Paul Soglin: Waxing America

He's Baack: Scott Jensen Rides to the Rescue of... Jeff Plale!

"Scooter" Jensen, former Assembly Speaker and convicted felon, free on appeal and now awaiting a new trial (relocated to GOP - friendly Waukesha), is tiptoeing back into politics. Dan Bice had the story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

...the former Republican Assembly speaker is re-emerging in political circles even though his criminal case remains unresolved.

"He's got his hand in a lot of stuff," said one Madison lobbyist who talks with the Waukesha Republican.

Starting earlier this year, Jensen became a senior adviser for government affairs for the American Federation of Children, a newly formed national organization that advocates using tax dollars for school choice programs. The group is expected to be active in some Wisconsin political races, particularly the primary contest for Sen. Jeff Plale, a Milwaukee Democrat who supports the city's voucher program.

Jensen, the Republicans' Republican, is helping Plale, a longtime Democrat?  Don't be confused. Jensen's probably helping his WMC friends keep the "Play to Plale" machine open for business. Another good reason to give Chris Larson some love.

- Barry Orton

WTF? Departing WMC Head Regrets "Extraordinary Polarization of the Political System"

In Sunday's Wisconsin State Journal, a Q & A with soon to be retired Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce president James Haney had this gut-buster:

...I’ve seen this extraordinary polarization of the political system, and it didn’t used to be that way. And I worry whether we’ve contributed to that in any way.

This notion that if you disagree with me you’re evil and you’re a vile person — that just is so offensive, and yet that’s kind of what we’ve degenerated to, and I don’t know how to fix it.

Maybe we just need to get more common sense and more camaraderie in the process. You’ve got to get the people in the middle flexing a little bit more, and saying, “We’re not going to go along with the extremes of the right or left.”

But the minute you say that, you’re (accused of being) unprincipled. We need to reach a reasonable compromise, and that’s not easy on some of these issues. But I just wish I’d been more effective in bringing people together.

Was he winking or simply having a little fun with a reporter doing a puff piece?  Knowing WMC's history, this is better deadpan comedy than Stephen Wright could ever manufacture. I laughed out loud when I read it.

One Wisconsin Now's The Duke Abides had a similar response:

Is he serious? Or has he just been totally absent from Wisconsin during the entirety of his 20+ year tenure as the head of WMC?

Mr. Haney, let me put your worries to rest. WMC has been the leader in denigrating Wisconsin’s political process, and has contributed more than any other organization to the polarization of politics here.

After laying out and linking to a series of WMC ads and campaigns that did nothing but smear, distort, demonize and fear-monger, the Duke concludes:

So what exactly is Haney talking about? Does he honestly not know the true extent of WMC’s poisoning of the well in Wisconsin? And if he’s “so worried whether they’ve contributed to [the polarization] in any way,” where was he in the run up to WMC’s launching of these campaigns? All of these worst-of moments came during Haney tenure at the head of WMC. He can’t actually be that thick, can he?

Haney has led the WMC for 25 very successful years; anyone who has ever met him knows he's not at all thick. So it must be some very dark and deadpan comedy.

- Barry Orton

WMC, Cohorts Return for Another Round of Deception

With the statewide elections less than twelve months away, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) returns touting misleading and deceptive studies. Citing a 'new study" WMC Urges Rejection of Global Warming Task Force Proposals

In the wake of a new study citing massive job and personal income loss, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce Thursday urged the Legislature to reject Wisconsin-only global warming proposals endorsed by a governor’s task force.

The "new study" is a piece of work commissioned by the Wisconsin Public Research Institute (WPRI), an organization that should know better. They commissioned the Beacon HIll Institute (BHI) to produce the Economics of Climate Change Proposal in Wisconsin which concludes:

Wisconsin will experience a negative shock to its economic well being, that given the economic damage of the proposals, may well inhibit its ability to fully recover the lost ground in the medium term.

All of which is predicated upon research and conclusions that are inadequate and misleading. To assess economic and fiscal impacts, BHI uses its copyrighted "STAMP® (State Tax Analysis Modeling Program) for Wisconsin" which is akin to being put on double-secret probation. No one knows what it is but it sounds ominous. As best as we can ascertain, it is a model not unlike the Tax Foundation's, which analyzes taxes and fees without any regard for their relationship or the truth.

A good example of the flawed methodology in the report is the section on renewable energy, Production, Capture and use of Animal Methane.

This policy recommendation focuses on increasing the capture of methane produced by farm animals in the form of decomposing waste.  The amount of captured methane would be enhanced through the use of digesters, which would speed decomposition and methane production.  The methane would be burned to produce electricity.

Targeting methane capture is a solid strategy to reduce GHG emissions, since it is considered “over 20 times more effective in trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.”30  However, the program’s cost appears to be high, since methane is typically produced through the decomposing of waste (either manure or landfill), and increasing methane production would be difficult.  The proposed digesters merely help to hasten the natural process, not create more.

Duh. Biodigesters are not about creating more methane. A biodigester is a system that more than hastens the natural process. The biodigester captures the methane rather than having it enter the atmosphere. In addition the biodigester has different strains of bacteria including those that can remove most of the sulfur which is detrimental to the use of the methane as fuel. The biodigester cleans the methane so it can be used as a fuel.

Efficiently capturing and cleaning the methane allows a farm to produce enough electricity at the rate of 25 households for every 100 cows. The economics could be better, but under present circumstances it works. The report also fails to include the economic value of the manure and the dry matter as both fertilizers and bedding. Figure a farmer can save $7,000 on bedding costs for every one hundred head. The manure applied to the fields has 90-95% of the pathogens destroyed, thus reducing the need for herbicides and pesticides.

Today's formula:   WMC + WPRI + BHI (STAMP®) = DECEPTION & MISREPRESENTATION

Mercury Marine and IAMAW - The Other Shoe(s) Drops

Unless there is an unlikely last minute switch, Mercury Marine is out of Wisconsin, as the script was written at corporate headquarters earlier this year.

Lost in all of the discussion about the contract vote by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) Local 1947 is one occasionally reported fact, but never explained, namely that there was a contract in place that runs through 2012.

When I sat down to write, I first looked at what was already published and discovered, not surprisingly, that Steve Jagler, executive director at the Milwaukee Biztimes.com had nailed it.

The real story behind Mercury Marine's labor collapse:

...The first thing to understand is the history that brought the Mercury Fond du Lac contract dispute to this point.The company signed a contract extension through 2012 for the workers in Fond du Lac only last year.

"Now, they turn around and say, 'We need a complete rewrite, from cover to cover, of the contract THEY negotiated. It's union busting," said Mike King of the IAMAW...

... "suicide offer."

"Mercury Marine never intended for this offer to be accepted," said IAMAW Midwest territory vice president Philip Gruber. "Despite progress on every major issue and a commitment by the IAM to continue bargaining, the company balked in the final hours and added terms and conditions that assured members would reject the offer … Mercury Marine has been threatening these workers and this community for weeks. Some companies may hint at dire consequences as a bargaining tactic, but rarely do we see such extortion in plain view. It's unethical, it's un-American and I respect any worker who stands up and refuses to be bullied." (emphasis added)

Mercury Marine made a decision to leave Wisconsin for cheaper labor in Oklahoma. In order to make sure that they received the minimum criticism, once they know they were gone it was easy to pin the blame on labor unions.

After all, there is already a well manged effort to define Wisconsin's business climate unfavorably because of the presence of organized labor.

Like so many others, they will learn that a well trained, union work force may be more costly, but it saves money in the long run with higher quality and the added benefit of having a higher standard of living in the community.

Now the other shoe will drop.

There are so many shoes to drop. The most obvious is to blame Governor Doyle, the legislature, and government officials in Fond du Lac.

The one that should provide the most interesting sport, is the less obvious - the attacks on Jagler as being a traitor to his class. Expect the charge to be led by guys named Belling and Sykes.

The Role of Manufacturing In a Declining Economy

Yesterday I posted a chart showing that Wisconsin's average personal income was 93.78% of the national average, Why Is Steve Prestegard Saying Those Things About Wisconsin?

Marc Eisen commented, "That chart shows how badly the state has fared during the Doyle years,"which is correct since that percentage declined during the Doyle years. When I found the original chart I examined the data for other states and thought I had spotted some trends.

It appeared that states with a high percentage of manufacturing experienced the same problem. I looked at the nine states who have the greatest percentage of manufacturing and you can see the results in the chart and table below.

Michigan is in a class by itself in terms of adverse impact. All of the other states, with three exceptions, saw declines of 2 to 5%. Iowa has a slight gain. Kentucky and Arkansas, the two states with extraordinarily low per capita income has a loss of 2% and a gain of 1% respectively over the past six years.

If we look at the twenty-year trend, Wisconsin is one of four states in the group that had an overall gain in personal income relative to the other states.

My guess is that the variables that impact these results have little to do with party affiliation of the governor or with tax policy, and has more to do with the impact of NAFTA, the types of manufacturing (just ask Michigan and the other states who were major automobile producers and suppliers), and the adoption of long range plans to grow the state's economy.

The Wisconsin voters are not going to look backward in the next gubernatorial election. My suggestion to the candidates: gather the best minds from business, labor and academia and formulate a plan not driven by ideology.

Period	Arkansas	Indiana	Iowa	Kentucky	Michigan	North Carolina	Ohio	Oregon	Wisconsin
1989	74.41	90.26	89.61	78.90	98.41	89.08	95.91	92.06	93.32
1990	74.24	89.80	89.28	79.26	97.15	88.55	96.23	92.47	92.79
1991	76.03	89.83	89.50	81.25	97.14	88.86	96.02	93.14	93.29
1992	77.73	91.29	90.31	82.36	97.53	90.35	96.20	92.24	94.38
1993	77.86	92.59	87.68	82.08	98.98	91.70	96.66	93.91	95.25
1994	78.25	93.64	91.56	82.20	102.35	92.01	97.93	94.98	96.58
1995	78.33	92.77	90.70	81.81	101.87	92.28	97.48	96.61	96.27
1996	78.29	92.53	93.16	82.13	100.54	92.33	96.47	96.79	96.27
1997	77.33	91.99	93.25	82.32	100.13	92.88	97.32	96.59	96.76
1998	76.22	92.60	91.88	82.00	100.13	92.04	96.78	95.01	97.37
1999	75.65	91.68	89.90	81.47	100.56	91.49	96.13	94.78	97.12
2000	73.46	90.91	88.98	81.79	99.02	90.69	94.51	94.14	95.73
2001	75.34	89.64	88.70	81.50	97.90	89.88	93.47	93.29	96.07
2002	75.89	90.99	91.21	82.41	98.04	89.22	94.68	93.91	97.26
2003	77.57	91.71	90.73	82.03	98.78	88.62	94.66	93.90	97.40
2004	77.81	90.42	92.69	81.57	95.27	88.79	92.79	92.53	95.62
2005	77.93	88.19	91.02	80.92	92.91	89.37	91.30	91.03	94.28
2006	77.38	86.99	88.98	80.29	89.65	87.71	89.69	91.45	93.66
2007	78.15	86.02	90.42	79.82	89.14	87.36	89.26	91.01	93.93
2008	78.65	85.79	92.27	80.06	88.80	86.64	89.33	90.45	93.87

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel headline writers working for John Gard's right-wing Wisconsin

On July 14, 2009, in the wake of the legislature adopting a new state budget, we got this story from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (MJS): Business leaders decry tax increases in state budget

I was prepared for the worst, and the lede justified my concerns:

While providing a welcome boost to high-tech entrepreneurship, Wisconsin's new budget on the whole solidifies the perception of the state as a tax-happy, business-unfriendly place, company owners and leaders of business groups say.

The carefully crafted introduction was loaded:  ...the state as a tax-happy, business-unfriendly place...

Of course it was preceded by the perception, least anyone believe that this might be the party line over at the MJS.

Critical to all of this was the source of such concerns, company owners and leaders of business groups.

I needed to know who were these key players in the state so I read on. Business owner Michael L. Hansen pulled no punches, "They've sure given a lot of people the impetus to get the hell out of here." Lots of facts, lots of data and no emotional response, just the way Hansen makes decisions at his place of business?

We learn later in the article:

Hansen, 58, moved recently from Wisconsin to Florida - because of the weather, not taxes - but still has his business interests here, and a summer home in the North Woods. Wisconsin, he said, isn't doing much to help itself foster a strong private sector.

The article is actually more balanced than the headline. 

There was the usual failure to note the distinction between taxes and fees, and what that means in terms of total revenues collected. Wisconsin, while a high tax state, is a low fee state and consequently total revenues collected from both individuals and businesses puts us in the middle of the rankings of state spending - something lost on Todd Berry and the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance - or did Berry caution the MJS and the author fail to put it in?

The remainder of the article contains perspectives from Zach Brandon from the Wisconsin Department of Commerce, Tom Still from the Wisconsin Technology Council, and even some moderate tones from Wisconsin Manufactures and Commerce (WMC).

That left only the aforementioned Hansen and John Gard to take the conversation over the edge. Gard:

 There was an assault on job creators, It sends a signal to people not to invest here."

Which leaves the rest of us wondering what was the point of the story.

What was Steve Prestegard thinking? Was he?

Political discourse based on reality offers enough fodder for argument. Some commentators, unhappy with reality, have to create myths.

Steve Prestegard did exactly that in a post Another Business Voice yesterday when he decided to enter the discussion about the role of the new Wisconsin Business Council (WBC) and the declining role of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC).

Normally I do not respond to the inane, but Prestegard made a leap so great that it is worthy of note.

For this debate the term “pro-business” needs more qualification. Soglin’s apparently preferred definition of pro-business is when government collects a relatively high level (however you define “relatively high”) of taxes and then redistributes it to business through some sort of subsidy. That could be considered to be the general policy of the current administration in Madison, and for that matter in Washington.

That is the kind of approach of the failed efforts to get General Motors to build a new small car at GM’s now-closed Janesville plant. Some call such efforts “buying jobs,” but the multiplier effect — both in terms of spending and in terms of time — of good-paying jobs should outweigh the “cost” of the subsidy. (emphasis added)

Yes, I do believe in reasonable taxation, particularly when the expenditure leads to investment in infrastructure and human capacity - education and workforce development.

Yes, I believe that in times of dire economic conditions, when the nation is on the verge of a depression, that public stimulus money can be loaned to essential failing businesses, no matter how distasteful I find the old management - and that money is to be paid back.

I do not believe in chasing smokestacks. It is inefficient and perpetuates a race to the bottom.

Communities and states are better off growing and cultivating their own local businesses through technical assistance and planning than the tax handouts and special tax breaks, which WMC demands for its members.

I oppose tax break packages as were assembled for General Motors. Always have been, always will be.

(TIF programs which are to capture new taxes are acceptable.)

But any other tax cutting packages such as Prestegard describes are unacceptable. My position on this was established forty years ago and never changed.

Which raises the question: why does Prestegard have to attribute a position to me that is contrary to everything I have said and done?

Perhaps it is the same reason he gets careless and lazy raising the old tax mantra, without taking the time to remind his readers that to properly gauge spending, one must tax into account taxes and fees:

  The Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance predicts we’ll be back in the top 10 in state and local taxes after the $1.9 billion in tax increases we’re now experiencing.

Or maybe it is because he believes everything Charlie Sykes spouts.

Wisconsin Business Council - Vos, Sykes, Belling Pound Sand, Build Democratic Party

The formation of the Wisconsin Business Council  (WBC) brought the expected reaction from the usual right-wing suspects.

On the political left we have the billy-goats who are convinced that anything that is good for business is bad for the rest of society.

Thank goodness the political right has their opposite counterparts in greater numbers and ferocity.

The right has its billy-goats like Robin Vos (R-Caledonia) who believe there are two immutable laws, akin to the Ten Commandments, given to them by a supreme being:

• To be a Republican or a conservative one must adopt their party line on business.
• By definition one cannot be a Democrat or progressive and be pro-business.

Vos, determined to lead the Republican Party marching over the cliff to extinction issued a press release yesterday,  

The Wisconsin Business Council is obviously a front group for Governor Doyle,” said State Rep. Robin Vos...

Vos, like his mentors Charlie Sykes and Mark Belling, is convinced that it is incompatible to be a friend of business and a Democrat, or be a Republican and adopt a business program independent of their narrow focus.

Vos told the Chicago Tribune

...if the group were serious it would have organized to fight parts of the recently passed budget. Those parts include higher taxes and fees that other businesses publicly opposed.

He is convince that a real pro-business agenda is against higher taxes and would not include the goals of the WBC:

economic development, infrastructure, education and workforce development, and taxes and regulation

Vos would rather destroy the Republican Party than accept reality:

• What Vos, Belling, Sykes, and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) define as pro-business is not in the best interest of the business community.
• What Vos, Belling, Sykes, and WMC define as pro-business is not in the best interest of the state of Wisconsin.
• What Vos, Belling, Sykes, and WMC define as pro-business will continue to shrink the Republican party.
• What Vos, Belling, Sykes, and WMC define as pro-business only furthers drives moderate Republican business leaders into the Democratic party.

Robin, don't stop. Guys keep it up. We love you for it.

They are so blinded by ideology and self importance that even our noting the obvious will not dissuade them from their path of self-destruction.

Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places

Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC), craving attention and affection, showed up Monday morning with a press release announcing that everyone loved them. WMC Calls for Renewed Focus on Moving Wisconsin Forward.

The self-centered and self-appointed arbiter of all things appropriate for the state of Wisconsin launched its Moving Forward program last winter, which included creating an agenda by carefully screening an invited cadre of businesses and business organizations. Labor organizations, academicians, and other community leaders (including yours truly) were asked for input, but were carefully screened out of the process that lead to the final recommendations.

Now WMC tells us the

...plan was developed with input from more than a dozen local chamber of commerce boards, 24 statewide business associations, political leaders, University of Wisconsin System leaders, vocational and technical system leaders, and other educators.

Over the past two years, in conducting my work for WMC Watch, which is designed to discredit that organization, my

...plan was developed with input from local chamber of commerce boards, statewide business associations, political leaders, labor leaders, University of Wisconsin System leaders, vocational and technical system leaders, and other educators.

I did not meet with as many chamber of commerce boards and business associations as WMC.

I am sure that my entire collection of interviewees, which included a number of WMC board members, have no more commitment to my intergalactic struggle to disarm and discredit WMC as they are committed to WMC's Moving Wisconsin Forward.

Almost as much fun as ridiculing WMC on this point is noting the credit WMC takes for the adopted state budget, where they claim: "...Recently, Governor Jim Doyle and the Legislature approved elements of the “Moving Wisconsin Forward Plan..."  As WMC was left in the dust in both last fall and spring elections they are now rushing to the front of the parade to take credit.

WMC Speaker: "cheap skilled labor" - Go to Eastern Europe. Screw Milwaukee

Every so often Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) holds a Leadership Summit to educate and guide the members on improving their business practices.

Last week they gathered at Chula Vista resort for a presentation from Rick Graber, the former Bush ambassador to the Czech Republic.

According to WisBusiness.com's Tracy Will -  Former Ambassador Graber touts Europe as positive option for state firms:

Graber told the summit that businesses will find “cheap skilled labor in already-industrialized countries.''

"They remain ripe for foreign investment," he said. The former Wisconsin Republican Party chair pinpointed Romania and Bulgaria for basic manufacturing and assembly, adding that the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary are more advanced and offer higher-skilled workers.

If that was not enough, Graber boasted: "'Among my proudest achievements were getting the Czech legislature to pass bills permitting location of missile defense radar in the Czech Republic,' Graber said, adding, 'thanks to the efforts of President George W. Bush.'"

While the rest of the state and the UAW is working to elevate the educational and training opportunities for GM and other displaced workers, retaining and growing existing Wisconsin industrial and business opportunities, WMC, as usual, is riding off in another direction.

This is the same Rick Graber who was chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party and is sometimes mentioned as candidate for governor who plans to represent US businesses who wish to do business in Eastern Europe.

He sees his experience as an opportunity to move US investments to Europe (again the YouTube link).

The future of the Republican Party - "Paul Ryan is a prime example of what the Republican Party needs."