Can Jobs Be Created Without Subsidies, Tax Credits?

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Now that the Ice Arena hockey agreement in Janesville is all but sealed, the Janesville Gazette has now turned their attention to promote the lobbying action taken by the private special interest group Forward Janesville. In Sunday's edition, they wasted no time attempting to shape public opinion with the front-page headlines and Webpage story about a small town in Iowa (Newton), who lost their single largest employer (Maytag) and somehow revived itself when they developed a regional plan apparently built on state subsidies and tax credits.

In perfect timing on Sunday, the Gazette’s little sister publication, the Janesville Messenger, also published their promotional frontpage story about the Forward Janesville's lobbying expedition to the state capital.

While just several days earlier, the Gazette also uncritically reported on Forward Janesville’s political expedition to Madison.

So what’s the connection with Newton, Iowa?

Well, last week Wednesday, the politically driven Janesville business group went up to the state capital, hat-in-hand, and unabashedly asked for self-serving tax credits from a state legislature grappling with a $5 billion deficit. The group, comprised of some of the wealthiest businessmen in the region, also expounded upon a regional concept of economic development.

JG Excerpt:
Forward Janesville Priorities:
-- Widening of Interstate 90/39 to six lanes between Madison and the state line.
-- Reforming Tax Increment Financing law.
-- Making state tax credits portable, refundable or saleable.
-- Designating Janesville as a Development Opportunity Zone, which would allow $10 million in special tax credits for job creation and capital investment.

First of all, the expansion of I-39/90 is an idea that does not belong to Forward Janesville, nor does the regional concept of economic development or TIF district reform. But what does belong to Forward Janesville is the request for $10 million in business tax credits and legislation designed to make tax credit portable and saleable enough to shift them around where they see fit. What does this mean for the average Joe? It means the working poor and middle class in Wisconsin will have to accept a greater share of the tax burden. Simply put, the wealthy don't want to pay the taxes and they own the megaphone, they’re asking for waivers. So, under the guise of job creation, Forward Janesville business heavies want to shift taxes. And that in order to pull us out of a hole, these mostly deep-pocketed individuals turn to the government first. So the Gazette uses Newton, Iowa as the first example.

JG Excerpt:
The space didn’t work for TPI, which makes massive blades for wind turbines. With $6 million in state incentives, TPI instead built a 320,000-square-foot plant nearby and employs 350 people, many of them former Maytaggers.

But could TPI have done it without the subsidies?

JG Excerpt:
Didier and Liebl shudder when asked what the local unemployment rate would be if TPI, Trinity, Iowa Telecom and Caleris hadn’t created nearly 1,000 jobs in Newton. “We say that Newton hit the lottery when we landed TPI and Trinity,” Liebl said.

Newton didn’t hit the lottery. The executives, CEO’s and shareholders of those companies are the ones who hit the jackpot with millions in government subsidies. Since they created the jobs, what did they need $6 million in state welfare for? Would those companies have expanded in Newton without Big government intervention?

Those folks, including the Gazette, Forward Janesville and all their supporters really have to take a good long look in the mirror at themselves. They can’t ask for tax breaks and government hand-outs for the few to spur economic development, take credit for the jobs, and then turn around and blame government for higher taxes and the economy.

The truth is, private business groups like Forward Janesville need to return to the basic fundamentals of American capitalism. They need to turn to their own members and lobby them for ideas, economic expansion tools and venture capital. Not the government. They need to consider banks for loans and barter between themselves and stop turning to government for all the answers.

One has to ask: Why aren’t these business folks in south-central Wisconsin hitting up on their man Paul Ryan for some dough? Why? Because Ryan already gave the special interest group a $450,000 federal hand-out for economic development and marketing. And do you know what their first major project was? You guessed it, they mashed together this junket so they could now lobby the state treasury for millions. You gotta hand it to ‘em.

I would not doubt if the WMC-connected Forward Janesville commissioned the WMC-connected Janesville Gazette to write those articles.

GM CEO Wagoner To Resign

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CNN Excerpt:
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- General Motors Chief Executive Rick Wagoner will resign as part of the federal government's plan to bail out the struggling automaker, White House and GM sources told CNN Sunday. Wagoner's departure comes the day before President Obama is expected to announce the latest details of the government's auto task force restructuring plan for GM and Chrysler LLC.

Could this eventually lead to a change in attitude towards the GM plant in Janesville?

Confused Ryan Tricked By Democrats

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Paul Ryan apparently has buyer's remorse about his vote last week in favor of a punitive tax increase on AIG employees. Or does he?

Politico Excerpt:
"Now, that I know — which I didn't at the time — that this is unconstitutional, I wouldn't have voted the same way," Ryan said during a taping of C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" on Thursday — the show is set to air on Sunday.

Ryan blames confusion about the constitutionality of the plan on Democrats for rushing the bill through the House.

Ryan argued that Democrats tried to pull a fast one on the GOP by ramming the legislation through the House under expedited procedures that required a two-thirds majority for passage, setting up the potential for Republicans to bring down the punitive measure.

But the conservative still agrees with the underlying principle behind the bill. "The message was sent that should have been sent," Ryan said.

This would have been the quote of the week...

"I voted for TARP initially because I thought we were on the brink of a crisis," Ryan said.

Until I saw this one...

"I met Paul Ryan with my AP Government class on Wednesday here in Washington. I am a democrat; however, I still voted for Paul Ryan. He is an amazing politician." -- Anonymous poster at Gazette

Good News Down To A Trickle In Janesville

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The Rock County board of supervisors continue to balance respect for the people with trust and kept the selection of the county's coroner in the hands of the voters. In a decision a little too close for comfort, the people won in a 16-12 vote.

Remarkably, the Janesville Gazette did not run a newspaper campaign against the coroner's office before the board's decision. Are pigs flying?

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The semi-pro football team Gladiators have been granted permission by the Janesville School Board to play two pre-season games at Janesville’s Monterey Stadium in May.

Unfortunately this good news seemed to be possible only after the City of Janesville literally gave away user rights to the taxpayer funded ice arena with an embarrassing 5-year contract to a private investment hockey group. By comparison, the Janesville School Board protected the interests of the taxpayers and the schools with this latest concession to allow the Gladiators use of the stadium for two events. The school board bent, but they did not break.

I’m downright giddy over the Gladiators playing in Janesville under a reasonable fair market agreement and hope to check out one of the games in May.

Gladiators at Monterey

Saturday, May 2 at 7 P.M. against Fargo-Moorehead Liberty of the Northern Power Football League.

Saturday, May 9 at 7 P.M. against the Jay County Panthers of southern Indiana, from the Grid Iron Football Alliance.

For more information, click here

Why Communities Are Cheated Out Of Earmarks

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If you’ve been reading my blog for some time now, you’ll remember how I discovered the economic punishment and job disincentives Rep. Paul Ryan has been dishing out on his district. Doing some simple math and fiscal reasoning while researching appropriation figures at Fedspending, it turned out the amounts Ryan shortchanged his district over the past three years have been staggering.

Beginning in 2005 and running into 2007 (2008 figures not available yet) Ryan has shorted his district by nearly $1 billion a year for a total of over $3 billion!! This figure was arrived as a weighted average of all congressional districts in Wisconsin and clearly shows a precipitous drop differential of federal funds appropriated by Ryan after 2004. The result? Ryan’s district is now in shambles. It now boasts two of the top three areas in the state for unemployment and things are only beginning to get worse.

As a citizen blogger, I have always been an advocate for smartly written and responsible federal earmarks while simultaneously opposing most state and local (property tax inflating) originated hand-outs. Here in Janesville, the city has several non-emergency public works projects on the books that many residents have opposed. Two of them, a new city bus service garage and a pedestrian tunnel have met strong local resistance and have been described as frivolous spending.

A couple years ago, people laughed when I suggested that if the bus garage isn't built in Janesville, President Bush would gladly build it in Baghdad. Still others scoffed with rage at the idea that if Janesville doesn't petition for the tunnel dollars now, the money will be spent in some other town or state. Nonsense they said, these must be the words of a crazed tax-n-spend welfare pushing democrat.

Ron Paul Excerpt: (March 16, 2009)
The total level of spending is determined by the Congressional leadership and the appropriators before any Member has a chance to offer any amendments. Members’ requests are simply recommendations to allocate parts of that spending for certain items in that members’ district or state. If funds are not designated, they revert to non-designated spending controlled by bureaucrats in the executive branch. In other words, when a designation request makes it into the budget, it subtracts funds out of what is available to the executive branch and bureaucrats in various departments, and targets it for projects that the people and their representatives request in their districts. If a congressman does not submit funding requests for his district the money is simply spent elsewhere. To eliminate all earmarks would be to further consolidate power in the already dominant executive branch and not save a penny.

That is where most of our district's federal (mis)allocated dollars have gone.

By cutting off his own district, Ryan made sure George W. Bush had a surplus to buy political capital and feed his war profiteers. For this, Ryan is rewarded. He has now been anointed as the Republican Party's rising star, lord and savior.

AP Fact Checks Obama With Crystal Ball

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Page 6B of Wednesday's Janesville Gazette Sports Section (Nation/World News is at the back of the sports section), contained a shortened article by the Associated Press titled, Fact Check: Obama having it both ways on economy?

JG Excerpt:
THE CLAIM: "We will recover from this recession. But it will take time, it will take patience, and it will take an understanding that when we all work together, when each of us looks beyond our own short-term interests to the wider set of obligations we have to each other, that's when we succeed."

The AP went on to debunk that with....."No one really knows when the recession will end."

These I assume are professional journalists who get paid with real money to put this kind of garbage together.

They say if you can't make it in America - you can't make it anywhere.

Wisconsin Communities On The Road To Recovery

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Sen. Feingold Excerpt:
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Feingold announced today that the 96 Wisconsin housing authorities that received over $26 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), also known as the economic stimulus, can now begin spending the money to improve and modernize public housing facilities.

View list of Wisconsin housing and community grants here.

Janesville City Council “Shovel-Ready” On April 7th

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More highlights from the Janesville City Council/Hockey proposal fiasco last night.

JG Excerpt:
Voskuil suggested that Wisconsin Hockey Partners pay for some of the needed capital improvements. “I’m not sure it’s fair to ask me or my partners to fix that,” he said. “That’s a 35-year-old building,” he said. It’s a community facility that needs improvement, he said.

It’s not a community facility any more, bub. When you sign that contract, you’ve agreed to become the primary user with rights that allow you to deny community use.

JG Excerpt:
“That would be for us, like, buying an old house that has a leaky roof, crumbling foundations and windows that are 80 years old. I don’t know why we would do that.”

But that’s exactly what you agreed to. You’ve agreed to play in the facility “as it is.” You have found the condition of the “old barn” acceptable enough to play a junior hockey team in. If something breaks and the city can’t afford repairs or won’t – what’s it worth to YOU to fix. Or does everyone just walk away?

Council member Voskuil raised several good questions that eventually went to waste. She (and others) accepted those answers from McCoshen and then betrayed her duty to the city by voting “Yes.” In retrospect, I don't know why she asked them in the first place. Voskuil also seemed less offended by the contract than she was of some users of the ice arena when they referred to a room in the facility as a “party” room. She then injected semantics by suggesting it's best described as a “community” room.

JG Excerpt:
Council members asked why the city should forego office rent if the team loses money, per the contract. McDonald said the team would get a break if it doesn’t do well but the city wouldn’t reap better benefits if the team succeeds. He asked for 10 percent of the gross profits from ticket and beer sales.

The Gazette described McCoshen's response as follows.

JG Excerpt:
McCoshen said it is unclear how profitable the team will be. He said he has been talking to the corporations that would sponsor the team. He said he’s had some good luck but also has been met with hesitation.

That wasn’t how McCoshen answered the profit sharing question. His response was……

”You’re applying a standard to us that doesn’t apply to any business in town”

A standard that doesn’t apply? You mean like if your business doesn’t do so well, we’ll waive the rent? No matter, McDonald voted for the agreement, beer sales and all and then turns around and implies his vote now might not reflect his vote on the liquor commission for the beer license? If McDonald had any problems with the beer, he should've voted "no" on this contract now.

With this group in city hall, I'm surprised McCoshen wasn't lobbying to build a new ice rink at this time, because after all, what does he care? It's not on his dime.

Janesville Council Sells Out Taxpayers - Share In WHP Losses

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Well, it wasn’t unanimous, so I can’t post my city council rubber stamp graphic hoisting a beer to cheer on the council, but nevertheless, the damage is done. Absent from the Monday night's council meeting were members Amy Loasching and George Brunner. No matter, the Janesville City council basically glad handed the Wisconsin Hockey Partners and awarded them primary control of the city’s ice arena.

At first, several council members seemed apprehensive but eventually asked some very good questions of the WHP spokesman Bill McCoshen, but it was too late. Anything McCoshen said in consideration of their questions is unenforceable, unless of course it was entered into the contract - which they were not. At one point, Councilman McDonald created an opportunity to negotiate a binding change in the agreement during the meeting of which Councilman Steeber suggested was inappropriate during an open meeting. Councilman Yuri Rashkin seemed upset that other members were scrutinizing the contract at all, and accused them of attempting to "micro-manage" the agreement.

Although the entire contract is a complete sham and a disgrace to city taxpayers and the public interest, this particular passage received some attention, even from council members who normally have no qualms about throwing tax dollars to private enterprise.

Contract Excerpt Excerpt:
6.RENTAL RATES

4)WHP agrees to pay a monthly rental fee of Three Hundred Fifty Dollars ($350)for the exclusive use of non-ice facilities, to include the office, locker room area(to include restroom and showers), and storage space. If the average attendance (total games played divided by total attendance) falls below six hundred (600)fans per game, the City agrees to waive the office rental fees.

In defense of that contract provision, McCoshen said, "if it doesn't work out, we're asking the city council to waive that rental for that period of time, but the rent would kick in as soon as we start making money." Wow, how many renters get kissed with that kind of luck?

Of honorable mention here were several residents who spoke out against the agreement including three candidates for city council. Bill McCoy expressed concerns about the contract, the rent provisions and the cost of future repairs. Write-in candidate Julie Backenkeller opposed the proposal and felt the contract was seriously flawed and absent of reasonable sharing between the city and the WHP. Frank Perrotto also was fundamentally opposed to the agreement including the alcohol sales. He felt the the proposal was shortsighted regarding repairs and future use of the ice arena. Strangely missing from speaking on this issue was city hall activist and council candidate K. Andeah Briarmoon.

In the end, Bill Truman got it right and was the only council member to defend the taxpayers and maintain the Ice Arena as a public-use facility. Council member George Brunner is up for re-election and should make his position known on the ice arena. Same with the rest of the challengers.

Invest In Public Use Facility - Not Corporatism

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Saturday's Janesville Gazette was the last big push by the newspaper before the Janesville city council takes action tonight on the Ice Arena proposal. The paper contained two articles and an editorial about the arena apparently designed to soothe taxpayers on the maintenance repairs and cost, and garner support for the hockey team lease agreement.

The Janesville City manager also believes future repair costs at the arena could be brought down by capturing stimulus dollars from the federal Recovery Act.

JG Editorial Excerpt:
He also suggests the city might save local tax dollars by tapping federal stimulus money to replace the Freon system because of likely energy savings.

That is questionable.

Reuters Excerpt:
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money, to be distributed through federal, state and regional agencies, is meant to create jobs and help complete local transportation and public safety projects.

Believe it or not folks, the bicycle tunnel that some folks in Janesville are opposed to, qualifies for federal dollars under the recovery stimulus act. It is a public works project, shovel ready, transportation related and has safety as its primary purpose. I would agree that it is not at the top of Janesville’s priorities, but that shouldn't be an excuse not to bring the capital injection into Janesville. We'll be paying the same federal stimulus tax dollars, with or without the tunnel. The Jackson Street bridge is another qualifying project, except it's not shovel-ready believe it or not.

But we can't say the same thing for the Ice Arena, especially if the city council approves of the agreement with the Wisconsin Hockey Partners. It might be a tough sell as it is as a recreational facility to qualify for stimulus funds. The President has warned against using recovery money for amenities such as parks or to pay down old debt. By approving the lease agreement with the WHP, the city will relinquish primary control of the facility, changing the end-use from public to private. It would be a safe guess here that the Obama Administration would probably frown upon funneling tax dollars into Ice Arena improvements to benefit a for-profit primary user. The taxpayers relationship with the arena will be nothing more than serving as a proxy for the WHP, draining subsidy dollars for brick and mortar operations, while the end-user keeps the profits.

Tonight, the Janesville City Council is expected to take action on the Ice Arena proposal. I encourage residents to re-think their position on the bicycle tunnel and direct their attention towards the Ice Arena and demand the city council not surrender control of this public-use facility.

Hockey Proposal Privatizes Profits - Socializes Losses

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After reading Saturday's Janesville Gazette, I'm convinced that if the Ice Arena isn't turned into a high-tech community convention center, taxpayers should invest the necessary dollars to keep the facility as a public-use ice arena. And I say public-use because if the WHP get their way and the city council ignores the majority of the resident's on this issue, the facility will no longer be for the public. The city manager is recommending that the WHP be given primary control of use to over-ride all others, and that means it's no longer a public facility. This is wrong.

It turns out over 26 groups and at least 3,000 people use the Janesville Ice Arena, far more than I thought. Which actually means that more members of the community will lose out if the WHP takes control. You just can't occupy the same space at the same time. The hockey group can say they will work with all user groups, but if push comes to shove, the smaller user groups lose out - the contract says so. I don't want my tax dollars paying for that, but that's not even close to the heart of my opposition.

The main sell-out points of the contract
Page 10 is the Contract Index.

The City grants WHP the exclusive right to sell and keep all revenue from the sales of admission tickets, team merchandise, advertising space and novelties (Page 13)

The City grants WHP the privilege to sell and keep all revenue from the sales of alcoholic beverages allowed in a Class B license. (Page 14)

JYHA must provide reasonable and consistent customer service to the satisfaction of WHP and the City.(Page 15)

The city is charging the team ($440) for each exhibition or game event. Monthly rental stands at $350 a month.(Page 16)

Can I get permission to bend over? So, after the drive to give away the ice arena is nearly over, this is the bottom line...

Hockey Proposal Page 3:
If the Junior team came to the City it would reduce the property tax subsidy by approximately $15,000 to $20,000 (all other factors remaining stable.)

I didn't put that in bold, the city did. They are willing to hand over a taxpayer funded public-use facility for the grand prize of a subsidy reduction, from $85,000 to $70,000. You've got to be kidding! I would rather pay the taxes.

There's something wrong here. Our city administration should be defending taxpayers full control and use of our public assets. Relinquishing those rights should come at a far higher premium than what the administration has put together. Taxpayers should not be viewed as the opposition. Whether or not this agreement is approved almost doesn't matter at this point. As a taxpaying resident of Janesville, I find this contract not only insulting, but an embarrassment of our city officials. Things have got to change. An election is coming up.

I've written extensively in opposition of turning the public facility over to the for-profit hockey group during the past couple of months and little if anything has changed contractually with the Janesville city/hockey team proposal. Yet, I'm not the only one who thinks this is a bad deal for Janesville interests. The Gazette ran a Web Poll on the issue.

Excerpt:
Would you support a hockey team in Janesville?

Response Percent Votes
Yes........26%... 496
No.......73%... 1,348
1844 total votes

Of course the question should have been “Would you renovate the ice arena using tax dollars to pad the expenses of a private business venture in Janesville? But the Gazette poll is good enough for me. I'm convinced.

Yet, some council members will say they got 10 emails in favor and two against the hockey team deal, so that’s what really matters. If the council approves of this proposal, they should just be honest and tell the truth, "We really don't care what you or anyone thinks or wants, it's our way or the highway."

If a group of private individuals think starting up a Junior A hockey team in Janesville is a good thing – that’s good. I don't blame the WHP for this at all - I say bring it on. But legislating the taxpayers to carry their water while they are the only ones drinking from the trough is privatizing profits and socializing losses - it's corporate welfare in its most insidious form - and I am against it.

But it's up to the city council to decide.

Read previous commentary and opinion on City/Hockey proposal below.

Can Deal Pass The Swap Test?

Council Buys More Time With Hockey Proposal.

Information Short On Details
NOTE: This was written before city posted contract on the Web.

WHP Group a Republican Tool?

Reversal of Pursuit Is Key To Council Rubber Stamp.

Council Okays Beer and Tax Giv-away For Junior Hockey.

Getting Snow-Jobbed At The Ice Arena.

Will Hockey Group Skate Right In?

Upcoming Election Held During Spring Break

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Our local spring election will fall during the week of Janesville's school spring break, a time for some families to gather up the kids and head out of town for that first big dust-off of the winter doldrums. Do not despair.

Registered Janesville residents who are unable to go to the polls on Election Day may request an absentee ballot at the Clerk-Treasurers office in the Janesville Municipal Building. The City Clerk-Treasurer's Office is located on the main floor.

Early voting (Absentee) ballots are available now!

Janesville Clerk-Treasurer Office
Office Hours: 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday
Location: Municipal Building, 18 N. Jackson Street, main floor
Telephone: (608) 755-3070

Residents who wish to check the status of their voting eligibility may visit Voter Public Access.

Read more details about where and when to vote in Janesville here.

87 Republicans Placed On Suicide Watch?

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In a 328-93 roll call today, the House passed legislation for a 'recovery' tax on AIG employee bonuses and other firms bailed out by taxpayers. 87 Republicans and 6 Democrats voted against the measure. F.James Sensenbrenner was the lone congressman from Wisconsin to vote 'no.'

The 93 congressmen who voted to allow AIG employees to keep their bonuses should resign or commit suicide. Rhetorically speaking of course.

Story from Politico.com.

Rip Rap

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GM CEO Rick Wagoner is not overly optimistic about the future of the factory in Janesville.

Question: When will they build affordable cars everybody wants? And where? Obama should make sure that American companies receiving a taxpayer bailout who survive the Bush economy understand they were rescued to provide jobs for American labor – not for foreign labor.

But we know what will happen. The GOP will cry Socialism, they’ll say Democrats are beholden to union labor and instead should let the free markets dictate where to build cars. The Big 3 will then open new factories outside the US and the GOP will spin around and say Obama and the Democrats let them do it with weak provisions inserted into the bailout agreement. It never fails. Solution: Stop listening to Republicans.

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Elite liberal media gives Conservative President George W. Bush a seven-year ten-month free pass, Liberal Democrat Obama Gets Two months.

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Phony outrage from GOPers

Republicans are taking every opportunity to put the blame in the AIG bonus controversy on Democrats and the White House, saying Democrats, "went out of their way to protect those bonuses." However, in 2007, those same Republicans were very much against meddling in executive pay when Democrats pushed a bill that was called the Shareholder Vote on Executive Compensation Act.

That bill would have given shareholders in public companies the right to a nonbinding vote on executive compensation. The U.S. taxpayer now has an 80% stake in AIG. At the time, the Bush White House threatened to veto the bill as unnecessary. Ryan, Sennenbrenner and Petri voted against it. It never received a vote in the Senate.

Obama too, also caved in to advice from Republicans and Wall Street insiders like Tim Geithner about the executive pay bonuses. They said companies couldn't retain top "talent" without it and government dictating wages is socialism. He knew the bonuses were part of the deal. Time to 'fess up and stop taking advice from Republicans.

Obviously there is a huge problem with Wall Street and the employee bonus contracts. If you have a team of .400 hitters blasting 50 homers each, you shouldn't need to be bailed out. And if you have a starting line-up of .150 hitters on a bankrupt team, they shouldn't be getting bonuses.

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Quote Of The Week
"The key word here is activist (trouble maker). Also known as hypocrite.” – Activist blog poster (over 800 comments) at the Gazette Webpage

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Primed and Tuned GOP
Sen. Charles Grassley(R) thinks top earners of the GOP base should resign or kill themselves.

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Vote 'YES' or commit suicide

The House is scheduled to vote on a bill that would levy a 90 percent tax on bonuses paid to employees at companies that have received at least $5 billion in government bailout money.

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Do you know where your food comes from?

Excerpt:
Farmers continue to work harder than ever. Each American farmer feeds 144 people. Agriculture is needed to help sustain our local and national economy.

A city the size of Janesville needs about 430 farmers to feed it.

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Fox wages War against American Labor

Excerpt:
No matter how many times it’s been debunked, the Fox hosts keep repeating the falsehood that workers will no longer have access to a secret ballot under EFCA. The legislation does not eliminate the secret ballot. The bill would simply allow workers to choose whether to have a majority sign-up or a normal election process. And as American Rights At Work points out, a secret ballot is no guarantee to a fair election. Under current rules, union organizers do not have equal access to voters, the right to free speech, funding and resources equal to employers, or the ability to bring about elections in a timely manner.

Big Pipes Not So Big Afterall

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After all the projects the city of Janesville has toyed with over the years, ranging from new public swimming pools to underpass tunnels to skate parks to bridge repair to you-name-it, one would think the respective city departments would have been ordered to prepare preliminary and historical reports for future reference.

As more information trickles out about the city’s lack of shovel-ready projects to claim a piece of the nation's economic stimulus pie, now comes word that the water supply to a large section of some of the newer residential growth areas in Janesville is inadequate. The city is requesting another water tower be built to service those customers.

It was only two years ago when the Janesville Administration ramrodded Janesville’s first water tower through the council for the far northwest quadrant of the city. That tower was needed to service the Hendricks country club residential development's higher altitude and special terrain conditions. The city, no doubt at the request of the owner/developer, opted to socialize the expense of this impact on the backs of all Janesville water users by burying the $2.7 million cost into our water bills. The PSC rubberstamped their approval.

Back then, I suggested that special needs of encumbered private land should come at the expense of the landowner, that beyond the normal trenching and laying of water pipes and sewer, the water tower should have been paid for through a special assessment on each parcel it is designed to serve – much like sidewalks. Many disagreed. The same can be said today for the water tower now proposed for the northeast corner.

JG Excerpt:
Dan Lynch of the water department said everything north of Interstate 90/39 experiences low water pressure even when a small water main breaks. A tower is needed regardless of city growth, he said.

Granted, this development is now established, but should that exclude it from the fiscal burden of it's current reality (low pressure) resulting from developer error? Whether it is a matter of poor planning, inadequate infrastructure or a lack of growth impact fees and charges on all of these new developments, once again the City Administration will socialize the losses incurred and all Janesville water users will be made to foot the bill.

The views posted on this web page are the independent perspective and opinion of the author.

Have Republicans Declared War In Wisconsin?

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Since Barack Obama was elected President, it does seem that the Republican Party started right where they left off when they tore into Bill Clinton and demonized the Democratic Party in the 90’s. The hostile partisanship and negative atmosphere has reached new heights in Wisconsin, including the Rock County area. As soon as former Governor Tommy Thompson quipped, “The whole thing is blue! Wisconsin is the bluest of the blue,” local GOPers began scrambling to plan offensives into border-line sympathetic and vulnerable communities. More and more I’m beginning to see evidence of this in Rock County and more specifically, in Janesville.

Aside from the national economic devastation ushered in by the Bush era, two major “adjustments” have taken place right here in southern Wisconsin. With the closing of the Janesville GM plant and a general malaise among the local union faithful, Republicans are sensing a gain by subtraction and are making inroads into local government. Coupled with a strong media accomplice in the Janesville Gazette, several GOP ‘partisan’ candidates for the Janesville school board and city council are campaigning unhindered of the usual reporting that seemed to follow other candidates in past elections.

In January, the Janesville City Council endorsed the legislative agenda of Forward Janesville, a politically active right-tilt special interest group. Another GOP operative, Bill McCoshen, is leading a delegation of investors in a junior hockey team into gaining full billboard and advertising rights at the Janesville Ice Arena, a taxpayer funded facility.

On the regional scene, the GOP’s “anointed one” Rep.Paul Ryan and his rattlin’ caravan of ragtag misfits rolled into Milwaukee two weeks ago in what appeared to be an attempt to rewrite history and the blame for our economic mess. Organized by the radicalized group Americans for Prosperity, Ryan and “Joe the plumber” headlined the nightmarish speaking engagement ripping into RNC chairman Michael Steele and John McCain while demanding a recall of Gov. Jim Doyle and denouncing President Obama, among other anti-American rhetoric.

Joining Ryan and the ‘plumber’ in one of the largest clogs of local Right-wingnuts, pseudo-conservatives and anti-intellects were Supreme Court candidate Randy Koschnick, J.B Van Hollen, Scott Walker, Wall Street Journal writer Steve Moore and Rep. F.James Sensenbrenner among others.

Admittedly, this is a tough call to make on the effectiveness of the latest volleys thrown by the geepers as most of it seems like dysfunctional scatter shot in pursuit of a solution to what ails them - not the country. Still, while Democrats are tending to the nation's problems handed down from the previous President and Congress, we shouldn't wait for the smoke to clear before taking action. By then it could be too late. Particularly at the local levels.

Special Note: The group 'Americans For Prosperity' joined with the Young Professionals of Milwaukee to have a 'We hope the country fails' pre-Summit Happy Hour.

Can City’s Hockey Deal Pass The Swap Test?

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With all the commotion in Janesville over a venture capitalist group gaining the inside track to a taxpayer built and operated facility for a junior hockey team, would the owners of a privately owned and operated indoor ice arena offer the same contract to the city?

For starters, nobody is stopping the hockey investment group from coming to Janesville and setting up shop for business. The WHP are at will to do as they please. We have several local banks who would probably be glad to give them a commercial loan for whatever amount they need. They can build their own hockey facility and pay all the utility bills, maintenance and property taxes on it like everyone else – the hockey group shouldn’t let anyone stop them from doing this.

With any luck, the City Of Janesville can then rent the new facility from the hockey investment group for school youth hockey and skate nights at a cost of $450 per event. Of course the City can keep all the admissions, concessions and dollars paid for billboards and advertising as per contract. The arena owners could prepare the contract at their own expense and act as the city's agent in the deal. The owners could also put the city’s logo under the ice and keep the parking lot clear of snow in the winter. The city wouldn't need to rent the office space so we could save on the monthly rent. With that, the city could save over $35,000 a year in subsidies paid to the current Ice Arena. We could let someone else worry about the ice and all the other bills. Why not? This is almost the same deal the city administration has been spending taxpayer funded hours on preparing to agree to with now. It's just as fair - we can call it a public/private partnership.

What to do with the current ice arena? That's easy. Since we would no longer need the ice, the city could decommission the ice-making system and leave the concrete intact. Then upgrade the arena with a new roof and some video and audio electronics for a lot less than the $1.5 million they claim it will need anyways in a few years, and turn the place into a multi-purpose community and business-use convention center. This is something the city does not have but will desperately need in the coming years in order to sell itself for economic development.

Of course, don't bet on any of this to happen. There is no way the local elites would allow city taxpayers to own and operate such a unique and profitable facility.

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Saturday's Gazette contained an article about the 52nd annual Mid-West Blind Bowlers Tournament held at the RiversEdge Bowl on South River Street in Janesville.

JG Excerpt:
The Janesville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau estimated that the three-day event will result in $110,250 being spent at Janesville restaurants, hotels and retailers.

This little piece of information buried in what otherwise was a good article about the event wouldn’t be some sly but still cheesy attempt to sway public opinion in favor of socializing the losses involved in supporting a private investment group’s hockey venture into Janesville – now would it?

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Surprise - Surprise!!

Janesville Veto Not Meant For Janesville

Backenkeller Announces Write-In Candidacy

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* From Julie Backenkeller *

Yesterday, I filed papers with the City Clerk to run for Janesville City Council as a write-in. In the next two years, the Council will be making decisions on our zoning ordinances, and that will affect our working lands. After last Monday night's Council decisions concerning our Comp Plan, and the manner in which the current Council ignored pleas from landowners, the general public, even a letter from Governor Doyle's Office, from the Secretary of Agriculture, I believe it is time for a change!

Please support me, as there is less than three weeks to the election.

EARLY VOTING STARTS ON MARCH 17TH AT THE MUNICIPAL BUILDING!

Thank you,
Julie Backenkeller

Traditional Media Stand With Their Allies

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Saturday's Gazette contained an editorial (actually two editorials), praising Sen. Feingold and Rep. Ryan for sponsoring executive branch powers legislation giving the president the onus to veto congressional earmarks.

The editorials were standard issue of we’ve come to expect from the Gazette on federal spending. The Janesville newspaper always attempts to portray itself as a staunch supporter of fiscal conservatism and wasteful spending. But they're never true to the cause they think they project.

Excerpt:
Sure, many earmarks have merit. For example, the omnibus bill includes $950,000 to support worker retraining at Janesville’s Blackhawk Technical College.

Yeah...sure. We were against earmarks, before we were for them. Nothing speaks hypocrisy squared louder than this brand of phony conservatism. Make no mistake, they want their earmarks, but they also know when an opening comes to grandstand the issue against a Democratic President and the majority holding Congress.

In an op-ed posted in the Journal Times, Rep.Paul Ryan had this to say about the earmark process.

Journal Times Excerpt:
Earmarks aren’t inherently problematic, but when you have former members of Congress in jail for selling earmarks, there's something seriously wrong with the process.

The process? That’s like blaming the banking system when a bank robber gets caught. To the contrary, there’s something seriously wrong with members of congress when they wind up in jail over earmarks.

And then we have the pure garbage written by the AP headlining the Janesville Gazette on Thursday. Headline read, ”Earmarks Speak Volumes” with the sub-title, “President stands with his allies when it comes to pet projects.” Never mind that the “pet projects” happen to be the entire country at a very crucial time in history. The writer then places the President of the United States in a subservient role to a few highly partisan congressmen.

AP Excerpt:
WASHINGTON—In proposing only modest changes in how lawmakers finance their pet projects, President Barack Obama tossed aside a golden opportunity to work with Sen. John McCain.

To the contrary, McCain, Ryan and their Republican colleagues snubbed the President and squandered a golden opportunity to work with him. The country is burning and they're tearing down the President over a few pork barrel projects congress wrote. They're busy obstructing a President who has been in office for only 50 days and criticizing the Democrats' stimulus plans that are aimed at trying to bring the country out of Bush's country killing recession.

I applaud President Obama for remaining focused with the task at hand and pressing on with the $787 billion Economic Recovery and Re-Investment Act. The $7.7 billion charging up over 8,570 projects spread over nearly every congressional district in the country is the best use and smartest way to inject capital into our public works system with fast-acting job stimulus. Although these so-called “earmarks” are no guarantee that every district in the country will see a recovery, this is a good time to call your congressman and ask specifically, if they are aware of any poverty and joblessness in their district an earmark can help. To not write well-intentioned and fiscally responsible earmarks just to prove some phony ideological point is the highest degree of neglect of congressional duty.

Ryan Wins Another Sham Award

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As reported in Tuesday's Janesville Gazette, Congressman Paul Ryan won yet another award. This time he received the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Award for Manufacturing Legislative Excellence. Now, if you're familiar with NAM, you’d realize that their ideal vision of a manufacturing facility and business model would be located in Communist China.

To their credit, not one House Democrat won the award. Most scored 30% or less on the NAM scorecard, with only a handful scoring above that but less than 50%. Nearly every Republican won the award, with very few exceptions.

The award-winning Ryan has consistently voted to deregulate the workplace environment, obstruct OSHA rules, and essentially support a manufacturing model that has led to the spiraling down of American worker protections, wages and benefits.

It is no wonder why Ryan continues to claim his concerns remain focused on retirees, workers, and families in Southern Wisconsin. After voting to deleverage their skillset and value, I too would be extremely concerned for all American workers.

July, 2007 - Ryan wins Spirit of Enterprise Award after voting 100% of the time for business interests.

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March 11, 2009
Janesville manufacturer plans to close its operation here and eliminate 148 jobs - will transfer the plant’s production to other facilities in Mexico and Hungary.

The Janesville Gazette titles article Bourns becomes latest victim of automotive industry.

Sustainability Not Part Of Janesville’s Future

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The topic headlining the Janesville city council meeting Monday night was the action taken by the council to endorse the city’s deeply flawed growth plan, dubbed the Comprehensive Plan.

Those who spoke in favor of protecting the farmland or giving the plan more thought included a fourth-generation diary farmer, a 50 year-old-mom farmer, a couple who ran to the municipal building after watching the council meeting proceed on JATV and Julie Backenkeller from the Rock Environmental Network, among several others. Those who spoke in favor of urban sprawl were primarily builders and developers who by describing themselves as "the bad guys," tended to paint themselves into a sympathetic corner. Defenders of the plan also worked the disingenuous argument that "no one is forcing farmers to give up their land" in their favor.

Also in attendance at the meeting were most of the challengers running for city council in next month's election. Challengers Potter, Briarmoon, Straasburg and McCoy asked the council to forgo a vote today in order to give the growth plan more thought and time consideration. Only one challenger, Frank Perrotto, was fully satisfied with the plan and encouraged the council to endorse it as soon as possible.

But before the public speaking session began on the plan, the city administration presented a short list of changes they recommended to supposedly fix the document, after hearing opposition at the last meeting. Although most of the changes were minor, there appeared to be little effort to inform the general public of these proposed changes, nor was any public hearing held for their consideration. Nevertheless, the council considered each amendment and voted on them accordingly. Some passed, some failed.

Near the end of this amendment procedure and just before the main vote on the plan, Councilman Tom McDonald proposed that plan provisions recommended by the Janesville Sustainability Committee be considered and made supplementary to the Comprehensive Plan. Several council members pointedly spoke out against McDonald’s motion using the argument that the general public did not have a chance to view the sustainability committee’s proposition. This coming immediately after voting on a chain of amendments few folks except the administration knew would be presented. McDonald's motion in favor of adding sustainability considerations to the growth plan was killed.

Residents who care about the future of farmland and the sustainability of Janesville's economic growth need to remember that only Loasching and McDonald voted for removing the Urban Reserve Area from the plan. (Loasching is not running for re-election) And most importantly, McDonald also was the only council member to vote in favor of giving the plan more time to develop.

I don’t known how many times I heard several council members describe how important it is that the Comprehensive Plan maintain flexibility for future councils to consider any necessary changes. A laughable request when you consider the source.

Comprehensive Plan Needs Change Now - Not Later

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Judging by the comments made at the Janesville city council candidate forum hosted by the League of Women Voters held at the Hedberg Library, all three council incumbents, Steeber, Brunner and Truman appeared to be leaning in favor of the Comprehensive Growth Plan drawn up by the City Administration. The common theme expressed was that they were satisfied with the plan, that it can always be amended and changed at any time. Their responses were in actuality an acknowledgment that they have some doubts about the plan, that something is wrong.

Yet, to deviate from the plan like they apparently suggest, would require a 'no' vote on an annexation request at some point down the line - to which I recall THEY NEVER DID (or extremely rare) IN THE PAST. Once the plan gets rubber stamped, the administration rehearses the recommendation, "request to annex the parcel is consistent with the comprehensive growth plan" phrase. The plan then not only becomes the reason to grant annexation, but it also becomes the excuse to.

Also, to change the document in midstream would not only disenfranchise most of the parties involved, the plan could lose all credibility and no longer be relied upon as an official guideline.

Endorsing this plan now, eight months before it is due, and then thinking about it later would be a disservice to all those who contributed to its contents.

Reminiscing About Farmland In The Year 2105

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SON: “Hey Pop, a friend of mine said Janesville at one time was surrounded by some of the most fertile topsoil and farmland not only in the country – but in the world! I laughed, but no one else thought it was funny. What gives?”

POP: “Well son, your friend is right. A long time ago Janesville was surrounded by the finest farmland on Earth.”

SON: “So what happened to it?”

POP: “Academics, landowners, speculators and Janesville city officials all simultaneously thought the land could be better utilized by paving over it with concrete, asphalt and homes.”

SON: "But that happened way back in the 19th century, when they probably didn’t know any better, right?”

POP: “No. It began sometime in the middle of the 20th century, but the warning signs didn't show up until around 2010.“

SON: “But that must have been a time when they didn’t know about the rare quality of the soil, sustainability issues or carbon footprints, right pop?

POP: “Wrong son. They knew all of that plus more. They had all the data. They just chose to ignore it and go with obsolete trend patterns. Everybody else was doing it. "Economic development and growth" was the magic term. Sprawling out in the name of economic development – except very few other cities had what Janesville had.”

SON: “So, it could have happened by accident, and then others added to it and only made the mistake larger, right?”

POP: “Wrong again, Son. The city actually worked for years on this and documented 25-year-long plans to annex the farmland and develop it and even made efforts to oppose ruralization.”

SON: “OK, but you never explained what would make the people do this, pop?”

POP: “Some folks thought there was something in the water that dumb-downed the people or made them passive and compliant. But my grandfather told me it was caused by greedy landowners and developers and a city government that sought total control."

SON: “But wasn’t there over-development and infrastructure problems, and a housing glut back then?”

POP: "There sure was. But perhaps the worst part of all of this was the city’s philosophy on growth. They felt the best way to utilize the farmland was to fit as many homes on it as they can, primarily for tax purposes. The city opposed rural development and open land sprawl as inefficient use. They felt it best to urbanize it as densely as possible with homes and commercial developments – at the same time the inner city was becoming increasingly fragmented by bulldozing homes, and thinning the density by creating greenbelts."

SON: “Will any good ever come out of this?”

POP: “Well there could be a silver lining. Someday, they might bulldoze all those homes and rip out the streets and sidewalks and greenbelt it.”

SON: "But why would they do that, pop?”

POP: "Progress my son – progress."

Statement from Janesville's Comprehensive Growth Plan Overview:
The plan does not advocate for preventing development in the City as a viable strategy to preserve agricultural land….

Line-Item Veto A Trap For Obama?

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Here we go again. Joining Sen. Russ Feingold and Rep. Paul Ryan on the "Janesville Veto" is Sen. John McCain. The "Janesville Veto" if you recall, was originally written two years ago to allow the president to cherry pick spending items attached to broader bills, then send those items back to Congress in a separate basket to be voted on again. If Congress did nothing, the extracted earmarks would fall back into the original bill which the president previously approved. Basically it's a giant spinning wheel when it's not used as a political weapon by the president.

Just consider the percentage of earmarks in the $787 billion stimulus bill as an example to see what all the commotion is about regarding a presidential line-item veto.

Yelp Excerpt:
Nonpartisan Taxpayers for Common Sense estimates the legislation contains 8,570 disclosed earmarks worth $7.7 billion.

I'm not trying to make light of $7.7 billion, but that is less than 1 percent of the bill. Yet if we assume 10% of the earmarks can be defined as real pork, we're down to 1/10th of 1 percent. If any private business enterprise lost only 1/10th of 1 percent of their capital assets to theft, inventory shrinkage, accounting errors or just bonuses executives don't deserve, they would be celebrating. Wal-Mart wish they had it so easy. Congress must take responsibility for what they appropriate and pork writers need to be identified. Even with the line-item veto, chasing down less than 1% in debatable wasteful spending seems like an exercise in futility.

So, it's easy to see why some politicians and taxpayer groups make something out of almost nothing. Simply because it affords them a vehicle to grow a desired perception.

But I’m still miffed why someone as smart as Sen. Russ Feingold would continue to support such a political charade that will only hand additional powers to the executive branch. There are plenty of issues our senator could engage Republicans on, if that's the goal, but handing more power to the office of president – any president – shouldn’t be one of them. Ryan and his helpers think otherwise.

JG Excerpt:
Sweeney said the Janesville line-item veto passed the House in 2006 but stalled in the Senate. He said it was difficult to pass a bill that would give power to a very unpopular president, George W. Bush. But with a new president, along with an ailing economy and concerns about rampaging government spending, the bill has a better chance, Sweeney said hopefully.

Par for the course from the Janesville Gazette, this wasn't in quotes, but it is double-bad. To even imply that such veto powers might be more appropriate for one president and not the other stinks to high heaven. But Sweeney is a Ryan aide. He knows the game.

Comprehensive Plan Grows A Poor Future

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The most pressing issue facing the future of the city of Janesville, even more than the discussion of what to do with the empty GM plant, is the debate raging over the city’s one and only comprehensive growth plan.

The same old growth plan of the past has been rehashed and is being defended by old world academics schooled in peer comparisons, obsolete trends, active redundancy and “walking dead” growth economics built on a pro-sprawl template, against a group of brave new rethinkers with growth values prioritized on current realities, best use sustainability, re-investment targets and infrastructure efficiencies.

Over the past several decades, the paving over and development of some of the deepest and richest topsoil surrounding Janesville has not only come at the expense of a blighted and skeletonized inner city, it has come at a cost considered nothing less than generational theft. While the current state of the economy has slowed the pave-over pace of the farmland, if only for the moment, the comprehensive plan as it stands guarantees a return consistent to old world economics in a local environment that has seen breathtaking change accelerate in just the last few months.

Endorsing this plan simply because we spent two years collecting information and involving unprecedented public input is a poor reason if we allow ourselves to be limited to a single growth template. By endorsing this one plan, future generations won’t even know what was stolen from them. By endorsing this one plan, we will have let the next ten months go to waste. By endorsing this plan, city council members and other plan supporters are basically saying they believe little has changed around Janesville since 1920.

By endorsing this plan, city officials will renew their power to confiscate the inheritance of future generations and hand it over to venture capitalists. This plan empowers developers to salt some of the finest soil on Earth with concrete and asphalt for the next twenty-five years.

Fortunately, there is still time to acquire fresh data and reload into different growth templates. Now is the time to take inventory and index best use priorities in the new economy. Eight months is plenty of time to craft and present the plans so community representatives can better choose the right one to propel Janesville into the forefront of a new living economy.

On Monday, March 9th, the Janesville City Council will be voting on the deeply flawed Comprehensive Plan. If endorsed, this plan will set Janesville on a irreversible course to gobble up the last of the best farmland in the United States.

This one choice is no choice – it must be rejected.

Democrat Scolded For Fiscal Conservatism

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The GOP, once thought to be the party of conservatism, demonstrate here why their fiscal position had more to do with partisanship and less to do with conservatism.

Wausau Daily Herald Excerpt:
Local Republicans and other residents have in recent days questioned why Obey, D-Wausau, the architect of the House version of the stimulus package, did not bring more money back to his home state.

Since when have Republicans become concerned about congressmen bringing home NOT enough bacon to their constituents? I guess since he's a democrat. Yet, Congressmen Paul Ryan has cut his district off from billions in economic stimulus dollars over the past three years and they reward him with another two years.

Using their own scale of fiscal conservatism, Obey would win the CAGW Taxpayer Hero Award.