The Janesville Gazette posted one of their typical damage control messages masquerading as a news article on the front page about the politically motivated local economic development group, the Rock County 5.0, and their newest campaign to "get the word out" about the area's "friendly" business climate.
In addition, the group would like to dispel "negative stereotypes" attached to the Janesville/Beloit area - ummm, but it's not the group's own deeply polarizing and negative red state union busting divide and conquer sponsorship that we've all come to learn about over the past several months that needs dispelling. Instead, they believe the negativity stems from the perception that the area's base was dominated by the auto industry. That's the latest excuse now - it's all a matter of how others perceive the area. In their view, what could possibly be worse for a town than to be perceived as a slice of American Pie. So they're looking to target and rob the Chicago area of a few businesses. That explains their collaboration and friendliness all so perfectly well.
JGExcerpt:
Rock County 5.0 is a public-private organization designed to build economic development collaboration, communication and connections to benefit the county. [...]The marketing and public relations campaign will “get the word out” about Rock County to business and industry decision makers in the Chicago area, Otterstein said. It will run through the summer and into early fall using print, digital media, billboards and bus wraps, for example.[...]The campaign should increase awareness about opportunities in Rock County, Otterstein said. Another goal is to dispel “negative stereotypes” attached to the Janesville/Beloit area — that its economic base was dominated by the auto industry, he said.
What should have been a simple press release by the group is spun into a professionally polished "news" article for everyday local consumption. The Gazette has to do their part of course as a loyal and true ally to their own. They write up the group's story and statements without challenge or record of their latest controversy. But why should they afterall? It's not like the group is a democratic candidate or organization, the teacher's union or some malcontent blogger. Sheesh!
Much has been made so far, rightfully I must add, of Scott Walker's outrageous discussion with Rock County 5.0 officials about using a strategy of "divide and conquer" on a constituency in the state of Wisconsin. There's still more to come in the following weeks, but there's also an equally disturbing local story unfolding that seems to be getting a free pass here in Rock County. We must keep in mind however, that local truth and justice is at the mercy of the Janesville Gazette media monopoly.
Rock County 5.0 Co-chair Hendricks greets Walker: "Any chance we'll ever get to be a completely red state and work on these unions and become a right-to-work?" Hendricks continued. "What can we do to help you?"
"Well, we're going to start in a couple weeks with our budget adjustment bill," Walker said. "The first step is we're going to deal with collective bargaining for all public employee unions, because you use divide and conquer."
Bingo is his namo.
After wishing to turn Wisconsin into a "completely red state," the co-chair of the economic group Rock County 5.0 does not say what can "I" do to help. It's what can "we" do to help. Remember, Scott Walker was not holding a personal conversation with Diane Hendricks of ABC Supply or Mary Willmer-Sheedy of M&I Bank. Hendricks and Willmer were acting and speaking in their official capacity as co-chairs of the Rock County 5.0 economic development group with cameras rolling. That's why this meeting was held in the first place.
So why is that important and what's so special about the Rock County 5.0 group? Nothing good actually, in fact I've been one of few local voices warning that the groups Rock County 5.0 and Forward Janesville are not the helping hand community organizers that they project to be. They are mainly politically driven self-interest groups whose core leadership is comprised of hyper-partisan right-wing engineers. We're in Atlas Shrugged territory here with a smattering of old world Republican pseudo-conservatives. Do they have a few members who are sincere with the community and true to themselves? Sure they do. But the group's 'community' image is highly over-rated and mostly staged through their enabler the Janesville Gazette, the Janesville Messenger and radio affiliates, and that includes much of what people will eventually see of them presented in the documentary, As Goes Janesville, no fault of the film maker.
But what should be extremely important within the context of Walker's "divide and conquer" conversation with the RC5 is the following overview statement from the group's Website. It reads...
Overview Excerpt: Rock County 5.0 is a five-year public/private initiative to advance Rock County’s economic development vision through a single voice. This vision, which has been developed through various interrelated local and/or countywide plans, represents a holistic approach to repositioning and revitalizing our economy. By working together as one community, we have the ability to leverage ideas and resources.
Rock County 5.0 will foster a culture of collaboration, open/maintain functional communication channels and create connections - among and between various constituency groups - in unprecedented ways.
So when the sitting governor of the state advances a "divide and conquer" strategy for economic development to the co-chairs of a "culture of collaboration" group, did they reject that negative language by saying something like, "in all due respect Mister Governor, we wish to advance our vision by communicating and collaborating unity between the various constituency groups. We cannot support your strategy." No, not at all. Instead, the one voice, one vision of the Rock County 5.0 nods in agreement and then in the following year donates a half million dollars to the deceitful man and his sinister plan.
Where's the outrage? Where's the condemnation?
In the first two days, the RC5 enabler Janesville Gazette constructed their own hit piece to marginalize Brad Lichtenstein, the documentary film maker who captured a piece of business as usual between Walker and RC5 officials and dared to publish it. The newspaper sees this stuff all the time locally and works hard at keeping it properly reframed, filtered, presented, or omitted - properly gazetted. Because Lichtenstein apparently did not gazette this unflattering segment, they go after his $100 donation to the Barrett campaign back in 2010 to prove his nose is crooked. Without posing questions in the story, they write up (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to the Gazette story) the film maker's comments in a grilling fashion and frame him defending the recording and release timing of the video. See, Lichtenstein is in denial. Seriously, that's how they see it. Just pay no mind to the conversation or content of the video or the hundreds of thousands donated to Scott Walker from members of the RC5 - because they're our local non-partisan economic development community group!
The Gazette also headlined a "Sides spin union remark" story to further impeach the issue as typical partisan banter and deflect away from the local Rock County 5.0 betrayal. So these folks have no shame at all. They go into defense by playing even more offense.
The Gazette also worked some damage control into the Lichtenstein article to help shield one of their own, Mary Willmer, from some of the heat created by this firestorm.
JGExcerpt:
Willmer was asked for comment today, and BMO Harris Bank, which owns M&I, responded with an email that stated Willmer was not involved in the Walker-Hendricks conversation.
“Any interpretation that Mary Willmer was involved in the conversation or endorses the content of the conversation or reflected the views of BMO Harris Bank is simply inaccurate,” according to the statement.
Although MBO Harris/M & I is a supporter of the RC5, the banks were not participating in the conversation with Walker. Willmer was not at the RC5 meeting with Walker on behalf of BMO Harris Bank. She was there acting as co-chair of the Rock County 5.0, so injecting that defense becomes an irrelevant deflection. Yet BMO Harris/M & I Bank are not entirely innocent bystanders in this matter because they continue to financially support the Rock County 5.0.
Willmer too, in the role of co-chair of the RC5 has attempted to distance herself from the conversation, but has not condemned Walker's strategy or Hendricks uber-partisan "red state" remark and neither has any cash donors or supporting allies of the group stepped forward to declare Gov. Scott Walker incompatible with their vision and core strategy.
The following is a list of Rock County 5.0's major donors and sponsoring allies. Please call or write a letter asking them to publicly condemn Gov. Scott Walker's "divide and conquer" strategy and to withdraw their support from the Rock County 5.0 group. Or explain how does Walker's polarizing and destructive strategy harmonize with the RC5's stated "culture of collaboration" and constituency goodwill? The fact is, it doesn't. They already have over a year of support under their belt for Walker, so be respectful but confident knowing that you are on the right side of history.
Investors: $50,000+ ABC Supply * Alliant Energy * The Beloit Foundation * Blackhawk Community Credit Union * Blain’s Farm and Fleet * Data Dimensions * GOEX * Hendricks Holding Company * Janesville Foundation * JP Cullen and Sons * Kerry * Prent Thermoforming * Beloit Regal
Investors: $25,000 to $49,000 Blackhawk Bank * First National Bank and Trust * Kaiser Companies * Rock Roads Companies * Stateline Community Foundation
Investors Up To $25,000 Baker Tilly * Brennan and Steil * Agrace HospiceCare * HUFCOR * Johnson Bank * Johnson Insurance * L.A. Duesterback and Associates * Murphy Desmond Lawyers * Nowlan and Mouat * RSM McGladrey * SSI Technologies * Westphal and Company
Investors: In-kind Angus Young * BDN Connection (Beloit Daily News) * Blain’s Farm and Fleet * The Janesville Gazette * LAMAR * Terry Print Solutions
Records show that Diane Hendricks, owner and chairman of the board for Beloit-based ABC Supply Co. and co-chair of the powerful self-interest group Rock County 5.0, whose tentacles reach deep into local government and media including the ownership of several state legislators, is Gov. Scott Walker’s largest individual donor.
Beloit Daily NewsExcerpt:
The donation is the single largest on record in Wisconsin for a governor’s race. The $500,000 matches the amount donated to Walker by Bob Perry of Texas, who is best known as the chief financial supporter of the Swift Boat Veterans advertising campaign deployed against Democrat John Kerry when he opposed President George W. Bush’s re-election bid in 2004.
MotherJonesExcerpt:
Diane Hendricks: Hendricks is the billionaire former head of the ABC Supply roofing company, which she took over from her husband Kenneth after he died in a construction site accident in 2007. Reportedly worth $2.2 billion, she is the richest businesswoman in Wisconsin and a big Republican Party donor. She recently gave her state's embattled Republican governor, Scott Walker, $10,000 in advance of a potential recall vote next year.
In one audio recording, the audience laughs it up when Koch tongue-twists a million (dollars) during a speech he gives to recognize "partners" who have made seven-figure donations to the Koch plutocracy machine. Among the 32 big dollar "partners" mentioned are Wisconsinites Diane Hendricks from ABC Supply and John Menard.
This is exactly what the working class is up against and why it is so difficult to defeat these wealthy fascists. 50,000 wage earning voters can struggle to give $20 each to a solid grassroots "people" cause or candidate and lose the messaging campaign to one radical, authoritarian nationalist zealot with a couple million dollars.
QUOTE:
"It isn't just your money we need. We need your energy. We need you bringing in new partners, new people. We can't do it alone. This group can't do it alone. We have to multiply ourselves. Just as to change the media we just can't have the judge. We need to clone him thousands and thousands-fold." -- Charles Koch
Protest Scott Walker with signs on public sidewalks around the Holiday Inn. The Forward Janesville dinner event starts at 5 PM (Cocktail Hour), but people are being asked to meet at 4 PM.
Where: Holiday Inn Express Hotel
3100 Wellington Pl, Janesville, WI 53546-1148 · Get Directions
When: Tues March 29, beginning at 4pm
Keynote Speaker: Governor Scott Walker
Opening the evening will be Rock County 5.0 Co-chairs, Diane Hendricks and Mary Willmer-Sheedy.
« What's this? Holiday Inn Express & Janesville Conference Center, Contact: Stan S. Jones. No political contributions have been registered from the Janesville location. However, Holiday Inn (WI) has over $5,000 registered in political contributions (none for Scott Walker). Stan Jones served on the Board of Directors for the Janesville Chamber of Commerce and several other business associations in the Janesville area. A key player in Forward Janesville.
Total Political contributions: Holiday Inn (Statewide)
REPUBLICAN $4,300
DEMOCRATIC $1,117) Source
Lot's of attention has been paid to the billionaire brothers dirty, David and Ed Koch, since Walker spilled the ideological and illogical underpinnings of his attack on Wisconsin's employed in a phone conversation he had with a reporter posing as billionaire David Koch of Koch Industries. But flying under the radar in the midst of it all is Wisconsin's very own ideologically skewed billionaire, none other than Beloit's Diane Hendricks.
JS OnlineExcerpt: (Dec. 25, 2010)
She has stepped forward as a significant figure in conservative politics - donating to Republican candidates and committees, serving on the party's national committee and speaking out publicly on her beliefs.
There's much more to it than that of course.
A Little Local History
Hendricks is the owner of ABC Supply in Beloit and has vast real estate holdings throughout the mid-west. Locally in Rock County, the wealthy Hendricks Development Group rarely makes a move towards economic development without first capturing significant tax credits, TIF surplus funds or other capital perks from the economically devastated tax base. She is a major influence in Janesville's powerful quasi-chamber of commerce, the politically active anti-labor and private for profit business group "Forward Janesville." She also serves as a co-director of the area's wealthy elite syndicate, the Rock County 5.0.
Local GOP Legislators Payback Their Masters
In addition, two of the area's newly elected Tea Party Republicans to the state's legislature, Joe Knilans and Evan Wynn, have shown their devotion and unabashed vocal support for Hendricks Koch-like cartels of Forward Janesville and the Rock County 5.0. These groups again, under the influence and financial support from Hendricks, have made a major push to transform non-partisan local and county government into a copulating banana republic run by key members of their corporate machine. Locally, they are the force that must be reckoned with if the "little" people want to take their government back.
Biggest Financier of Wisconsin Corporate Republicans
JS OnlineExcerpt:
During 2008 and 2009, Hendricks and ABC Supply contributed nearly $150,000 to Republican candidates and political organizations. That's more than double the contributions of any of Wisconsin's other eight billionaires, their spouses and their companies.
Although Hendricks donations to Walker's campaign last year might seem modest to Koch's reported $43,000, it's clear she doesn't put all her eggs in one republican's basket. No single Rock County individual comes close to Hendricks in total contributions to Wisconsin republicans. Money buys power.
Huge Paul Ryan Supporter
JS OnlineExcerpt:
She's a longtime supporter of Rep. Paul Ryan, a rising conservative star, and recently supported fellow Republican Ron Johnson in his ultimately successful Senate race - after she'd grilled him over Sunday brunch in Beloit.
These are the real owners of Rock County and in a large sense, the state of Wisconsin. With Ryan and Hendricks, south central Wisconsin has been politically and economically conquered. They've now taken their roadmap to ruin right up to the state Capitol and of course, their ideological clone and regressive puppet Scott Walker is marching to their orders.
Yet, despite the fact that nearly everyone in Ryan's district have taken major financial hits with rising unemployment and declining wages, Hendricks has done quite well with Ryan in office. The growing disparity between the rich and the poor couldn't hit home any closer than this.
Excerpt:
– Afton, Wisconsin’s Diane Hendricks, of ABC Supply Co. Inc., saw her ranking fall from 158th to 170th. Yet she found some solace in the fact her net worth grew by $100 million to $2.1 billion.
That's not enough. Rich people like the Kochs or Hendricks considers 5% annual growth in their personal wealth a devastating loss. Trust me on that.
Financed Movie Attacking Liberalism
JS OnlineExcerpt:
She's been fighting mainstream Hollywood culture by investing in movies - including "The Stoning of Soraya M.," the story of an execution in an Iranian village, and the right-of-center political comedy "An American Carol" - that deliver messages she thinks need to be heard.
The movie "American Carol" was little more than a right-wing corporate hit-job meant to mock and delegitimatize American documentary writer and director Michael Moore. It would have never been produced without the major funding coming from Hendricks. Yet, who in their right mind would financially support a movie meant to attack the character of a non-elected living person citizen in such a fictional fashion - that is - without any factual basis or biographical evidence. Except for Hendricks that is. Truly a testament to her self-righteous superiority and authoritarian character.
"People have lost what this nation was built on," Hendricks said. "I think our core values have been set aside. . . . I believe in the Constitution, the Bill of Rights. If we just go back to the basics. . . . .I do not want to give up our republic and become a socialistic ideological nation. That's not who we are."
That is right out of Glenn Beck's and Paul Ryan's political dementia. An ideological, undeclared but vicious war on progressivism, liberalism, social and economic justice, organized labor, and on the working poor and middle-classes. It is a well funded and well organized effort to wrest government away from the people and into the hands of the corporate owners.
Sycophants Genuflect
She has enough political clout to command the attention of George W. and Laura Bush when they paid a visit in late September, lunching with her and speaking to ABC Supply employees.
It should also come as no surprise that Hendricks was among the first private individuals Scott Walker paid homage to soon after he was inaugurated governor.
The Koch, Ryan, AFP Strategy Session
Soon after the Scott Walker's inauguration, the Koch brothers convened a special strategy session to coordinate the funding and direction of the conservative movement. In attendance were Paul Ryan and Diane Hendricks.
Rock NetrootsExcerpt:
ThinkProgress revealed a partial list of the attendees, including GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain, Americans for Prosperity officials like Alan Cobb, political consultant Michael Goldfarb, longtime lobbyist Nancy Pfotenhauer, and a number of donors, including Home Depot founder Ken Langone and Rock County billionaire heiress Diane Hendricks. Read more here.
Look over that cast of characters again attending that party in Cali. Koch, AFP officials, political consultants, Wisconsin billionaire Diane Hendricks and Rep. Paul Ryan. One could only safely speculate that the state of Wisconsin was at the top of their agenda.
I believe there's plenty more than just mere intuition to conclude that Diane Hendricks is holding a majority controlling interest not only in Walker's governorship, but in both of our statehouses. With the heavy financial backing and permission from Koch and Hendricks, Walker and the state's GOP have coordinated a state version of Paul Ryan's class war roadmap plan onto the citizens of Wisconsin. Of additional interest is Walker's demolition of the state department of commerce into a $200 million corporate slush fund tool for the state's wealthiest campaign contributors. Watch for Hendricks to play a significant role in that tax shifting backdoor wealth redistributive "public/private partnership."
Koch might be the name in Wisconsin's news for now simply because he is the evil outsider, but don't underestimate Hendricks future influence in the war on the middle-class. She is the real thing.
Excerpt from a Janesville Gazette article in today's edition about local lobbyist (Forward Janesville) efforts to foist a $1.5 billion interstate expansion and other business "incentives" onto the tax payers, titled "Local leaders plot roadmap to future."
JG Excerpt: (Link unavailable) ABC Supply's Diane Hendricks said that's what she's facing with one of the companies she and her late husband, Ken, started in Beloit. Hendricks has charged the company's management with growing the company as efficiently as possible, and the result will likely mean a move to Illinois, which offers more appealing incentives. "Wisconsin just doesn't compete," Hendricks said.
"It tears my guts to see the company move to Illinois, but I have to let it grow."
Apparently, wealthy businesses can't grow without government help, so the roadmap for Rock County's future leads to Illinois.
Imagine the struggles of the average small business start-up, too proud and principled to accept government aid, trying to compete against the Hendricks' of the world. As of February 2010, Illinois' unemployment stands at 11.4%. Wisconsin's 8.7%.
Ordinary citizens, working class and seniors of Rock County took another huge hit on Election Tuesday when Supervisor Jim Joiner of District 19 was defeated by Brent Fox. Fox is a key corporate member of the Hendricks Group, which was a major sponsor of the anti-democracy comedy "An American Carol" and a heavy donor to republican party candidates. Despite the private group's tremendous wealth, their right-wing tax-leveraged business development models nearly always include milking local tax treasuries under the guise of socialized risk and public/private partnerships. With the help from organized business and the local corporate media, their dominating influence is spreading unchallenged in south-central Wisconsin and can never be overstated.
Joiner's defeat has probably swung the county board's ideological pendulum in favor of the tax-shifting establishment Republicans which only means that the average local taxpayer's hope and modest fortunes are at greater risk than ever before.
I finally got the chance to see Michael Moore’s “Capitalism: A Love Story” over the Halloween weekend at the Rock Theatre (Wildwood) here in Janesville.
To my surprise, the documentary fittingly opens up with the tune “Louie, Louie” in the days of the class war cruelty that prevailed between the ruling elite and the peasants of the Roman Empire. From there, Moore takes off into the current American foreclosure crisis and weaves bits of historical facts, modern politics and human nature into a heart felt and personal cinematic experience.
Of course during the following two hours he tackles a multitude of the common misconceptions about capitalism. For instance, he accurately portrays how the practitioners of capitalism have successfully commercialized and glorified its worst attributes synonymously with personal success, God and country. He also paints establishment figures including police as nothing more than pawns and sycophants taking marching orders from the controlling big business elitists.
No doubt, Moore's enemies will label him as a irritable rabble-rouser and hypocrite simply because his documentary will likely turn a handsome profit. To the contrary, Moore gave me the impression that he loves capitalism, hence the title. He just has a problem with capitalism's single-minded and cold-blooded adherents and hi-jackers. And who could blame him?
However, he does tend to give socialism a little more credit than I think it deserves, yet at the same time he doesn’t completely take down the capital system. In a broad sense, his documentary makes a compelling argument against the perversions and greed obviously driving the money operators and other “get rich” wannabes to turn a profit.
I was disappointed in how short Congressman Paul Ryan’s role was in the film. But one thing was clear. Moore did a great job describing the importance the owners of America place on those who know how to steer the masses wrong. Ryan was one of the Wall Street pawn’s in Congress who did just that, yet was able to convince his supporters at home that he courageously voted against his principles to protect their risk. For this, his political party crowned him as a future rising star in the political arena. Ryan has slowly polished this personal gift into a quality that is highly regarded among the masters of the universe.
There is perhaps an interesting side note to the Wisconsin connection with Moore's film than just the fast talking and corporate-groomed Paul Ryan. Though Moore makes no mention of this at all, few people would connect the late billionaire Ken Hendricks of Beloit-based ABC Supply with Moore's love story. However, Hendricks was not only a heavy donor to Paul Ryan’s re-election campaigns but also was the primary sponsor of a movie parodizing Michael Moore as a modern day left-wing Ebenezer Scrooge in the forgettable dud "An American carol." This all may be just my own peculiar observation, but "Capitalism" was released one day short of exactly a year after the national debut of American Carol.
Nevertheless, Moore’s documentary is a must see for those who want to witness another confirming point of view of your worst suspicions about capitalism. It’s a respectful mixture of real life events backed up with historical evidence through the common sense eyes of the folksy idealist film maker. There certainly is a lot to chew on. I give it four stars.
BDN Excerpt: The movie, “An American Carol,” was financed by the Hendrickses, owners of Beloit's ABC Supply Co. and many other associated businesses.
“An American Carol” spoofs liberalism in America by poking fun at it's main character, American documentary maker Michael Moore, according to a press release about the film.
It’s no great secret that many Americans on both the Left and Right are thoroughly disgusted with the GOP and the Bush Administration’s take-down of liberal America. Yet this is a firm (Hendricks) that has done very well practicing some of the finer principles of America's economic liberalism despite clinging to a far-right ideology.
Instead of pulling their commercial and residential property investments up by the excesses of their own golden-laced bootstraps, multi-billion dollar Hendrick's Developments has liberally negotiated for taxpayer hand-outs to socialize the risk in many of their private business ventures. One hand-out included a $2.7 million water tower paid for by the residents of Janesville to serve the high elevation terrain needs of their planned country club homes development. Over here in Janesville and elsewhere, these are usually referred to as “public/private partnerships.” So it's odd that they would bite the hand that fuels their private enterprise.
As far as the movie is concerned, it simply can't be taken seriously. The truth is, any kind of documentary produced by the right-wing nuts in Hollywood attacking liberals are all "spoofs," unlike documentaries by the likes of Michael Moore, which are serious socio-political statements made with historical reports and real-life characters. "An American Carol" is made up of fabricated characters and plots. It's a comedy. The scenes and skits from the American Carol trailer look completely harmless if not moronic.
Entertainment value appears to be low – it’s a stinker. Zero stars.
Finally after three months of relative quiet regarding the issue, the City of Janesville finally acknowledged that the current residents of Janesville will be paying for the special water utility needs of the Hendricks sub-division. Water rates will go up again in 2008 by 5.5% for all residents to pay for a pumping station and water tower to serve the elevated terrain of the new development.
And wouldn’t you know it, they publicize it in the Gazette just two days before they will hold a rubberstamping session to finalize the water rate increase. Only city management can explain why they gave away our money to pay for this and not issue a special assessment to the responsible parties of the properties. Expensive? You bet! The water tower will cost at least $2.7 million and will amount to another tax increase we could add into our daily budgets.
But things will only get worse in the future since the water tower and pumping station will increase net plant assets and further strain the utilities desire to earn a 6% rate of return. What does it mean? Brace yourself for more increases in 2009 and 10, even if water rates themselves remain flat, all thanks to the special needs of a single developer. This is only the beginning in local tax increases.
What about schools for the sub-division? Is this tied into the expansion at Craig and Parker? And if it’s not, who will be paying for the “new” schools? If they gave away a pumping station and tower, one can only imagine what the deal is with the developers for schools. Hang on!
Throw in the Janesville School Referendum, reassessments and inflation and it’s easy to see the once affordable City of Janesville is being mismanaged into the future. But look at the bright side, this Monday, Oct, 23rd at City Hall, residents can uselessly flap their jaws in opposition to this expenditure and deaf ears will be listening. They will thank you for your comments and blindly proceed to authorize the increase. We are screwed!
The Janesville Gazette editorialized that the school board is not doing a good enough job convincing property tax payers voters of needs at the high schools. That is the crux of the problem. I think I can speak for more than a few property taxpayers here that are fed up with being the “go to” guys when schools need money. Our property taxes are plenty high where they stand and it almost seems like the minute our taxes stay flat or go down slightly, it opens a window of opportunity for reasons to spend. Many of the same people who blame the Governor for high property taxes in Wisconsin, are the same ones to gleefully pump up the bill when they’re doing the spending.
Janesville Gazette editorial excerpt: Administrators are thinking like academics when they might convince more voters if they thought like people in the business world, where capital projects are approved only after managers calculate potential returns on investments.
Why not take it a step further? Why only think like businessmen when you can be convincing them about the returns that school improvements will have upon their profits. The Gazette for example suggested “expert” engineers might be able to state that people are more productive when they work in comfortable rooms. So in the future, the Gazette and other local businesses will have an employee pool that has been appropriately schooled in comfortable rooms. How much is that worth to the Gazette’s bottom line?
Convince the Janesville Gazette (Bliss Communications) about the potential returns of say, a $100,000 investment into the school improvements. Convince home grown multi-billionaires like Ken Hendricks and Jim Fitzgerald to give a couple million dollars each to Janesville schools, afterwards they could go to bat for the district to convince others as well. Convince several medium sized businesses to raise $100,000 for the improvements. Convince Rep. Paul Ryan to earmark $5 million in Federal money not to build a bridge to the North Pole, but to invest in the education of our Janesville youth. Convince major corporations like GM, Target and Wal-Mart to invest into the training and education of their future Janesville employees. Those three should be worth at least $5 million.
Give the students and teachers $70.8 million in school improvements convincing others to risk about $10 million, isn’t asking for too much. Afterall, the school board is asking for much more from those who barely make it, day to day. I think if property taxpayers saw a direct investment from those who benefit the most from our publicly funded schools, they would vote a unanimous YES.
FJ$ (3/26/11) 
To my surprise, the documentary fittingly opens up with the tune “Louie, Louie” in the days of the class war cruelty that prevailed between the ruling elite and the peasants of the Roman Empire. From there, Moore takes off into the current American foreclosure crisis and weaves bits of historical facts, modern politics and human nature into a heart felt and personal cinematic experience.