headlines

Pakistan silences media in emergency - President Gen. Pervez Musharraf cites freeing Pakistan's media as one of his proudest achievements, but under emergency rule his regime is stripping those liberties away for fear independent news reports will further fan opposition.

Pakistan Police Clash With Lawyers - Police on Monday fired tear gas and clubbed lawyers protesting against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's emergency rule.

Turkey urges US to clamp down on Kurdish fighters - The Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will seek a renewed US commitment to crack down on Kurdish fighters when he sees George Bush today.

Americans yearn for change of direction: poll ...The survey by The Washington Post and ABC News indicated that only 24 percent of those surveyed think the nation is on the right track, and three-quarters said they want the next president to chart a different political course.  A new direction is wanted not only by Democrats, but also by three-quarters of Independents and even half of Republicans, according to the poll...More than six in 10 called the war in Iraq not worth fighting, and nearly two-thirds gave the national economy negative marks.

Christina Aguilera confirms pregnancy -...confirming what has become obvious over the past few months...

MJS: "Madison's economy chugging -While Milwaukee's is a caboose lagging behind"

Last week Avrum D. Lank of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel wrote Madison's economy chugging - While Milwaukee's is a caboose lagging behind:

Madison's economy grew about three times faster than Milwaukee's in the recovery from the last recession...

The article is very accurate, at least the observations about Madison, including the comment from Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council in Madison, "most of the growth here has been on the private side."

Still, who ran editorial operations at the Wisconsin State Journal for many years, is a political moderate. He and I sparred on occasion, and we worked well too. More on that later.

With my nineteen years in the public sector and twenty-one in the private sector in Madison, let me make some observations:

• Madison played to its strengths; it did not try to lure outsiders. But if they came, great.
• We understood that it was necessary to leverage our existing assets, particularly the University of Wisconsin and state government.
• Planning included all the players: educational and health institutions, non profits and private sector employers, retired business people and politicians.
• Education was key; no matter what the level of employment ,we wanted the best trained and educated workforce. We spent out own money when state and county funds were inadequate. It was good for the workers and good for encouraging business expansion.
• At times we violated these rules but not too frequently.
• We created a culture that looked at another's success as a rising tide lifting all ships. There was no room for resentment at the success of others.
• We tackled crime when it rose. We wanted a safe city and we wanted a city that would encourage growth.
• We gave everyone credit; sometimes even when it was not due - better to share in the glory. After all, who does that offend?
• We knew our taxes were high, but tried to strike a balance. Taxes are not the determinative factor when successful business people decided to make capital investments. The first things they look at are the neighborhoods, the schools, and the environment. After all, this is where they will raise their children. And if they have no children, they are worried about the kids of their employees.
• We struck a balance with our neighbors. We never let anyone forget that the inner city pays a disproportionate share of maintaining the metropolitan infrastructure and human services. But we always kept talking, except when annexation was the only alternative.

We had political and business differences. Tom Still and I collaborated more often than we disagreed on issues like privatizing certain public functions (He was wrong, I was right.). Everyone was welcome at the table so long as they were not so disruptive as to halt all progress.

Update 10/4/07 @ 2:00pm. There are some very keen comments below. They reinforce my thoughts about the problem. Milwaukee has to play to Milwaukee's strengths, not Madison's. Research dollars at UW-M will help more than that institution, but will encourage private investment, if it is areas relevant to Milwaukee's economy. Biotech dollars @ UW-M are nice but not the goal. Funds for modernizing management and production in a technological manufacturing environment is what the doctor ordered. That kind of research enhances UW-M. The result will assist Milwaukee industry. Win-win.

McAdams: The Final Word on Locking Up Black Wisconsinites?

As we feel the reverberations of the 'study' by 'Professor' John McAdams Does Wisconsin Lock Up Too Many Blacks?, it seems that Rick Esenberg still takes exception to my analysis.  Rick: Still confused about facts

But, as Professor McAdams suggests, if the problem is, for example, racial disparities in the poverty rate leading to racial disparities in the crime rate leading to racial disparities in the incarceration rate, focusing on the last element in the chain won't eliminate poverty and may make it worse.

Allow me to try one more time. Let us assume Rick's position, that McAdams is simply using data about who is involved in the commission of crime to determine if Wisconsin is incarcerating too many blacks.

If that is the case, someone wasted a whole lot of money on McAdams. By 1959, when I was 14 years old, I knew that blacks were incarcerated at higher rates than whites and that it was linked to the commission of more crimes in low income areas. We, all of us who lived in the city of Chicago, knew that the solution was to eliminate poverty.

So here we are almost fifty years later, and someone spent good money for McAdams to tell us that we are not locking up too many blacks.

Rick does not like my analysis (or the Governor's Task Force) of working backwards: looking at the incarceration rate, looking at who commits the crime, looking at the underlying poverty, and suggesting that we do something about it.

O.K. I will start at the beginning. Let's eliminate poverty.  That suggestion is free.

For the thousands of dollars paid for his study, McAdams offers nothing except to keep locking up blacks.

Update: 11:06 am.

A blogger purporting to be John McAdams posted the following at Marquette Warrior (My sympathies to the institution, Black Incarceration in Wisconsin: More

Some leftist moonbat bloggers have taken a swing at it, and mostly proved they have no idea about the issues involved.

That would be moi.

Then he goes on to say:

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).

To my friend Rick Esenberg: my sympathies to you. If this is where you and McAdams are coming from, there is little hope. The above statement by McAdams is so contrary to all of the evidence and research. Spending money on education, particularly, early childhood development provides extraordinary, tangible results.  And most of the work to strengthen families, the family enhancement programs are the very programs that McAdams suggests is "that warm fuzzy-sounding liberal program."

The next time some conservative brings up the name of University of Colorado Professor Ward Churchill or University of Wisconsin Professor Kevin Barrett, not only will I repudiate them as not being part of the Left, but I will remind them that McAdams is one of theirs.

For those interested in one of the most comprehensive studies that demonstrate the benefits of family enhancement, health, and child development programs resulting in greater educational attainment and reduced incidents of criminal  activity, see:

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.} 

And please contact Jessica McBride. This study reveals what health has to do with criminal behavior.