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...