Wing Nut Radio Spins Both Ways

Last week, Janesville talk radio host Stan Milam reeled off a series of baffling comments poking at the Left after he repeated James Carville's Clintoneque "It's the economy stupid" quote in his newspaper column as the basis for his plead for more government interference in the private jobs sector. Afterwards, a newspaper caller forgivingly aligned Milam with the left-wing.

Sound Off (anonymous column in the Gazette)
On Milam: Although I usually don’t agree with Stan Milam’s left of center views, he’s dead on in his article about jobs. Without jobs, nothing else the government is doing is helping our country and especially our state. In fact, everything they’re doing is causing job loss. They all need to be voted out.

Can (or should) state governments afford trying to reverse the damage inflicted on the their local economies from the GOP's "Contract on America" followed by eight years of Bush tax cut wealth re-distribution voodoo economics by offering the wealthiest entities among us hundreds of millions in tax and wage concessions? So far 43 of 50 states have experienced noticeably deep job losses. Is it the state's fault? I'm not implying that something should not be done stateside. However, in Wisconsin, we had a state government and a labor union join forces to offer a global corporation over $400 million in local tax and wage concessions. And that was just one corporation! Can we afford to stay on that course? Milam and his "not left-wing" fans think we can.

Milam's Column Excerpt:
It's jobs, stupid...Although a $409 million bid for production at the Janesville plant fell short of Michigan's $1 billion bid, the exercise was used to help retain thousands of jobs related to Mercury Marine in Fond du Lac.

Milam obviously approves of deep taxpayer (government) involvement for job creation, but only to the ownership side of the so-called free markets.

Milam Show Audio: (Excerpt)
"We are going to see concerned people passionate about causes, and taking matters into their own hands trying to find some funding trying to make changes to make our life a better place…we can’t always rely on the government to solve all our problems…Now do I sound like some left-wing wimp…as they call me in the paper." -- Milam

On his radio show, Milam seemed almost shaken for being considered politically left of center by the anonymous newspaper comment.

Milam Show Audio: (Excerpt)
”I would want you to talk to some of the people I deal with before you accuse me of being a left-wing..ah, nut. I’m in support of any efforts folks want to take that allows them to take hold of situations without involving government. Because I pay taxes, and I don’t mind paying taxes for the essential things that we need, clean water, sewage treatment, decent roads and …recreational activities.

Well, THAT convinced (eyeroll) me. But what about education, health care or the environment? Apparently those are all merely trivial sideshows that can be dealt with while government coddles the corporate sector for jobs.

According to his "jobs" column in last week's Saturday Gazette (Sept. 19), Milam stated "no single issue in America trumps employment" and approved of heavy corporate tax incentive packages while completely avoiding the consequences this relationship will have on non-incentivized taxpayers. Like a politician in campaign mode, he's clearly spinning both ways.

Exactly how is the government supposed to create the demand absolutely necessary and crucial for job creation? I don't think Milam or the anonymous caller had "cash for clunkers" in mind. From their comments, they both support the re-distribution of wealth from the taxpaying masses to the wealthiest at the top, and insist government should play the interferer, decider and job maker. Milam's column referenced here was titled, "Where is the focus on jobs?" It was not directed at the business community, entrepreneurs, investment bankers, venture capitalists, honest-to-goodness developers or the free market at-large. He was pointing to government, and let's be clear - he's NOT a left-winger.

Here's stripped-threads nutism number two: The workers, under the latest definition of global economic progress, were never intended to be the recipients of the hundreds of millions in tax incentive dollars bundled together. In fact, with both GM and Mercury Marine, the workers are the ones whose wages and benefits were slashed or frozen even further, with new hires starting wages cut as much as 40%. We're promoting corporate tax incentives while simultaneously cutting worker wages. The disparity between richest and poorest Americans widened in the wake of job losses and will widen even further under these wrong-headed incentives to fabricate job gains. Do you have to be a left-wing nut to see the death spiral here? And what of the CEO's and their money managers in the meantime? They're not happy like the workers are expected to be just to have a job - instead, they'll collect performance bonuses while the flow of stockholder dividends remains uninterrupted. Obviously then, the tax credits and hand-outs were never meant to support the incidentals (demand, wages, benefits) of job creation (left-wing). They're for lining the pockets of the profit-takers. This is far gone right-wing corporatist nutism well beyond the point of no return.

Milam Show Audio: (Excerpt)
But when we start whining about every single thing that isn’t going our way, and we want government to solve it. Talk to guys like Dean (a volunteer)… For all you listeners who like to call me left-wing Louie and all that sort of thing, perhaps you hadn’t been listening.” – Milam

Just like the folks who occasionally accuse the Janesville Gazette of being a Liberal newspaper, I worry about how far to the right or confused someone must be to lovingly call Stan "left-wing Louie." You got me there, I've never felt so insulted.