Dear Governor Walker,
There was never any doubt that you would stand by your childish lemonade-stand slogan "Wisconsin, Open for Business." The only questions were what social upheavals your conservative agenda would include and for how much (was that 25 cents written in crayon?). From the moment the tort reform bill passed, many of us saw the writing on the wall. Many others were blind to the idea that you were an extremist bent on gaining power.
Along with your henchmen (other republicans such as the unimaginative and unsympathetic Leah Vukmir, business leaders, and that one guy who claims to be an independent who's only an independent if that means he's not a democrat), who are ostensibly as averse to the public as you, you have passed a series of bills that have set Wisconsin up as the next breeding ground for low wages, enormous public transportation issues, inadequate health care insurance, and far greater income, education, and racial disparity. It is clear that your administration does not represent the people of Wisconsin but only a few of the people of Wisconsin, namely you.
But one thing you have to get credit for is your plan. "The main thing businesses are calling for is government to get out of the way," you said in Mount Pleasant on Tuesday. The statement drew loud cheers according to The Journal Times.com. Congratulations, it's reassuring to know that even for lunatics on the fringe family will still show up in support. You have led the charge to withdraw government from business and turn big government into big business for you and your friends. Perhaps there is some hope in that aim, for Wisconsinites, that you'll eventually eliminate your own job.
As the "open-for-business" governor (the OFB) you have now gone all in; you've shot your wad, so to speak. Well, OFB, what are you going to do if the jobs don't return and you've only succeeded in handing over piles of cash to corporate interests who in turn have shipped more jobs to overseas markets and have provided their CEOs with huge raises?
One problem you might run into is that the working people in this country still have anti-trust laws and OSHA regulations. Those are some nagging regulations that corporations really don't like much. Corporate interests are not wed to worker safety, union rights, or lunch breaks. They want profit. Cheap labor provides profit, Mr. Walker. Now what are you going to do about our exorbitant minimum wage law? Wisconsin has a minimum wage that ensures even the lowest paid hourly worker earns a living wage. That's right in Wisconsin the minimum wage is 7 dollars (that's whole dollars not half) and 25 cents (that's a quarter of a dollar). That's 290 bucks for a full-time (40 hrs) week's worth of work, which is about 15 (fifteen) thousand dollars a year. Holy shmit! What is this China? When was the last time you earned 7.25 an hour, gov'nor, back when you were pedaling newspapers for the State Journal? You spend more than that on your daily doses of Rogaine and caffeine and that's before breakfast.
So basically anyone who works full-time at minimum wage is earning just above the federal poverty rate. And we're the wealthiest country in the world? Yikes, I'm glad were not the third wealthiest, who knows what atrocities would be taking place then.
Another sticky issue is sick days - corporations don't like paid sick days at all, OFB. Milwaukee voted overwhelmingly in favor of the paid sick day ordinance back in 2008. In another one of those 'you-told-us-so' moments (like the collective bargaining thing), you planned for that too. Your current ruling party thwarted Milwaukee's popularly voted-in referendum for businesses to provide paid sick days, thanks to the snarky Leah Vukmir (a nurse, even! Better hope never to end up in her care she'll pinch the IV, ouch). It was a legal but sneaky move overruling the populace by claiming the populace didn't know what they were voting for. Hmm... I think we did know what we were voting for on the referendum but we didn't know what we were voting for when we got you.
So with all of your aspirations in your hands, you've given yourself a bit more power this week to fill out state jobs, and to block administrative rules used to implement state laws. OFB, you're plan for Wisconsin is clear as mud now. As the state's chief megalomaniac, you plan to ensure that WI is stuck in the middle of 1870, with the exceptions of your dependence on the automobile, because that wasn't invented yet, just wait another 11 years or so, and the size of your salary. You want to save WI some money, how about working for $7.25 an hour?
OFB, you have stuck to your plan much like another politician who stuck to his plans. As that former president once said, "You work three jobs? … Uniquely American, isn't it? I mean, that is fantastic that you're doing that." And he also said, "We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe. We are a part of Europe."
Keep it up gov', and you'll live up to those bold words from G.W. when he said, "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." You'll be another great political leader in the mold of Reagan, Ford, Bush, Clinton, and Nixon (or are those five reasons why we might be screwed).
Sincerely,
Your humble and obliging servant,
Kilgore Spinoza
Showing posts with label Transportation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Transportation. Show all posts
25 May 2011
05 May 2011
The writing on the wall of Wisconsin's transportation, or the dire death of KRM
For many years, Europeans speculated about the Indian Rhinoceros. Artists, like Albrecht Duerer, drew elaborate pictures of a metal plated beast with a horn on the tip of its head and another pointing out from its shoulders. Many years after the well known Duerer wood print was circulated, travelers brought back first hand stories of the Indian Rhino. Later, in the mid 1600s an Indian Rhino was actually in gifted to England. Yet still the myth that the Indian Rhino was a beast with two horns persisted. Artists created sculptures and drawings that persistently showed the second horn between the shoulder blades years after the Indian Rhino had been well introduced to Europe and they could see that there was no second horn.
So it is that our mythology survives embedded in the inner workings of our brains. Myths are often more lifelike than reality. Gov. Walker refused $810 million in federal money that would have connected Minneapolis to Chicago via Milwaukee and Madison by rail. This would have been a bold investment in the transportation necessary for business in the future. As the j.s. reported yesterday, something all of us are familiar with, the cost of travel is rising (see Business travel costs continue to climb). Yet the myth that our cars provide the best form of travel for us persists. Gov. Walker will be seeking to expand a highway into an interstate at a cost of $1.5 billion over six years. While his budget guts the funding to public education, tax credits for poor, public transit, and state health insurance, Mr. Walker proposes to expand the archaic freeway system. While this may seem like a joke, it isn't yet. The punchline is coming.
Former Gov. Doyle had created four Regional Transportation Authorities (RTAs) that could assess a .5% sales tax to generate revenue in order to fund construction of a rail line between Kenosha and Milwaukee, called the KRM Commuter Rail. The KRM would link to the Metra in Kenosha effectively linking Milwaukee to a million jobs. The average daily ridership for the Kenosha Metra line in 2010 was over 36,000. According to Transit Now, the KRM would create up to 71,000 jobs through support of long-term development around stations, over 3560 jobs, and $425 million impact on area economy in the construction of the KRM, and provide126 jobs, and $24 mil. annual impact on economy, in KRM operations and maintenance.
The idea of having a cost effective way to travel from Milwaukee to Chicago that also created jobs, and built a reliable infrastructure for the future seemed to be a no-brainer if there ever was one. Unfortunately, Wisconsin's current leader as well as the republicans who serve him, have no brains. Now here is the punchline: On May 3rd, the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) voted 12 to 4 strictly along party lines to support the proposal to eliminate RTAs and the commuter rail.
And the reasoning behind the vote? The closest Wisconsin will probably get to a rational explanation was offered by Robin Vos, (R-Burlington), the co-Chair of the JFC. He called RTAs "undemocratic and unaccountable." Okay, thanks anyway. Does it seem a little strange that a public transportation system would be undemocratic? Isn't it more likely that it's democratic since it serves the people?
Investing in public transit creates networks for business to travel on. Traveling in cars, planes, and trucks is one of the least cost effective ways to do business. In order to add clarity to his previous statement, Mr. Vos added, "Let's finally bury this in the ground -- deep." The unified republican stance is that RTAs are wasteful, unpopular, and promote higher taxes. If that seems shortsighted, that's because it is.
The shared mythology that public transit is a drain on society contradicts the facts. Yet Wisconsin's leaders cling to it like dingleberries. Around the world, most developed nations rely on public transport systems because they seemingly understand the four pillars of a strong society: education, health care, safety, and transportation. Because of our current administration's conservative policy, we are losing a chance to be better prepared for a time when there is little oil and higher gas prices - higher than $4.30 a gallon. Gov. Walker ran on a pledge to build a strong Wisconsin for our children and our grandchildren - he seems to have fallen back on ancient myths instead.
Do you think we should be investing in rail or in new interstates? Which type of transportation is more effective, both in cost and safely delivering people to their destinations?
So it is that our mythology survives embedded in the inner workings of our brains. Myths are often more lifelike than reality. Gov. Walker refused $810 million in federal money that would have connected Minneapolis to Chicago via Milwaukee and Madison by rail. This would have been a bold investment in the transportation necessary for business in the future. As the j.s. reported yesterday, something all of us are familiar with, the cost of travel is rising (see Business travel costs continue to climb). Yet the myth that our cars provide the best form of travel for us persists. Gov. Walker will be seeking to expand a highway into an interstate at a cost of $1.5 billion over six years. While his budget guts the funding to public education, tax credits for poor, public transit, and state health insurance, Mr. Walker proposes to expand the archaic freeway system. While this may seem like a joke, it isn't yet. The punchline is coming.
Former Gov. Doyle had created four Regional Transportation Authorities (RTAs) that could assess a .5% sales tax to generate revenue in order to fund construction of a rail line between Kenosha and Milwaukee, called the KRM Commuter Rail. The KRM would link to the Metra in Kenosha effectively linking Milwaukee to a million jobs. The average daily ridership for the Kenosha Metra line in 2010 was over 36,000. According to Transit Now, the KRM would create up to 71,000 jobs through support of long-term development around stations, over 3560 jobs, and $425 million impact on area economy in the construction of the KRM, and provide126 jobs, and $24 mil. annual impact on economy, in KRM operations and maintenance.
The idea of having a cost effective way to travel from Milwaukee to Chicago that also created jobs, and built a reliable infrastructure for the future seemed to be a no-brainer if there ever was one. Unfortunately, Wisconsin's current leader as well as the republicans who serve him, have no brains. Now here is the punchline: On May 3rd, the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) voted 12 to 4 strictly along party lines to support the proposal to eliminate RTAs and the commuter rail.
And the reasoning behind the vote? The closest Wisconsin will probably get to a rational explanation was offered by Robin Vos, (R-Burlington), the co-Chair of the JFC. He called RTAs "undemocratic and unaccountable." Okay, thanks anyway. Does it seem a little strange that a public transportation system would be undemocratic? Isn't it more likely that it's democratic since it serves the people?
Investing in public transit creates networks for business to travel on. Traveling in cars, planes, and trucks is one of the least cost effective ways to do business. In order to add clarity to his previous statement, Mr. Vos added, "Let's finally bury this in the ground -- deep." The unified republican stance is that RTAs are wasteful, unpopular, and promote higher taxes. If that seems shortsighted, that's because it is.
The shared mythology that public transit is a drain on society contradicts the facts. Yet Wisconsin's leaders cling to it like dingleberries. Around the world, most developed nations rely on public transport systems because they seemingly understand the four pillars of a strong society: education, health care, safety, and transportation. Because of our current administration's conservative policy, we are losing a chance to be better prepared for a time when there is little oil and higher gas prices - higher than $4.30 a gallon. Gov. Walker ran on a pledge to build a strong Wisconsin for our children and our grandchildren - he seems to have fallen back on ancient myths instead.
Do you think we should be investing in rail or in new interstates? Which type of transportation is more effective, both in cost and safely delivering people to their destinations?
__________________________________
===========================================
On a completely different note: it came as some relief to know that not everyone was jubilant about the execution of Osama bin Laden. We have not heard the last of our violation of Pakistan's sovereignty by sending in our Navy SEALs either. That will not reflect well on our record. The key to any situation is empathy - try to imagine the tables turned.
===========================================
One last note:
Have you ever visited the Creation Museum in Kentucky? Evidently, it's unforgettable But if you can't make it, our friends at the Skeptical Monkey can take you on a virtual ride of your life. Get ready to travel back 6,000 years to the beginning of everything!
18 April 2011
We don't need no stinkin' taxes or Big deal it's only revenue; and our very 1st visit to the new #1 ranked city
So it's spread around the web faster than Tim Pawlenty's premature announcement that he's running for president. Faster than Sarah Palin can embarrass herself, which is extremely fast. Take for instance her recent: "We're flat broke, but he [Pres. Obama] thinks these solar shingles and really fast trains will magically save us. So now he's shouting 'all aboard' his bullet train to bankruptcy." If you haven't memorized this quote, you will soon since she has only said it at every stump speech over the past week. She is very fond of this sentiment and she has been announcing it over and over and ... right - (1) driving home by endless repetition, a few simple points, and using catchy slogans or war-cries - (See propaganda.)
So, what's spreading faster than smallpox in a 16th century Taino encampment? Bernie Sanders' list of 10 companies that paid no taxes in 2010. While this may constitute important news in a time of "fiscal crisis", is it really that unique or surprising? And, what's going to happen now?
The fact is that the companies on the list don't mind being listed on that list. There is very little that can or will be done to them because they have not done anything illegal and the contributions they've made to political campaigns give them added protection.
We can argue about mending the tax code and that's a good start, but the real problem is that there is no methodology in place to address the new global market. At one time, tax havens were secretive accounts hidden in humidity controlled cellars of Swiss banks. Today, tax havens are no secret. The Cayman Islands, a small three island nation in the Caribbean, is the fifth largest banking center with assets of well over $500 billion dollars as reported in William Brittain-Catlin's well written exposé, Offshore : the dark side of the global economy. According to Brittain-Catlin, a third of the world's wealth is held offshore. Half the capital in the world's stock exchanges is "parked" offshore at some point in its life.
Tax havens are no longer the places for secretive spy-like transactions from a 007 novel. They are utterly commonplace. When Mr. Obama was elected to office, he blatantly addressed the off-shore banking industry, "You've got a building in the Cayman Islands that supposedly houses 12,000 corporations," he said during a Jan. 5, 2008, debate in Manchester, N.H. "That's either the biggest building or the biggest tax scam on record." The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report detailing the business proceedings of the Ugland House, a five story quiet looking building, that houses over 18,000 registered business headquarters. The report made no recommendations but concluded, "The Internal Revenue Service has several initiatives that target offshore tax evasion, including cases involving Cayman entities, but tax evasion and crimes involving offshore entities are difficult to detect and to prosecute."
At the time, some financial analysts were initially concerned over the attention so-called "tax havens" were receiving by Obama and then British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown (cf. The Offshore Myth, Simon Brown). Since then, Gordon Brown has been replaced, and Pres. Obama has his hands full with budget cuts, three wars, and a constant barrage of accusations from the far right wing.
Since 2008, how much more money has been collected from global transactions? It's hard to know for certain but one reasonable guess could be nothing, $0. The US is having a hard enough time regulating internet transactions. Big business has nothing to worry about. So ten companies with no taxes, big deal. How many Senators pay no taxes, Issa, Kohl, Kerry, etc.
So while it is appreciated that Senator Sanders has compiled this fascinating list, it is purely didactic. Until the people stand as a united front, the economy will be run be the few. While US congressmen and women are some of the wealthiest people in the country, expect very little to change. In the interim, those of us bottom feeders ought to try to find a way to gather the scraps of the wealthy and save and invest. Money will always be able to find a home in the global plutocracy. The question is can you provide a roof and four walls for some of it?
A.M. "So you don't see very many white people in this neighborhood?"
So there it is. Next time we'll venture into the near south side and find out how Latinos answer "How many white folks you seen today?"
By the way, anybody out there need any bottles of water? Agora Metaphora has recently acquired a cooler full of 16 oz bottles of pure artesian ... partially sealed ... tap water.
Read more about the Cayman Islands:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2008/jan/09/obama-targets-cayman-islands-tax-scam/
Read about avoiding taxes (thanks to Slim Macho): http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/279-82/5637-how-to-pay-no-taxes
A brief aside that apologetically can not be passed up. While the conservative neo-cons and tea partyers are blabbering on and on about the costs of alternative energy and the abundant expenditure of high speed rail, China has opened the Beijing to Shanghai train line. The ride takes about 4 hours. That's about the same as traveling the distance from Chicago to New York in time for an early lunch meeting. Imagine getting up in the morning, boarding a train, doing business on Wall Street or the Mercantile Exchange, and returning home to the North Side or Manhattan in time for a late dinner out. That same business trip today is at minimum three days. If that isn't putting the Chinese ahead of us ...
So, what's spreading faster than smallpox in a 16th century Taino encampment? Bernie Sanders' list of 10 companies that paid no taxes in 2010. While this may constitute important news in a time of "fiscal crisis", is it really that unique or surprising? And, what's going to happen now?
The fact is that the companies on the list don't mind being listed on that list. There is very little that can or will be done to them because they have not done anything illegal and the contributions they've made to political campaigns give them added protection.
We can argue about mending the tax code and that's a good start, but the real problem is that there is no methodology in place to address the new global market. At one time, tax havens were secretive accounts hidden in humidity controlled cellars of Swiss banks. Today, tax havens are no secret. The Cayman Islands, a small three island nation in the Caribbean, is the fifth largest banking center with assets of well over $500 billion dollars as reported in William Brittain-Catlin's well written exposé, Offshore : the dark side of the global economy. According to Brittain-Catlin, a third of the world's wealth is held offshore. Half the capital in the world's stock exchanges is "parked" offshore at some point in its life.
Tax havens are no longer the places for secretive spy-like transactions from a 007 novel. They are utterly commonplace. When Mr. Obama was elected to office, he blatantly addressed the off-shore banking industry, "You've got a building in the Cayman Islands that supposedly houses 12,000 corporations," he said during a Jan. 5, 2008, debate in Manchester, N.H. "That's either the biggest building or the biggest tax scam on record." The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report detailing the business proceedings of the Ugland House, a five story quiet looking building, that houses over 18,000 registered business headquarters. The report made no recommendations but concluded, "The Internal Revenue Service has several initiatives that target offshore tax evasion, including cases involving Cayman entities, but tax evasion and crimes involving offshore entities are difficult to detect and to prosecute."
At the time, some financial analysts were initially concerned over the attention so-called "tax havens" were receiving by Obama and then British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown (cf. The Offshore Myth, Simon Brown). Since then, Gordon Brown has been replaced, and Pres. Obama has his hands full with budget cuts, three wars, and a constant barrage of accusations from the far right wing.
Since 2008, how much more money has been collected from global transactions? It's hard to know for certain but one reasonable guess could be nothing, $0. The US is having a hard enough time regulating internet transactions. Big business has nothing to worry about. So ten companies with no taxes, big deal. How many Senators pay no taxes, Issa, Kohl, Kerry, etc.
So while it is appreciated that Senator Sanders has compiled this fascinating list, it is purely didactic. Until the people stand as a united front, the economy will be run be the few. While US congressmen and women are some of the wealthiest people in the country, expect very little to change. In the interim, those of us bottom feeders ought to try to find a way to gather the scraps of the wealthy and save and invest. Money will always be able to find a home in the global plutocracy. The question is can you provide a roof and four walls for some of it?
___________________________________________________
AS promised we're off to Milwaukee, the newly crowned most segregated city in the United States today. That's right Milwaukee is finally number one at something again. For many years this was Brew town America. Today, the big breweries have gone but culture is the city's new allure. Over the next few weeks, Agora Metaphora will be busy seeking out answers to our very ordinary questions about this so-called #1 most segregated city in the country. This week we travel to the north side of Milwaukee to scrupulously ascertain the answer to this question: "How many white folks you seen today?"
Otis Wilson is an independent salesman who lives on 15th Street just north of Center Street on Milwaukee's north side. We caught up with him while he worked the street corner selling bottles of ice cold water for a buck apiece to cars waiting for the light to change.
"How many I seen today? The real question is: Have I seen a white dude here at all? Shit the only white folks I ever seen around here are cops, them election day dudes or them dudes in suits and ties preaching about Jesus or some shit like that." He laughed a real snarly gurgled laugh. "I suppose white folks ain't got a real reason to come into this neighborhood."
A.M. "So you don't see very many white people in this neighborhood?"
O.W. "What the hell any white folks want coming here. What's you? You a cop? What you pushing?
A.M. "No, no, I'm a pretend reporter."
O.W. "You lookin' thirsty, how about a water, a little H 2 O?"
So there it is. Next time we'll venture into the near south side and find out how Latinos answer "How many white folks you seen today?"
By the way, anybody out there need any bottles of water? Agora Metaphora has recently acquired a cooler full of 16 oz bottles of pure artesian ... partially sealed ... tap water.
______________________________________________________
Read more about the Cayman Islands: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08778.pdf Read more about the Cayman Islands:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2008/jan/09/obama-targets-cayman-islands-tax-scam/
Read about avoiding taxes (thanks to Slim Macho): http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/279-82/5637-how-to-pay-no-taxes
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