Political Heat

Homicide rates increase in Milwaukee, decrease in Chicago. A couple of months ago I wrote a post about growing violence in the state of Wisconsin after a controversial concealed carry law was passed. While it isn’t clear whether the concealed carry law itself contributed to the rise in crime, it is clear that the promises made -- including some that insisted crime would decrease as a result of the law -- were false. Indeed, when Gov. Scott Walker signed the law in late 2011, he said that : By signing concealed carry into law, we are making Wisconsin safer for all responsible, law abiding citizens. In the year that followed, violent crime increased by 18 percent per 100,000 citizens in Wisconsin . The homicide rate on its own increased by 26 percent in 2012. In Milwaukee, the number of murders also increased from 2011 to 2012, albeit at a smaller rate change. Homicides in the city increased by more than six percent in the year after concealed carry was passed in the state. ...

Today I introduce a new segment...a weekly commentary. Today I speak on Freedom of Speech and the controversy over Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson.   Audio recording >>

Effective tax rates, already somewhat regressive, would flip overwhelmingly in favor of the wealthy while burdening families with lower incomes Gov. Scott Walker is all about cutting taxes...except when it comes to the poor. For the poor, he’s all about raising them. Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy, 2013 Early on in his term, Gov. Walker proposed and passed a budget that included a cut in the Earned Income Tax Credit. The budget that passed into law reduced the amount that Wisconsin’s working and middle class families could claim, effectively raising taxes on Wisconsinites who qualified for the credit . For a two-parent household with three children earning $40,000 annually , for example, the cut to the EITC implemented by Walker effectively raised their taxes by about 1.3 percent . Overall, the tax credit was reduced by $56.2 million in the 2011 budget. This week, Walker introduced a new “reform” idea for the state of Wisconsin: possibly eliminating the income ...

Governor's dishonesty based on the assumption that our collective memories are erased I’ve said it before, but it continues to be a problem, so I’ll say it again and again until it sticks: People need to wake up to the fact that Gov. Scott Walker thinks we’re all suckers. Speaking on whether or not he will run for re-election, Walker talked briefly about criticisms he had regarding his potential challenger, Democratic candidate for governor Mary Burke. “There are some questions even about Trek and whether or not jobs were sent overseas,” Walker said. “And then as secretary of Commerce under Jim Doyle … those policies when she was part of the administration saw the state losing 133,000 jobs.” Several on the left have already brought up their reservations about Burke’s record at Trek. Burke has defended her record, saying that the company employs more than 1,000 workers in Wisconsin, more than any other bike company in the country. But those parts of Walker’s comments ...

Increasing aid, growing the minimum wage, and restoring the EITC could help improve the jobs situation in Wisconsin The campaign for the governor’s race is heating up, and Mary Burke, the only declared candidate from the Democratic Party’s side, is taking heat from the right on some of her policy positions. From the Journal Sentinel : In recent days, the GOP stepped up attacks on Burke for entering the race without a jobs plan. Burke’s response? “It will be an important part of my campaign,” she says, adding that her jobs plan will be “one that is well thought out and one that I will implement as governor.” I personally have no doubt that Burke will come up with a jobs plan that will be competitive with current Gov. Scott Walker’s. Indeed, the Republicans who are critical of Burke ought to transfer at least some of that criticism towards their own ranks, as job growth has actually slowed significantly under Walker’s watch. It might behoove Burke to consider some progressive...

A quick rant on the need for reasonable gun regulations in our state and our country One year after the most horrific of nightmares became reality for a sleepy New England town, little if anything has been done to address the events of the Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Twenty children and six school administrators were killed that day, for no apparent reason. What went through the shooter’s mind that day -- addressing him by name serves no grand purpose -- remains a mystery. He and only he knows why he did what he did, and that secret has been taken to his grave. It isn’t fair to those children, it isn’t fair to those families, what this man took from them. So much potential, so much promise...gone in an instant. There is no happy ending to this story. Few (if any) can imagine what a happy ending could even look like, what any resolution could bring for these people. Families from across America held onto their little ones a little tighter that night,...

Friends of Scott Walker fire Taylor Palmisano...three years after racist remarks, one weekend after embarrassing email A senior staffer from Gov. Scott Walker’s electoral campaign has been fired for racist remarks she made against Hispanic individuals. Taylor Palmisano, who up to this week was serving as deputy finance director for Friends of Scott Walker (the official campaign arm of Gov. Walker), made derogatory (and violent) statements about individuals who were near her at the time. Gov. Scott Walker / Taylor Palmisano “ I will choke that illegal mex in the library ,” reads one tweet . “ Stop banging ****ing chairs around and turn off your Walkman .” Another tweet, again making reference to the documentation status of the people around her, echoed similar lines of intolerance. “ This bus is my worst ****ing nightmare ,” it read. “ Nobody speaks English & these ppl dont know how to control their kids ” The second tweet included the hashtags “ #only3morehours ” ...

Simple economic theory explains why Minnesota is miles ahead of Wisconsin on job creation Job numbers from BLS, First quarter 2013 QCEW Job creation is spurred by one simple concept: demand . A job will be created when it’s necessary to have, when doing so is beneficial to the person who owns or runs a business. Demand itself is driven by a strong consumer class. When people are able to purchase a particular good, the demand for that good increases. Production needs to go up to keep up with that demand. When the need for production goes up, the need for labor rises, and with that (and the capital created from the purchases of goods) a job can be created. Some have argued that tax cuts for businesses will help create jobs. On a small level, this can help : small businesses that have enough demand for a product can use these tax breaks to create work if they lack capital. But on their own, tax cuts for corporations do not spur job growth . What is needed is a growth in capi...

Second quarter 2013's numbers demonstrate a 40 percent slowdown compared to Doyle The finer points: Latest job numbers show WI produced less than 2,000 jobs per month Comparing Walker's job numbers (to former Gov. Jim Doyle's) demonstrates a dramatic shift and a slower pace in job creation Wisconsin’s latest quarterly employment data was recently released, and the results aren’t good. For the second quarter of this year (PDF), the state saw a yearly growth (from June 2012 to June 2013) of 23,968 jobs, or less than two thousand jobs created per month . While growth of any kind is good, the numbers represent a painful slowdown for the state . For comparison, Wisconsin saw 37,959 jobs in the previous year (June 2011 to June 2012) and 39,909 jobs in the year before that (June 2010 to June 2011). That 39,909 jobs number from June 2010 to 2011 comes from the last year of Gov. Jim Doyle’s final budget. Comparing Gov. Doyle’s totals to current Gov. Scott Walker’s c...

M urder rates increase in spite of promises of lower crime The finer points: One year after concealed carry passed, Wisconsin's murder rates increased by more than 26 percent (from 2011 to 2012) Murder rates involving guns increased by more than 34 percent Last week, I discussed at great lengths how murder and crime rates in general had gone up in Wisconsin , despite 2012 being the first full year of concealed carrying licenses being granted to citizens. It was once posited by pro-carry Wisconsinites in the lead-up to the bill being signed into law in 2011 that concealed carry would make the state safer. Indeed, Gov. Scott Walker himself said that , “By signing concealed carry into law, we are making Wisconsin safer for all responsible, law abiding citizens.” And while one year of evidence shouldn’t determine definitively whether the law succeeded in reaching those ends or not, the first year has nevertheless shown some worrisome trends. From 2011 to 2012 many thin...

Data not definitive, but is the state heading in the wrong direction? The finer points: Wisconsin's murder rate shoots up from 2011 to 2012 Gun advocates previous claims of concealed carry making us safer comes into question On November 1, 2011, Wisconsin officially became the 49th state to legalize concealed carry. That means that the year 2012 was the first full year that concealed carry was the law in Wisconsin, where citizens could legally, with a permit, carry guns and other weapons on their persons. Prior to the concealed carry law being enacted, I wrote a blog post on the necessity of stronger regulations, specifically to the training that goes into obtaining a license: An argument often made in the gun debate is that more guns make people safer. While the evidence suggests that, at the very least, gun ownership doesn't equate violence, it's tough to assume guns necessarily make us safer on their own. These guns are heavily regulated, whether conceal...

Veterans deserve our utmost respect and appreciation. They deserve thunderous applause, standing ovations, and more for what they’ve done. They are given this day of commemoration to recognize their valor -- but a day isn’t enough. Veterans deserve our praise on this and every day of the calendar year. You’ve likely read many status updates, Facebook “shares” and Twitter “retweets” regarding this year’s Veterans Day. These sentiments deserve to be spread as far as they can go across the net, for without the sacrifices given selflessly by our servicemembers, we could not enjoy the many freedoms and benefits that we hold today. Criticism of how our society functions, its role in our lives, and our nation’s role in global activities will undoubtedly continue. Those criticisms deserve to be heard, and should righteously be made. There are wars and events we don’t necessarily need to intervene in militarily, and it is our duty as citizens to debate the merits of our involvement in c...

Race-based mascot names should be discussed openly, whether 1,000 or just 1 believes so Acts of racism and discrimination don’t require anyone’s approval for them to be racist and discriminatory. Yet, the Republican-led State Senate just passed a law that would require signatures totaling 10 percent of a school’s enrollment to begin the process of determining whether a mascot name is offensive .

Debate is good, but opposition based on false premises and biases leads to more problems The finer points: Candidates deserve scrutiny, no matter who they are. But candidate bashing without context won't net a positive impact. Weighing the benefits/imperfections of a candidate is worth pursuing; but "put-downs" will only serve the interests of opponents to progressive ideals. For the past few weeks, I’ve witnessed several sites and other media outlets taking part in criticisms against Democratic candidate for governor Mary Burke. And most of them have come from a strange source: the progressive wing of the Democratic Party itself , who worry about Burke’s credentials as a liberal. These criticisms have perplexed me, and I have often engaged those who have made such statements to explain themselves a bit more. I won’t go into the details, of who said what and so forth -- it doesn’t really matter. It’s wrong to expect everyone to accept Burke as the de facto ...

Murder rates indicate Chicago is a safer city than several other cities The finer points: Chicago is not the “murder capital” of the country Many other metropolitan areas, with looser gun laws, have much higher murder rates than Chicago Gun advocates are wrong to correlate murders with restrictions on gun ownership Several media outlets have recently dubbed Chicago the newest “murder capital of the U.S.” after it surpassed New York as having the most murders in the nation this past year. Many have used this new moniker as justification to blast Chicago’s strict gun laws . They ask, how can the “murder capital” defend laws that aren’t preventing violence? Their prescription: strip the regulations on guns , and crime will decrease. To gun rights advocates, the city provides stark evidence that even some of the toughest restrictions fail to make places safer. “The gun laws in Chicago only restrict the law-abiding citizens and they’ve essentially made the citizens prey,” ...

Polling answers suggest a progressive turn for Wisconsin is possible The latest Marquette Law School poll shows that Gov. Scott Walker is vulnerable. When matched up against declared candidate Mary Burke, as well as undeclared (but likely) candidate Kathleen Vinehout, the polling suggests that Walker may be in for the political fight of his life come next fall.

Criticism of "no promises" pledge shortsighted I have to correct myself on a blog post I made last week. I stated that the “No promises” pledge made by Democratic candidate for governor Mary Burke was a bad strategy. I stand by the idea that making no promises during the campaign may be perplexing. But I must correct myself a bit, and admit an error in my reasoning from the original post.

More than three-quarters of members responding throw their support behind her Progressives United , a liberal advocacy group founded by former Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold, has officially backed Mary Burk e for the 2014 race for governor. “She will work tirelessly to restore the progressive traditions of Wisconsin, create good paying jobs for Wisconsinites, and end the nasty politics of division that have become Scott Walker's trademark,” executive director Cole Leystra said . The endorsement is significant because Burke is considered to be a moderate by the left, and criticized by the right as being “too wealthy” (and thus, out of touch) to run. Perhaps hoping to quell those accusations, the organization asked its members directly whether they should support Burke or not. According to the group, more than 75 percent said they wanted to back her in 2014 , without waiting for a possible primary challenge. Progressives United’s vision statement reads : “Realizing a tru...

EDIT: a Correction to this post has been made. Please view the latest I have written on this topic here . Burke campaign offers few clues on what she'd do as governor Now that Mary Burke has tossed her hat in the race for governor, her campaign is understandably facing some criticism. This is to be expected. Every candidate, for every office ever run for, has strategic choices to make. Not everyone is going to agree with those choices, and it creates a debate on how best to win the office for that candidate...or whether that candidate is the right person to run for office in the first place.

Proposal fiscally irresponsible, politically motivated, barely helpful Gov. Scott Walker unveiled a new plan late last week to give property tax cuts to homeowners across the state. The plan would create $100 million in tax cuts. On its face, it sounds like a pretty large sum of cash. Broken down further, however, and it amounts to less than a tank of gas for property owners over two years’ time . Taxpayers would receive an average of $13 the first year in breaks, and $20 in the second year. Much of the first year’s savings would be essentially erased, however, due to the fact that property taxes were expected to go up on average $11 for the typical homeowner anyway. Plans to enact the tax cut would also damage the state’s already troubled economic picture . If these tax cuts and other work training programs are signed into law, the state’s projected shortfall in the next budget would increase by about $180 million . It's likely that the property tax cut proposed by Go...

Editorial by Walker misleads and lies to its audience Gov. Scott Walker recently penned an op-ed to the Washington Post titled, “ What Wisconsin can teach Washington .” In it, Walker describes the calamitous state he supposedly inherited, and how he improved things (in his own mind, at least). I took a look at the article, printed it out in fact so that I could make notes on the sides. What started off as reading material started to resemble a graded assignment from an educator who wasn’t satisfied with their pupil’s work. And frankly, how can you blame me? The article that Walker wrote is so riddled with misdirections and statements that are flat-out lies that, by the end of my reading, there was more red ink on the page than black. That’s never a good sign. So here’s Scott Walker, graded. Enjoy:

The qualities that Burke possesses could fix Wisconsin's partisan atmosphere I just wanted to add my two cents about the announcement of Mary Burke running for governor. As a progressive, I do have some reservations about her ideology. We have yet to hear where she stands on specific policy issues, although that’s something that’s sure to come about in the campaign. But I am excited about the potential candidate she can become, for a variety of reasons: She’s a businesswoman with strong knowledge on how jobs are actually created (which can defuse a talking point by the Walker administration, who claims to be pro-jobs); She’s had some political experience, but for the most part isn’t too political; She’s willing to listen to every reasonable idea that reaches her, and more importantly, work for compromise; And she possesses a strong desire to help those who are in need of aid the most. Those are all qualities that we need in any candidate that stands a chance to win ...

Governor erroneously blames recalls, protests, for a different year of slow growth Seriously, Gov. Walker, I JUST wrote about this. In a statement to Chicago journalists earlier today -- because heaven forbid the governor of Wisconsin actually speak on the subject in Wisconsin -- Gov. Scott Walker took time out of his schedule to explain, once again, the reason that jobs were so slow in the state had nothing to do with him or his policies: Walker commented on a report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that showed Wisconsin added private-sector jobs at a 1.1% pace in the 12-month period from March 2012 to March 2013, while the U.S. added jobs at a 2.0% rate . ... “These numbers are March to March, and in March of last year, we were still three months out from the recall election ,” Walker said at a press conference in Chicago, where he appeared at an economic forum. “And as I point out repeatedly, employers in the state were basically frozen until they knew what would...

Lacking contextual meaning, WMC ads conceal Walker's dismal job creation record Recent advertisements in support of Gov. Scott Walker are trying to highlight new ratings made by the Philadelphia Federal Reserve. According to the Philadelphia Fed, Wisconsin now ranks as second in the country in terms of potential economic growth. On the surface, that ranking sounds like things are finally turning the corner in Wisconsin. After months and years of lagging, finally we’re at the top of the country in an economic ranking! But the context of that ranking is significant. It doesn’t mean that Wisconsin is poised to be the next-to-best state in the country. Rather, it means Wisconsin has the second best chance of seeing positive growth in the next six months. Part of that is due to some economic recovery. But a good portion of where that ranking is coming from is the fact that, since Wisconsin has faltered for so long, it has nowhere but upwards to move . Case in point: the rece...

Job creation claims by the Walker administration are crafted to look better than they are Scott Walker’s book, the upcoming “Unintimidated,” should be a magician’s manual. With all the smoke and mirrors he and his lackeys throw around surrounding his supposed economic successes, Walker really is the king of illusion. Or maybe delusion. There are three especially callous ways in which Gov. Walker tries to swindle the people of Wisconsin into believing his bogus claims on jobs. The first: he showcases surveys that are meaningless . Take, for example, a survey that Gov. Walker touted showing that Wisconsin had jumped from the 41st best state in the nation to do business in to 17th place. That’s a significant gain... but without the context of how the rankings are crafted, it doesn’t mean much. It means even less when the context IS given . The rankings in that particular survey ask more than 500 CEOs across the nation to rank states based on perceptions of states’ business...

Leftists and moderates should focus on the bigger picture, and not quibble over the party's methods To Burke, or not to Burke. That is the question. Well, not really. No one is being forced to support Mary Burke as a candidate for governor at this point, and any notions that suggest otherwise are overblown accounts of what the Democratic Party of Wisconsin is really doing. The infighting among Democrats in Wisconsin about Mary Burke has less to do with her policy positions and more to do with how she’s becoming a candidate. Mary Burke is considering a run for governor To be sure, there are definitely some party members who find her views to be wrong for them personally , with several going so far as to say that they couldn’t support her candidacy were she the eventual nominee for the party. While they may say that now, it’s hard to imagine any Democrats , who are so ardently against current Gov. Scott Walker, sitting on their hands in 2014 if Burke wins the nomina...

Republicans call potential candidate "out-of-touch," overlooking their own party's foibles The Republican Party of Wisconsin is trying to depict a potential candidate for governor as “out of touch” with the middle class. They’re wrong, and need to look at their own party's actions before making such assumptions. Mary Burke, a member of the Madison school board and former Doyle administration cabinet appointee, is the daughter of Trek Bicycle founder Richard Burke. As reported by the Journal Sentinel, Burke has paid more than $500,000 in taxes over the past five years -- a figure that puts her in the top one percent of income earners in the state. But the assessment that Burke is somehow “out-of-touch” with the middle class is hypocritical, especially coming from the GOP, and also full of errors about Burke's character. Since Gov. Scott Walker came to power, Republicans have passed several pieces of draconian legislation that have impeded the ability...