Paul Soglin: Waxing America

Wisconsin Obesity. Who Cares? You Do.

The latest report from theTrust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) on obesity shows Wisconsin has the 25th highest rate of adult obesity in the nation, at 26.0 percent and the 12th lowest of overweight youths (ages 10-17) at 27.9 percent.

That prompted one Boop to comment, "This is still a free country (I think). People are still responsible for their own choices of food and beverages they consume."

Yes it is a free country but your neighbors' dietary habits have a major impact on your pocketbook. Even if you have little regard for their health, disease and disability associated with obesity is a cost you share, whether it is lost productivity, increases in the cost of health care or tending to orphaned kids you pay.

It reminds me of the motorcycle helmet debate - a rider should be free to ride helmetless and become a vegetable. And then when the insurance runs out after hundreds of thousands of dollars in surgeries, we contnue to pay for the expensive life time of nursing care.

Earth-Venus smash-up possible in 3.5 billion years: study

A force known as orbital chaos may cause our Solar System to go haywire, leading to possible collision between Earth and Venus or Mars, according to a study released Wednesday.

The good news is that the likelihood of such a smash-up is small, around one-in-2500.

And even if the planets did careen into one another, it would not happen before another 3.5 billion years.

Another good reason not to worry about global warming, brushing your teeth, and listening to your parents.

And to claim that the earth is less than 17,000 years old.

Twitter This

I am holding out and not signing up for Twitter. Enough is enough.

I started onto this entire Internet adventure in the early 1990's when I bought my first PC and signed up for CompuServe.  CompuServe was invaluable when traveling in the early 1990's, since it had the best dial-up network throughout the country. Far superior to AOL, which I never joined.

I moved on to various applications such as Yahoo, which I still launch on startup, Netscape, and Google- my favorite search engine.

I migrated from Microsoft Explorer to Firefox.

I have five yahoo emails, one hotmail, but no gmail. I have this blog, and my own domain and email for Soglin Consulting.

When social networking caught on I first used CompuServe's system and then looked at Yahoo's Profile and IM.

Enough was enough when it came to social networking.

While I ignored MySpace, I did explore youtube when my daughters' acting was recorded and posted. I was late to join Facebook and having just gotten the hang of it, joined Linkedin last week, after pestering from numerous friends.

In reviewing my evolution, I love Facebook for bringing me in touch with friends I had not spoken with in over forty years, and for knowing what they are doing now. I do appreciate the posts about the vacations, the pictures of the children and grandchildren, and the social, cultural, and political commentary.

The blog, the business website, and the one week of Linkdin did not bring a single business opportunity.

Now I see everyone is Twittering.

Well, Twitter Tweet this. No.

Bailout: Bernanke Blunder and Betrayal

It is now evident that those of us who supported the bailout of greedy financial services companies were betrayed -along with the millions of Americans who opposed the bailout. Maybe the opponents were correct - these creeps cannot be trusted.

As reported by Bloomberg News, Fed Defies Transparency Aim in Refusal to Disclose:

(originally)...Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in September they would comply with congressional demands for transparency in a $700 billion bailout of the banking system. Two months later, as the Fed lends far more than that in separate rescue programs that didn't require approval by Congress, Americans have no idea where their money is going or what securities the banks are pledging in return.

As AIG receives its second infusion of public money, bringing the public commitment to $150 billion, fed chief Bernanke and his cohorts at Treasury refuse to divulge the amounts provided to other key financial services companies that were operated by thieves masquerading as prominent wall street financiers for so many years.

Bloomberg is upping the ante with its lawsuit deigned to throw sunlight on the debacle, Bloomberg suing Fed to disclose bailout details

"The Fed has lent $1.5 trillion to banks, including Citigroup Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., through programs such as its discount window, the Primary Dealer Credit Facility and the Term Securities Lending Facility. Collateral is an asset pledged to a lender in the event that a loan payment isn't made.

"The Fed made the loans under 11 programs in response to the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression. The total doesn't include an additional $700 billion approved by Congress in a bailout package.

 

Driving Back From Milwaukee: Flooding Unabated

When I drove to Milwaukee yesterday to meet with some conspirators to further our plots against Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC), I listened to radio entertainer Charlie Sykes marvel at the record flooding in the suburban Milwaukee area.

My assignments in place to undermine WMC and right wing Milwaukee talk radio, heading home I noticed the flooded fields and the extremely high water at the Rock River. I had noticed that the river had overflowed its banks when I headed east in the morning but the water appeared much higher in the evening.

I arrived home and heard on the news that a portion of I-94 westbound was closed until further notice because of the high waters. The Capital Times: Bad news in wake of flooding:More rain is on the way

I find it curious that the record flooding does not necessarily mean there was record rain. Flooding usually occurs because of heavy rain and/or more paved surfaces.  I find it curious that Sykes can marvel at the power of nature, discuss the flooding unabated, but never connect the dots, or in this case, the pools of water.

While the volume of rain is responsible for the flooding, undoubtedly the flooding severity is, in part, the result of more water failing to penetrate the ground and flowing down storm sewers, culverts, drainage ditches, shopping center parking lots, roof tops, and roads into already stressed waterways.

And some farmers' fields.

Many farmers are losing many thousands in seed, fertilizer, and pesticides.

Capitol Foolishness Abounds: Lasee Trumps Nass, Scooby Doo

In the never-ending struggle to attract attention, reporters, and voters, Wisconsin state representative Frank Lasee (Rep-Green Bay) put out a press release on Tuesday making his Republican colleague Steve Nass look sound like Albert Einstein wandering among the cast of Scooby Doo.

Lasee wants Wisconsin to drill for oil. Then we can be Alaska. Or Wyoming.

To make his case, Lasee first must dismiss the experts who correctly understand the role of taxes and fees:

According to the Wisconsin Taxpayer’s Alliance and liberal professor Andrew Reschovsky, three states...

While it was easy calling Reschovsky a liberal, the Taxpayer's Alliance was never known as a bastion of left-wing thinking. Drats.

Anyway, with the heretics summarily dismissed, Lasee shores up his own leaky fiscal boat:

There are studies from reliable sources and well-educated economists* that show that states and countries that tax less (after a reasonable level of government services have been reached), enjoy greater prosperity over those that tax more...

The undocumented, unnamed Lasee experts are probably the disgraced Tax Foundation and the academically challenged Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy. In any case no definition is given to 'a reasonable level of government services,' which Lasee believes means no public education. At any level.

The left discredited, the foundation for his economic theories in place,  Lasee presents his thesis:

Taxes paid by everyone who is using oil, natural gas, copper and other minerals are providing more government tax money to spend without causing people in these states to pay more. The governments in Wyoming, New Mexico and Alaska get to spend the taxes paid by out-of-staters and the people of these states don’t have to pay as much for their government. This is a good reason to lift the federal and state prohibition on drilling for oil in Wisconsin.

Taxes are taxes. Somehow Lasee thinks that the taxes that Alaska gets from the oil do not count in assessing the per capita tax burden. Sorry.

Which proves that this is not about reducing Wisconsin tax collections, but about drilling for oil in Baraboo or Richland Center.

But Lasee really misses the opportunity. If his thinking is sound it should apply to all natural resources. 

Lasee, let's follow your advice starting with lumber. I am sure that the folks in Wausau and Green Bay look forward to paying a 15% royalty on lumber.

Water.  Now there is a precious natural resource that may one day be as valuable as oil.

The state of Wisconsin should impose a 15% tax on every barrel of fresh water pumped in the state. Like Alaska, a portion of the revenue will be used to operate government today and a portion will be set aside in a trust fund for future generations when water is truly scarce.

You know, this is a damn good idea.

I am serious. Thank you Mr. Lasee.

We don't need no stinkin' oil.

And another thing. If you want to get taxes from out-of staters, increase the sales tax and reduce residential property taxes. A state like Wisconsin, with a high level of tourists and conventioneers, will see a disproportionate tax revenue come from the foreigners and flatlanders.

*When the hell did 'well educated people' carry any weight in the Republican Assembly caucus? Nass is going to have a field day with this one.

Reschovsky is well educated.

I am well educated.

Why It is Hard to Relocate Snow - Think of the Residue

As another snow storm blanketed Wisconsin this morning, a question came up about snow removal.  Throughout the state there are sections of street that are overwhelmed by the volume of accumulated snow.

A simple solution is to bring in the plows and trucks and haul it out to some isolated site where it can melt by June or July.

Unfortunately is is not that simple. A lot of that snow contains petroleum byproducts, heavy metals, and even shards of sharp metal and glass. Just imagine what accumulates along the curbs.  Take that out to an isolated field or a local public park and imagine what remains after the melt.

Public Parks - the dump areas would be contaminated.

Wild environs - the areas would be contaminated.

Landfills - not really.  You would never dump raw petroleum in a landfill.

Ice covered lakes - ugh

No one said life would be easy.

Wisconsin Highway Report on I 90 Stranded: Whaddawedonow?

The real test of an organization is how it responds to failure and corrects it. The recent problems associated with the 14 hour back up on Interstate 90-39 presents an opportunity to the State of Wisconsin, Governor Doyle, and all of the agencies involved. The Department of Transportation and the Wisconsin National Guard can now engage in real improvement.

First things first. The report must be welcomed with sincerity and without recrimination. When improvement is need, the full cooperation of all the participants is needed.  They must feel free to speak frankly and truthfully without worrying about negative consequences or retaliation. We must support their effort to make things better.

As anyone familiar with a quality transformation of an organization knows, the first task is to drive out fear.

The Capital Times lead was simple and straightforward, Doyle apologizes to motorists stranded on highway:

Gov. Jim Doyle says he is now ready to apologize to the motorists who got stranded in a 2,000-vehicle interstate traffic jam during a Feb. 6 blizzard.

"Many people through just some bad decisions ended up on that road who didn't have to," Doyle said an a news conference today. "It's very clear this could have been handled much better."

That is what is needed and expected. There is no need for a totalitarian 'off with their heads' approach unless there was gross misfeasance.

Now the various state agencies must move forward with a spirit of cooperation, without concern for rank, status or power and fix a broken system. It is likely that some young trooper who was on the scene can contribute as much if not more than a twenty year veteran who viewed the problem from afar. It is likely that some young geek with the knowledge of the best communication systems can contribute as much as a division head.

With all of the clamor about the phony 'tax hell' and downsizing government, this is the real challenge. We must improve the quality of government services in a positive, systematic manner.

We have the report but not the fix. They should now go for it.

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.

Official Waxing America Religious Leader: Reverend Billy of the Church of Stop Shopping

In a move which will undoubtedly mystify the most cynical of holiday shoppers, Waxing America has decided it needs an official website minister.

In a brilliant act with both  secular and ecumenical implications, our publication has joined the gospel of the "Church of Stop Shopping," not to be confused with that other house of splendor, "The Last Exit Before the Freeway Church."

I can relate to Reverend Billy. He was arrested at a Disney store imploring the flock not to shop. He is pastor non grata at politically incorrect Wal-Mart and politically correct Starbucks. He asks the most profound of profound questions, "What would Jesus buy?"

He and the members of the Stop Shopping Choir, a group of 40 red-robed singers who accompany him on trips to Wal-Mart, Starbucks and other temples of consumerism where he attempts to spread his message, whether people want to hear it or not, are featured in a new documentary film called "What Would Jesus Buy?" Produced by Morgan Spurlock ("Super Size Me"), the movie follows the group on a cross-country anti-shopping crusade.

In this   documentary, Reverend Billy warns us of the pending shopocalypse.

I was crushed to learn that Reverend Billy is not a real minister but a street performer who was chased out of the sanitized clean up of New York City in the 1990's.  But that is a minor detail. His forty arrests speak volumes.