Paul Soglin: Waxing America

Morlino Orders Closing of Catholic Multicultural Center

Obviously the furthering of its religion among the faithful is the primary mission of any religious organization.

Tending to the needs of the poor and the sick comes next, though there are many of us who in balancing all needs, would place the poor and sick first.

Now we see that Bishop Robert Morlino believes, after weighing all of the needs and values of the Madison diocese, that closing the Catholic Multicultural Center is required in response to the financial crisis facing the Catholic Church in Madison. According to The Capital Times:

Other cost-saving measures include the continuation of an across-the-board salary freeze, pay cuts for some employees and the need for employees to pay more for their benefits.

The most noticeable cut will be the closing of the Catholic Multicultural Center, 1862 Beld St., which opened in 1946 as the Blessed Martin House and was expanded in 2002 to serve a growing underprivileged community on the city's south side.

Hopefully the church will gift the building to neighborhood organizations who have a different set of priorities. I am sure that Madisonians of all faiths and of no faith will join together to continue secular needs of the community.

Closing the Tenney Park Locks: A Sign of Things to Come

During the Great Depression, Madison and much of Dane County suffered, but not like the rest of the state or the nation. As the home of the University of Wisconsin, state government, and numerous hospitals, unemployment in Madison never hit the devastating levels of more industrial or agricultural based communities.

Even as recently as the 1970's, only one of the ten largest Madison employers was from the private sector - Oscar Mayer. The rest were government (the State of Wisconsin, Dane County, the City of Madison), educational institutions (the UW and the Madison Public Schools), and health care (Madison General, St. Mary's, Methodist and the UW hospitals).

Now we get word that to save $5,000 a year that three days each week the county will close the Tenney Park Locks that connect Lakes Mendota and Monona.

It may not sound like much in terms of service reductions and savings, but it is the beginning of a series of significant changes Madison and Dane County residents can expect in the next eighteen months.

There will be additional service reductions before the end of this year and there will be greater reductions once the 2010 budgets are adopted.

There are a multitude of reasons for the cuts.  Like the state of Wisconsin, Dane County is experiencing sharply reduced sales tax revenues as a result of the recession. Income related to construction and development is reduced for all levels of government. While gasoline prices are down from record levels of last summer, governments have not recovered from their impact as fleet costs and building energy costs continue to make excessive demands on police departments, transit and snow removal agencies, as well as building heating and cooling systems.

The next six months will be most challenging. It will be a real test to see who can contribute to solving problems and who can exploit the situation.

I would have preferred to see the state and local units of government correct inequitable taxation systems, but that is a solution that comes too late to solve the present crisis. It is a solution that can prevent the next crisis.

Other solutions include the commitment to long term quality management programs (no meat-axe alternatives), modest but necessary cuts in many basic services, greater investment in infrastructure and greater investment in human capacity.

The Perogative of the Mayor: Appointments

Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz is facing criticism for his refusal to reappoint Carl DuRocher to the city's Transit and Parking Commission. As The Capital Times reports:

Longtime disabilities advocate Carl DuRocher boot from city transit panel

 The mayor says he's replacing DuRocher, who has been chair of the panel since 2005, to bring some new blood to the committee and its related subcommittees. But that's not the only reason -- Cieslewicz has also made it clear that the move is related to a public disagreement in recent months between DuRocher and himself on raising bus fares. Critics of Cieslewicz's actions, however, say the city stands to lose substantial institutional memory and knowledge about disability issues when DuRocher leaves the panel.

I agree with the mayor. He has the right to make appointments. When the mayor makes an appointment, the common council must make a simple decision as to whether or not the proposed appointee is qualified.

The city also has a requirement that citizens cannot be reappointed to a position after ten years of service, which is also taking some criticism:

Mayoral appointments are subject to City Council approval and are usually for three years. The city has used a 10-year guideline for term limits in the past and the City Council voted earlier this year to require a two-thirds vote of the council for a member to serve longer than 12 years. Now, however, some current and former council members are debating the wisdom of that limit.

"It's not that I don't think there should be turnover, but I think it's important that there are enough people on the committee who know, 'Yeah, we took up that issue three or four years ago,'" Webber says. "It's important to have that historical knowledge."

Ken Golden, another former council and commission member, called the term limits on citizen committees an "absurdity." While many people leave before 12 years of service, "those who don't usually have something to contribute," he says, and the city gets their advice for free.

True, but it overlooks two important points. First, committee members can become entrenched and use that very same extended tenure to unduly influence others. Secondly, and more importantly, in a city the size of Madison there should be no single individual who is so critical and essential that not one other person out of the 200,000 residents cannot also do the job.

It appears that there is some historical knowledge missing here. Until the ordinance with the ten year limitation was adopted, the continued reappointment of the same people was causing problems, not only for other committee members, but also the staff and the public. There had been citizen appointees who expected a reappointment as a matter of right and were using their extended tenure to pressure mayors and council members for reappointment, thus depriving other citizens the right to serve their community.

I disagree with the mayor on the bus fare increase and on his removing DuRocher because he disagreed with the mayor.  I first appointed DuRocher decades ago and my opinions on him have not changed. Carl is thoughtful, persuasive, effective, and brings a needed perspective to any discussion about land use and transit.

Some final thoughts:

If the mayor wanted to overcome the ten year limitation he could, with the support of twelve members of the council, renew the appointment - but the ten year limit should stay in place. And the mayor can appoint DuRocher to any of the many other important city committees.

 

 

Wisconsin Domestic Partners May Receive Some Fairness

Last week the Wisconsin legislature's Joint Finance Committee approved recognizing domestic partnerships in the proposed state budget. If the budget is approved with this provision, domestic partners would have the same legal rights as married couples to make hospital visits and end-of-life decisions.

At the same time, a proposal is moving forward initiated by Governor Doyle and key legislators that would make domestic partners eligible to receive state health insurance and retirement benefits.

While the state has a long way to go to reverse the offensive constitutional amendment adopted two years ago that deprived anyone in a domestic partnership the right to marry and receive all of the protections and rights of marriage, this is a start.

In another generation all such offensive laws and constitutional provisions will be history. It will also accelerate the decline of the Republican Party.

A March 12, 2009 CNN poll is fairly reflective of the generational divide. 64% of all 18-45 year olds support either legal marriage or civil unions.  Support is only 45% among those over the age of 64.

Meantime, support for gay marriage has grown from 20% in 2004 to 33% in 2009.

I recall Scott Milfred of the Wiscosnin State Journal writing in 2006:

Young Will Grow Older And Legalize Gay Marriage

...As a barely young person, I guarantee you that support for gay marriage among the younger generations of Americans is only going to increase.

And eventually this narrow majority of support for gay marriage will become an overwhelming majority among the young. And people like me will increase support among the old folks, too.

It's a given. It's a done deal.

It's why, before too long, gays and lesbians will marry throughout the United States.

There's nothing the opponents of gay marriage can do to stop this from happening. All they can hope for -- and they certainly are hoping and fighting hard for this -- is that it will be later than sooner.

The clock is ticking.

Dick Cheney, Rush Limbaugh are Correct - Colin Powell is no Republican.

Colin Powell is really not a Republican. First of all, like many moderate Republicans, he is a member of the GOP because he cannot tolerate some of the worst idiosyncrasies of the Democrats. Democrats are the party of compassion and sometimes it extends to bleeding-heart liberalism that offends moderates like Powell, who believe that social welfare programs should be a safety net, not a permanent condition. Liberal Democratic programs that emphasize welfare and not industry and initiative trouble these moderates and turn them into Republicans.

Answering Critics, Powell Says G.O.P. Needs Change

Mr. Powell said he hoped his party could adopt a more centrist message, one that he said was espoused by Jack Kemp, the former Republican congressman who died of cancer on May 2.

“Jack was as conservative as anybody,” Mr. Powell said. “And Jack also was a man who believed in inclusiveness, reaching out to minorities, reaching out to the poor, sharing the wealth. Which became a bad term last fall, but sharing the wealth of the country not only with the rich, but with those who are least advantaged in our society. It’s that kind of Jack Kemp Republicanism that I like, and I would like to see the party move more in that kind of a direction.”

In the GOP, Powell found a natural partnership and comfort with a party committed to recognizing the role of private capital in a democratic society, the rights of individuals to be free from government repression ranging from torture to secret spying, and the conduct of military and diplomatic affairs based on integrity and conscience. That was the party of not only Rockefeller but also Goldwater.

The Republican Party of the twenty-first century is the party of guns, god and gays. Those are not the important issues to Powell. They are tools, mechanical means of mustering votes. That is not Powell.

He is not a Republican.

Secret Baseball Story of Our Generation: Revelations About Billy Buckner's Error

There is nothing to add to this story about former-Cub-turned Red Sox  Billy Buckner and his famous error. Now it all makes sense. Photo reveals double curse in '86 by Paul Lucas, Uni Watch.

...That's right: What Hintz spotted -- and what Uni Watch and countless other researchers had missed over the years -- was that Bill Buckner was wearing a Chicago Cubs batting glove under his first baseman's mitt. (And no, that's not a Photoshop job -- it's the real deal.)

The poor Red Sox. It's bad enough they were saddled with one curse; they didn't know they were actually fighting two of them. No wonder Buckner missed that ball. He never had a chance.

And it gets better. An examination of Buckner's at-bats from that game shows that he was wearing dark Franklin gloves while hitting. So apparently he went out of his way to wear the white Cubs-branded glove in the field...

 

Consumer Watchdog Glen Loyd's Formula To Avoid Being Ripped Off

Glen Loyd, long Wisconsin's most effective consumer protection voice, is retiring from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, where he had been exercising his watchdog bark on the state payroll since 1990. Before that, he was a TV consumer reporter in Green Bay.

Under the title of "A Farewell to the ACTION MAN!" Tim Morrissey, informed by long proximity as a broadcaster in the Fox Valley, profiled Glen yesterday:

He was Mike Wallace before Mike Wallace was Mike Wallace. Glen Loyd got action. If you were doing anything remotely shady anywhere in the Fox Valley and saw Glen Loyd roll up with a camera crew, you knew it was going to be a bad day.

He could (and did) get Bart Starr out of a team meeting to talk with him. But one of the most memorable things he did was sue half a dozen of the biggest employers in Green Bay for dumping crap into the air and water. He won.

...He’s seen every scam under the sun and knows exactly how the swindlers operate. And I did enough interviews with him during my days as a news anchor to know how passionate Glen is about exposing this stuff. You can’t fake the kind of energy Glen Loyd brings to the job every day.

Glen will continue to speak out on behalf of all under-informed consumers.  Glen Loyd's Blog is a great source of links to real consumer information, scams, and the debunking of the latest weight-loss nonsense.

George Hesselberg's nice Wisconsin State Journal retirement story got Glen to boil his advice down to the nub:

Surely, over these years, he has uncovered at least one great truth to avoiding becoming the victim of a consumer swindle?

"The more I do this, the more I say trust your local business," he said.

Amen.

- Barry Orton

Twins rout White Sox 20-1. Time to Fire Ozzie Guillen

In all the commotion the past two weeks, with the Wrigley Field brick escapade and the state budget, I never got around to posting that it was time to fire Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. After Thursday's loss, Mauer hits grand slam, Twins rout White Sox 20-1 there is no time to waste.

Bartolo Colon(notes) (2-4) allowed eight runs in two innings.

“I always think positive,” Guillen said. “Colon will be real fresh for his next start.”

Guillen must go.

I never liked him as manager. When the White Sox won the World Series in 2006 2005, I felt it was in spite of Guillen, not because of him.

He represents the worst in managing. He berates his players, he is erratic and he has no clue how to work with youngsters.

I have no trouble with his ordering his pitcher to hit opposing batters, but if he could get away with it, Guillen would have them throwing at their teammates.

Wisconsin Club For Growth Talks Trash

Never content to discuss the issues, the Wisconsin Club for Growth came up with this gem on Wednesday. (If anyone can figure out a direct link, I would appreciate it.).

PROFESSOR PIMPS FOR HIGHER TAXES

In a brief appearance on Wisconsin Public Television, U.W. Applied Economics Professor Andrew Reschovsky advocated for 5 new tax increases to fix Wisconsin’s perpetually growing budget deficit.

For starters, Reschovsky wants to increase the capital gains tax which he predicts would not cause further harm to Wisconsin’s bleak employment picture....

Reschovsky would also like to increase the state income tax, because, and we're not joking, “it's a tax that's only paid by people that have jobs.” ...Yet he doesn't explain how state and local governments spending $1.3 billion a year for employee pension plans helps to educate children, or how wasting hundreds of millions of dollars on failed computer projects has helped Medicaid recipients.

Obviously these folks, taking a page out of Rush Limbaugh's play book, have no intention is contributing to the quality of public discourse.

Perhaps they would like to disclose the nature of the pension plans of their fattest wallets. It is interesting that they do not believe that public employees are entitled to a pension, especially when they took reduced pay checks to get the pension contributions.

Steve Nass Jumps the Shark

A press event was held Tuesday by a coalition of 65 Wisconsin organizations asserting that deep service cuts could destroy Wisconsin families and that increased taxes should not be ruled out. Among the sponsors were the Wisconsin Counties Association, the Wisconsin Council on Children & Families, the Institute for Wisconsin's Future, the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, ADAPT Wisconsin, League of Woman Voters of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Alliance of Cities, Disability Rights Wisconsin, the Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups, and the Wisconsin Catholic Conference. Their statement argued:

Families left jobless by the recession, people with disabilities, children, and seniors would be among those hit hardest by proposed budget cuts to state safety-net human service programs...

With so many people in need, this is the worst possible time to cut services.  Now more than ever, we must maintain the safety net and stay true to our Wisconsin values.  Many prominent economists have noted that making cuts during a recession hurts the economy even more than carefully targeted tax increases. 

“These cuts will have real consequences for our communities,” said Fond du Lac County Executive Allen Buechel. Buechel noted that because of the recession, Fond du Lac and other counties are already seeing increasing demand for FoodShare (food stamps), Medicaid, and other services for families in need. Most of these programs are funded by the state and federal government but administered by Wisconsin’s counties.

Buechel and other advocates for families, people with disabilities, children, and seniors warned that those harmful effects will only get worse if lawmakers and the governor try to balance the state’s $6.6 billion budget deficit solely by cutting state spending.

“We need to take a balanced approach that includes spending reductions and targeted revenue increases,” Buechel said. “We simply cannot cut our way out of this crisis.”

The group suggested some sources of revenue:

There are revenue options available that could generate over one billion dollars in the next years, substantially reducing the need for further cuts. The money would be raised from taxpayers with the greatest ability to pay. Options include restoring the estate tax, taxing capital gains like ordinary income, and increasing the top income tax rate by one percentage point more than Gov. Doyle proposed for households with incomes over $300,000. If these revenue options were enacted, the funds generated would almost fill the new budget hole, put people first and protect vitally important human services. 

  Once this group raised the dreaded idea that some taxes might need to be increased, the reactions were swift and of the knee-jerk reflex variety.  Typical was Republican operative Brian Fraley, writing for the WMC sock puppet MacIver Institute for Public Policy:

Especially in tough times, spending decisions must be prioritized. 'Needs' must get priority over 'wants.'  The problem with this loose affiliation of groups, now billed at over 60 organizations, is that they all would obviously prioritize their own niche need.  The only consensus displayed by this confederation is 'More, please.'

Reckless spending and questionable bonding has left Wisconsin's Budget in dire straits, just as the national economy went into the tank. Over-burdened taxpayers and people who have come to rely on government-provided human services will be hit the hardest as the Doyle Administration tires (sic) to right the economic ship after years of neglect.

Now, some of these groups may have a point about their need.

But they err when they assert that the 'tough' thing to do would be to raise taxes. The real tough thing to do would be to examine state spending and prioritize spending so that pressing, legitimate needs are met without increasing taxes.

That "increasing taxes" is the taboo that really should never be mentioned in earshot of the WMC and its allies.

Maybe that's why the event pushed Rep. Steve Nass' hot button and generated this over-the-top reaction:

  State Representative Steve Nass (R-Whitewater) reacted to a press conference orchestrated by the Wisconsin Counties Association calling for higher taxes in Wisconsin.  The Counties Association was joined by two other groups known for their support of unlimited tax increases and unchecked growth in government spending, the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families and the Institute for Wisconsin’s Future.  The groups are upset that Governor Doyle is only willing to raise taxes by nearly $3 billion.
 
     “The Wisconsin Counties Association is a group funded with taxpayer dollars and continues to use those funds to call for punishing families with all sorts of higher taxes.  Almost $3 billion in tax increases during a massive recession isn’t enough for the Counties Association.  These vultures want to squeeze every last drop of blood from the hard working people of this state,” Nass said. (emphasis added)

Vultures? The Wisconsin Counties Association, sure. But the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, ADAPT Wisconsin, League of Woman Voters of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Alliance of Cities, Disability Rights Wisconsin, the Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups, and the Wisconsin Catholic Conference? Huh?

Blood squeezing vultures? Don't vultures eat mostly carrion? Maybe Nass meant vampires. Starts with the same letter. It's always hard to tell exactly what Rep. Nass has in mind when he speaks.  Vampires, that's the ticket. The League of Woman Voters of Wisconsin are vampires.

And Nass probably wonders why his releases haven't been getting the media play they used to when his party ran the Legislature.

- Barry Orton