Paul Soglin: Waxing America

New Dane Mental Health Crisis Center: More Than the Money

In these tight economic times, County Executive Kathleen Falk is proposing a new project that makes  sense.

Falk's budget to propose mental health crisis center

A new Dane County mental health crisis center could save taxpayers and hospitals millions of dollars, county officials said in proposing the idea Friday...Falk estimates the new center would cost $595,000 a year to operate, including $95,000 in county taxes and $500,000 in federal medical assistance funds. Falk is pledging another $200,000 in federal grant dollars to build the center in collaboration with a service provider such as the Mental Health Center of Dane County, Hope Haven or Tellurian, which runs Jackson House.

The mental health crisis center is leveraged with federal funding.

Once operational it will provide immediate savings to the county and other health care providers and the families of patients.

Long term it will provide savings to all of the county, local and state agencies that deal with the consequences of untreated mental illness.

In this day of thinking only of money, let us recognize the facility's most important contribution. It will improve the quality of mental health care for patients and their families.

Government is not only about the money.

Disclosure:  I am involved with a bidder on a project for Dane County. County Executive Falk and the Dane County Board will take this matter up in the very near future.

U.S. Airways Meets United Airlines: My bad

This is how the airlines make their money and why they deserve to be hated, starting with my former favorite airline, United and my new favorite for four days U. S. Airways.

This is a tale of airfare rules and more airfare rules.

I purchased a December ticket for one of my daughters last Wednesday on an UA flight which is also used by U.S. Airways. The price was about $420 two weeks ago, but I had to wait until she firmed up her travel dates. So here is what we had; all prices are for the exact same flights on the same dates:

• Price around September 9 purchasing through United: $420
• Price September 23 purchasing through UA: $740
• Price September 23 purchasing through US Airways: $574

I purchased the UA flight through US Airways for $574. Sunday night, while working on the seating assignments for the flights, I checked the fares again:

• Price September 27 purchasing through United: $540
• Price on September 27 purchasing through US Airways: $477

I called US Airways and asked to get the fare reduced to $477.

US Airways: Mr Soglin, I do not think you want to do that since this is a nonrefundable ticket and there is a $150 charge to reissue the ticket at the lower fare.

Mr Soglin: I thought that a passenger can get a lower fare if the price declines before departure.

YUS Airways: You can Mr. Soglin, but there is the $150 fee for reissuing the ticket.

Mr Soglin: You do not need to reissue the ticket, just credit me the $97.

US Airways: I am sorry Mr. Soglin but these are the rules.

Mr Soglin: Perhaps you can waive the rule?

US Airways: I cannot; the only person who can waive the rule is the CEO*

Mr Soglin: Freaking

* How to Get Money Back When Airfares Drop

The Last Time I Wore Plaid

It is a Pierre Cardin, all wool, costing $149, and it is safe to say it was the last time I wore plaid. Note that most everyone except for George Reinke, in polyester, is wearing plaid.

Reinke, first Dane County exec, dies at 94

The transfer of the airport to the county came to symbolize the county's changing role, and Reinke will be remembered as the steward of that transition, said former Madison mayor Paul Soglin. "It was not an easy time to lead county government, and he did it very ably," Soglin said.

Gullible U.S. Journalists Fall for Tax Foundation Nonsense

Again this year the Tax Foundation, from sea to shining sea, fooled the American press. They released the 2010 State Business Tax Climate Index. 

From the Los Angeles Times,  "The state with the best overall business tax climate is South Dakota, ..." to the Sussex Countian,  Delaware's healthy business tax climate earned it a No. 8 ranking among the 50 states in the 2010 State Business Tax Climate Index the journalists republished the Tax Foundation press release accepting the premise that its ranking of taxation state-by-state reflected the quality of the business climate and that was a good thing.

First, the report is fundamentally flawed since, as we have noted numerous times:

• Taxes represent only a portion of revenues to state and local governments.  Fees are a significant source of revenues in those states that are adverse to progressive collection of revenues. That means that states like Wisconsin which are low fee, high tax states, are at a disadvantage in the study.
• The study ignores quality -how operational revenues are spent and the quality of the services provided.
• The study never looks at a comparison of total revenues, on a per capita or income basis, data that is readily available.
• California enacted Proposition 13, lowered taxes, destroyed its public education system, students by the millions dropped out, crime skyrocketed and the state is a mess.
• The study assumes that there is a correlation between its measurement of lower taxes and business climate.
• Not only does the Tax Foundation improperly measure inputs, but it fails to measure outputs.

The greatest sin of the Tax Foundation is that it misleads the reader to assume there is a correlation between business climate and quality of life.

Highlights from the tax foundation report which the journalists failed to note:

The Good: Based on a substantial review of the literature on business climate and Taxes, Wasylenko (1997) concludes that taxes do not appear to have a substantial effect on economic activity among states.

The Bad: States with flat rate (income taxes) score the best...

The Ugly: In reality, exempting groceries from the sales tax mostly benefits grocers, but not the poor...

Every newspaper publisher with a state or business editor who published the Tax Foundation silliness without at least searching for a professor, or honest expert on taxes to balance the story knows who to let go in the next round of lay offs.

For those interested, Wisconsin 'dropped' from 38th to 42nd.

Robust and Vibrant Cities: It Is About More Than Building Height

I received a thoughtful email from Matt Tucker, City of Madison Zoning Administrator on the subject of building heights which is posted below.

Before getting into a more detailed discussion about zoning and building heights, it is necessary to look at how decisions made by the federal, state and local governments impact the robust nature of a city.

Cities need to be flexible and vibrant. They need to be strong and dynamic to confront a myriad of changing problems and conditions. The decision-making process must balance environmental and economic needs, neighborhood conditions and the larger urban demands.

Balkanization of a city is undesirable.

Too often, legislation is adopted without balancing all of these requirements. Sometimes it is found in a state statute; sometimes it is the result of a deed restriction, or public referendum:

• Wisconsin adopted spending controls so when a community experienced a catastrophic disaster, even though the funds were available, the expenditures for recovery could only be made if comparable reductions were made in other services.
• A property owner places a restrictive covenant on rural land at the turn of the last century so that liquor cannot be sold. Today, that land is part of a dense urban center and is the site for a proposed office complex that includes a fancy restaurant that wishes to serve alcohol.
• The federal government adopts legislation regulating overtime and the use of compensatory time, thus depriving the municipality and the labor unions, who would both like to do something else, from making a flexible local decision.
• Voters in California adopt Proposition 13, which is followed by a series of additional laws requiring super majorities to change the present tax structure. In less than twenty years one of the finest public education systems in the United States becomes one of the worst.
•  Land use restrictions are adopted which do not take into consideration property tax revenues, environmental consequences including creating the densities needed to make public transit economically viable, as well as the need for employment centers to expand.

Zoning codes need to protect and at the same time provide flexibility for future growth and development. I fully support the basic premise of zoning such as we find in the existing ordinances. Single family homes and duplexes should have height regulations of three stories or less. There should be commercial areas serving neighborhoods with appropriate densities that do not tolerate high rise buildings.

At the same time, there needs to be areas both downtown and proximate to major transportation centers that allow for dense development.

A flexible code means discretion. In some ways, a rigid ordinance is easier to administer - with fewer judgments, there is less to debate.

More on this subject next week.

email from Matt Tucker:

Paul-  I saw the story on your blog about building heights, and I feel compelled to offer some more information.

Here is a brief summary of the height-related components of the draft zoning code:

·         The new commercial and mixed-use districts include maximum heights, with additional height permissible as a Conditional Use. 

·         Of the employment districts, the Traditional Workplace and Suburban Employment districts have maximum heights, with the others have no maximum height. 

·         The master planning requirements for places like mixed-use center and campus/institutional districts will enable a development to prescribe its own building heights as part of the master plan approval process.   

·         The Transit-oriented development overlay will also respond to heights and densities in the areas in proximity to the transit points, but the actual regulations will evolve out of the master planning for those transit stops.

·         It is envisioned that the urban/downtown districts (not drafted yet, but working in concert with the downtown plan) could be used at places other than downtown, where policy makers, neighborhoods, developers, and other folks may want to see greater focused densities in taller buildings that these districts are intended to facilitate.

The discussions surrounding building height has been of the more involved parts of this code rewrite. The draft zoning code takes a significant step away from the current regulations, where building heights are primarily tied to floor-area ratio (the ratio of lot size to building size).  With the current code, development cannot meet the FAR, so projects end up as PUD’s.  This is something we are trying to resolve as part of this code rewrite.  In some limited cases, FAR is retained, but for the most part, it has been eliminated.

The challenge with this project is finding the balance between the adopted neighborhood plans and other plans, the contemporary projects we are seeing being proposed and built as PUD’s today, and the vision we have for places to evolve or develop into what the City’s Comprehensive Plan is intended to enable.  One thing became clear with this project: a taller height requirement was needed where higher density is encouraged, and the new code also needs flexibility to exceed a height requirement, where appropriate and where a process exists for the discussion to take place.

 

As always, I appreciate the opportunity for people to talk and learn about these issues.  Thank you for bringing this issue up.

 

Matt-

Frank Lloyd Wright on Towers. and other Mile High Buildings

From Isthmus:

“You are being foolish,” said one woman, who said tall buildings had destroyed many East Coast cities. “Respect the vision of Frank Lloyd Wright and look to the future and forget the towers.”

Madison Land Use: Five Story Limit Outside of Downtown?

One of the proposals for the city of Madison zoning code includes: "...a height limit of five stories outside of the downtown area."

The new Madison should work just fine.

No clusters of densities - make sure public transit does not work.

No clusters of densities so that we maximize the investment in infrastructure, ranging from sewers and roads to public utilities and water.

No clusters of densities to make capital investment more attractive, so there are property taxes paid so that there are funds for the city's excellent human services programs.

No clusters of densities so that everything from garbage collection to snow plowing cost less, leaving more money for fire and police protection and and health and social services.

When the city council finishes declaring the flamingo the official bird, which I support, they should declare Madison a suburb and commit to rivaling the town of Middleton for sprawl, environmental inefficiency, and public waste.

Madison's new motto: Where everyone lives in the basement.

Sarah Palin: Death Squad Governor

As the Governor of the state of Alaska, Sarah Palin directed, not one, but several death squads that made life and death decisions for the people of the state.

First, for public employees, there is the state's Alaska Care Heath Plan

If you or a family member has a serious ongoing medical condition or injury, WFIS will provide a medical case manager to assist you.

A medical case manager can be helpful in times of stress, but understand that the manager is there to assist the patient in case the physician-recommended treatment is denied. The case manager is there to explain why certain preferred treatments, from the patients, and maybe their physician's viewpoint, are not approved by the state of Alaska. 

It is all part of a system, typical of every insurance plan in the United States, where cost benefits are analyzed, not just from the perspective of the patient, but also the insurer.

Secondly, Alaska retirees get the same consideration through their Heath Plan. This plan includes a Pharmacy Program which determines which drugs may be prescribed, or may require a higher co-pay if they are not on a preferred list.

Lastly, there is the same decision-making at the office of the Alaska Division of Insurance, which is responsible for regulating the hundreds of health insurance providers in the state. Every business day the companies, regulated by Palin's Director of Insurance:

• Turn down physician recommended procedures or treatments
• Turn down the prescription of physician recommended medications
• Turn down lower co-pays for physician recommended medications

Sarah Palin might have a modest measure of credibility if she had demonstrated during her tenure as governor a sincere attempt to change the fundamentals of health insurance in Alaska, which did not always allow the physician and patient desired treatment to proceed.

Wrigley Field Over Miller Park, Health Officals Need to Step In

Last week it was Miller Park, Wednesday of this week it was Wrigley Field to watch the hapless Cubs host the erratic Milwaukee Professional Baseball Club.

I sat behind home plate with high school buddy Jim Anixter and a friend of his.

By time the game was over I had met six new fans and we had a rollicking discussion about the game, our childhood and baseball, baseball in general, steroids, Bud Selig, Billy Williams, Billy Pierce, Ron Santo, Ron Santo and the Hall of Fame, our childhood neighborhoods and how we came to be Cubs or White Sox fans.

There were no Brewer fans.

That discussion was not possible at Miller Park. OK, I exaggerate, perhaps 10% of the conversation might have occurred at Miller Park.

We covered the noise at Miller Park before, artificial noise sucks. and Reflections on Today's Milwaukee Brewer Game, June 9, 2009:

The sound system will be even more offensive. The blaring stadium music and needless reminders about upcoming promotions will ruin one of the most enjoyable parts of the game. Fans will not be bale to discuss each pitch, each at bat, and the nuances of the game without difficulty. The excessive noise, and that is what it is - noise - will make the game less enjoyable.

The more I think about it, Milwaukee public health officials should step in and do some testing. If Miller Park is not already violating decibel levels, then Milwaukee officials should rewrite their noise ordinance.

Natural crowd noise and cheers are welcome. An occasional electronic blare is tolerable, but this is not a rock concert. Part of the baseball experience is discussing the game, an impossibility in Milwaukee.

Then again maybe that is part of the Selig legacy. Make sure the fans cannot discuss the quality of the Brewers pitching staff, the rapid decline of Hart and Hardy, and the two decades of steroids.

If the Cubs can fill Wrigley Field with a mediocre team that shows rare signs of brilliance without the noise, the Brewers can do the same at Miller Park.

Oh, and not once did the Cub fans attempt a wave.

Book Report: "Sundown Towns"

Maureen Dowd cogently argued that Representative Joe Wilson's (R - Old Dixie) outburst at President Obama had a significant component of racism, and then nailed the House's reaction: a party-line spanking.

When House Democrats, and a handful of Republicans, reprimanded the congressman on Tuesday evening for refusing to apologize to his colleagues for breaking the rules, it was quite a wonderful way to improve America.

It was a rare triumph for civility in a country that seems to have lost all sense of it — from music arenas to tennis courts to political gatherings to hallowed halls — and a ratification of an institution that has relied on strict codes of conduct for two centuries to prevent a breakdown of order.

“When you look at the various incidents of misbehavior all across the spectrum,” Representative James Clyburn, the highest ranking black lawmaker in Congress who had pushed for the reprimand, told me afterward, “the one place we ought to be able to say that such conduct is not acceptable and just cannot be tolerated is in America’s classroom, as I call Congress. Students are looking at us, and they ought not to be able to ever feel that such bad behavior would be condoned.”

...Former President Jimmy Carter weighed in with Brian Williams of NBC News on Tuesday: “I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man.” He said he felt that was true in the South and elsewhere.

Racism "elsewhere" is the prime focus of James Loewen's "Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of Racism." Lynchings, firebombings, murder, torture and other tools of domestic terrorism are related to the extreme patterns of housing segregation that developed in the twentieth century in most parts of the US with the enforcement of "sundown towns."

From Maine to California, thousands of communities kept out African Americans (or sometimes Chinese Americans, Jewish Americans, etc.) by force, law, or custom. These communities are sometimes called "sundown towns" because some of them posted signs at their city limits reading, typically, "N****r, Don't Let The Sun Go Down On You In ___." Some towns are still all white on purpose. Their chilling stories have been joined more recently by the many elite (and some not so elite) suburbs like Grosse Pointe, MI, or Edina, MN, that have excluded nonwhites by "kinder gentler means." When I began this research, I expected to find about 10 sundown towns in Illinois (my home state) and perhaps 50 across the country. Instead, I have found more than 440 in Illinois and thousands across the United States. This is their story; it is the first book ever written on the topic.

Based on census data, local histories, newspaper accounts, and a wealth of other data, Loewen's book concentrates on such non-Southern states as Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, and Oregon. Loewen's comprehensive website allows a reader to search any state for suspected "sundown towns and has many resources beyond those in the book.

One typical example from Wisconsin: Loewen asks readers of the web page on Fond du Lac:

My question: why did the black population of so many WI towns decline drastically beginning around 1890 or thereafter? In Fond du Lac, for example, 178 blacks in 1880 decline to 112 in 1890, 47 in 1910, 16 in 1930, and just 5 in 1940. Why? Green Bay shows a similar decline, beginning in 1910, from 45 down to 10 in 1940.
Appleton never had many but fell from 18 in 1900 to 0 by 1930.

Loewen dismisses such factors as unavailability of work, natural population decline, and non-violent social shunning, and zeros in on racially-based terrorism, which he calls "violent expulsion."

In many Illinois towns, whites expelled blacks violently or more quietly convinced them to leave, then passed formal ordinances or reached informal understandings that the community or neighborhood would be "all white."

It's a long, hard slog through some often unpleasant facts, but "Sundown Towns" is well worth reading as a backdrop to the "intensely demonstrated animosity"  that President Obama is drawing from some portions of America's populace. 

Loewen also wrote the iconic book "Lies my Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong," which also has a great interactive website.

- Barry Orton