Progressive Thinking

MADISON - When Donald Trump came to Wisconsin on Tuesday, we noticed that he went to a fundraiser sponsored by the owners of Kwik Trip. So we wondered who else those owners supported, right here in Wisconsin. Here’s the answer:

Kwik Trip owners boost Trump, Wisconsin GOP

Another big story this week was the filing by Attorney General Brad Schimel, who urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to take the John Doe II appeal. His filing was, to say the least, galling:

Schimel has WMC dirt on his hands in John Doe II filing

We also posted two items on some of the consequences of the disastrous rewrite of the campaign finance law enacted last December. One story noted that the increase in donation limits allowed some of the richest people in Wisconsin to give even more than ever:

Higher contribution limits net $251K more for legislative, statewide officeholders

And the other one noted how the new law has made it harder to figure out who may be getting sweetheart deals from our elected officials:

New campaign finance reporting laws shroud, mock transparency

I hope you like this week’s offerings.

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P.S. If you appreciate our dogged pursuit of the money trail, please send us a tax-deductible donation by clicking here or by mailing it to 203 S. Paterson St, Suite 100, Madison, WI 53703.

MILWAUKEE - Over the weekend, another young black man lost his life and civil unrest exploded in MIlwaukee.

Our hearts go out to all the residents of Milwaukee’s Sherman Park neighborhood who have experienced this weekend’s civil unrest, to the family of the young man who lost his life, and to the peace officers who have put their lives on the line to protect public safety. As public order is restored, it is important we take stock of what happened, and what we have to do together to create a Wisconsin where everyone has an equal chance to live a fulfilling life.

Although the violence and property destruction seemed spontaneous to outsiders, for many African American residents it was a predictable outpouring of frustration flowing from unbearable racial inequality and exclusion. Shocking statistics support this, as the Milwaukee metro area has for many years consistently ranked among the worst in the country for African Americans across a variety of indicators including, segregation, incarceration rates, black male nonemployment, child poverty, and many others.

African Americans in Milwaukee, who came during the Great Migration to work and work hard and claim their piece of the American Dream, where drawn by the plentiful opportunities to work in union manufacturing jobs. They have borne the brunt of deindustrialization since the late 1970s. According to the UWM Center for Economic Development, the percentage of African Americans working in manufacturing declined from 54.3% in 1970 to 14.7% in 2009.

Many leaders in the Milwaukee area seem to see this as a natural phenomenon beyond our control. But the economy is not a natural disaster or an extreme weather event beyond our agency to influence, it is human made. What has been lacking in Milwaukee is the courage and vision to fight for solutions up to the scale of the problem. Once the dust is settled in Sherman Park, the question will be which public officials, which community leaders, which corporate leaders are willing to stand up and fight for public interventions at the scale necessary to end Wisconsin’s system of economic apartheid and truly guarantee full opportunity for everyone in our great state. This means striving to create an economy where everyone who wants a good jobs can find one near their local community.

Citizen Action of Wisconsin and our over 12,000 members in the Milwaukee area look forward to continuing to work with everyone in the community who wants to work toward economic and social transformation.

$472.1 million in awards to businesses through August 1 this year produce fewer new jobs, but would go far in covering the cost of reforming our state’s flawed school funding formula or funding repairs for local roads.

ALMA, WI - “Where did all that money go?” Dennis asked me during a recent visit to the Jackson County Fair.

Dennis is one of many constituents who ask where the money for schools and roads is as our state recovers from the recession. Economic recovery means more money and more money should equal more resources for the public. Instead, state funds are very tight. For example, state aid to local public schools is less now than in 2006.

One reason is that the state is not collecting tax money from some large, and in several cases, very profitable companies. Recently I received a memo from the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau detailing the awards given out for one large tax credit known as the Enterprise Zone Tax Credit. This credit – originally conceived to help rural communities – has morphed into large credits for single companies.

The memo contained a list of the total awards made and the companies that received them:

Amazon.com $10.3 million

Bucyrus International, Inc. $20.0 million

Direct Supply $22.5 million

Dollar General Corporation $ 5.5 million

Exact Sciences Corporation $ 9.0 million

Fincantieri Marine Group, LLC $28.0 million

InSinkErator $15.5 million

Kestrel Aircraft Company, Inc. $18.0 million

Kohl’s Corporation $62.5 million

Mercury Marine $65.0 million

MKE Electric Tool Corporation $18.0 million

Northstar Med. Radioisotopes, LLC $14.0 million

Oshkosh Corporation $47.0 million

Plexus Corporation $15.0 million

Quad/Graphics, Inc. $61.7 million

Trane US Incorporated $ 5.5 million

Uline, Incorporated $18.6 million

W Solar Group, Incorporated $28.0 million

Weather Shield Mfg, Incorporated $ 8.0 million

TOTAL (through Aug. 1, 2016) $472.1 million

All of those award amounts are refundable tax credits. This means a company can claim the credit directly against taxes owed. If the company owes little or nothing in taxes and claims the credit, they can receive a payment from the state in the form of a refund.

Owing little or nothing in state taxes is made possible, in part, by changes in tax law for corporations that date back to 2011. Majority legislators passed the Manufacturing and Agriculture Tax Credit that resulted in very low tax liability for some. A recent study released by the Wisconsin Budget Project found most of this credit goes to reducing taxes for millionaires, including “some tax filers with incomes of over $1 million receiving tax cuts of more than $100,000.”

That list of Enterprise Zone Tax Credit awards includes the total credits that can be claimed over a 16-year period (2009-2024). Different companies are on different schedules. One company’s contract began in 2009. Seven of the listed companies have contracts that go back to 2010. The remaining contracts were written since 2011. The credits are awarded for various business activities. Some credits are given for jobs created or retained, for training or buying from Wisconsin companies. In every case, the “Enterprise Zone” created is the footprint of the company itself.

Credit compliance is overseen by the troubled Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), which does not have a good track record for independently verifying that jobs were created. Three separate audits by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau showed that not one single job created was independently verified.

Earlier this year, the Wisconsin State Journal reported that WEDC’s claims of jobs created were based on “faulty calculations”. They went on to report, “The agency gave out almost $90 million more in awards, but the total number of related jobs fell by nearly 6,000.”

The cost of the Enterprise Zone Tax Credit and the Manufacturing and Agriculture Tax Credit would go far in covering the cost of reforming our state’s flawed school funding formula or funding repairs for local roads.

Funding for road repair is something on the minds of many in Wisconsin. We were reminded once again that in a short time the power of Mother Nature and water can demolish our roads. I offer my heartfelt thanks to the road crews, law enforcement, emergency management, the Red Cross and county officials all of whom worked tirelessly to keep the people safe in the aftermath of the torrential rains and flooding that hit western Wisconsin. We will not be back to normal for a while but we are all safe. If you need help please call 211. And read Rep. Danou’s column this week.

Many Americans distrust both of the country’s major political parties this year, especially young voters, but is there another option?

ALTOONA, WI - Here we sit, with most Americans deeply dissatisfied with and alienated from both of the country’s major political parties. This condition is likely to worsen before it gets better, as young Americans are especially disgusted with the two major parties.

For the time being, the clear majority of Americans are feeling doomed to either sit out elections and surrender their vote or engage in the distasteful exercise of Lesser Evil Voting. The only alternative to LEV they can see is voting for a minor party like the Greens or Libertarians, and visions of spoiler candidates and wasted votes dance in their heads at the thought.

There is another option, but it is one scarcely remembered because it hasn’t been tried in a very long time despite proving successful in the past.

In the early 1900s, farmers in North Dakota were at the mercy of powerful cartels and couldn’t get fair prices for their grain or credit at a reasonable interest rate. They were at the mercy of powerful cartels. In hopes of getting out from under the thumb of the out-of-state tycoons who were gouging them, they banded together to form a political organization called the Nonpartisan League (NPL).

Some say the NPL was the idea of a former Socialist Party organizer named Albert Bowen. Others figure it was the brainchild of flax farmer-turned-political agitator A.C. Townley. One way or the other, Townley and Bowen teamed up and Townley was soon driving across the state in a Model T Ford spreading the word about the NPL. Bowen and Townley enlisted tens of thousands of followers.

The NPL gained power by making use of a creation of the late-19th Century Progressives: the primary election. The primary system adopted in North Dakota and other states like Wisconsin not only gave voters the power to nominate major-party candidates, but most importantly allowed voters to participate in a party’s primary even if they did not belong to that party. By putting NPL-endorsed candidates up against those favored by the state’s political machine, the NPL took over North Dakota’s dominant Republican Party in 1916. A wheat farmer and NPL member named Lynn Frazier was elected governor with almost 80% of the vote and NPL-backed candidates won every other statewide office except one as well as a majority in the state assembly.

Upon gaining power, the NPL acted, giving farmers credit at significantly lower interest rates through the establishment of the state-run Bank of North Dakota opened in 1919. A state mill and grain elevator was completed in 1922, providing a fair market for grain and a source of feed and seed. Insurance was provided against fire, tornado and hail damage.

The NPL’s enduring legacy in North Dakota stands as an inspiring example of what is possible when people declare themselves free of unresponsive major parties while simultaneously using elements of the two-party framework to force change. The NPL stands as proof that the dismal choice between Lesser Evil Voting and wasted votes cast for spoiler candidates from minor parties is a false choice. There is another way.

This survey on Internet access now being conducted by the Public Service Commission will paint a more accurate picture of broadband coverage in Wisconsin. Participate and your responses will help inform lawmakers on how to bring our state into the twenty-first century.

ALMA, WI - Do you have a great Internet connection? Less than what you’d prefer? Makes it impossible for you to do your work or your children’s homework? No service at all?

Make your opinion known!

The state is taking a survey of how Wisconsinites connect to the Internet. The survey is free – and ironically – available online. Those without Internet – or such a slow connection they cannot fill out a survey – can let their voice be heard by calling the following toll-free phone number - (877) 360-2973.

Home connections and businesses are measured in separate surveys. You can reach the residential survey here: https://www.research.net/r/WI_PSC_broadband_survey

Businesses can voice their opinion here: https://www.research.net/r/WI_PSC_business_broadband_survey

To prepare for the survey, make sure you know your Internet provider and the number of electronic devices in your home or business that connect to the Internet. The survey will ask for your address, the type of problems you experience, and if you have students in the home who also have Internet problems.

The Public Service Commission – the state agency responsible for supervising public utilities – is conducting the survey. The state must improve information on who is well served and who is not. The current map of where broadband exists is based on information from the companies who provide the service – not from customers.

As a consequence, the state broadband map is inaccurate. Service in an area that appears covered on the state map can be very uneven.

Some companies inaccurately described both the areas they cover and the speed available. People complained about the inaccuracy of the state map and the illusion the map conveys to policymakers.

In conversations with the State Broadband Director earlier this year, I shared examples of how the map misinformed state leaders. For example, one company advertised speed with the modifier “up to” as in “up to 10 Mg.” However, the company didn’t tell the consumer the only way to get that speed is if he lives right next to the company’s equipment and no other customer tries to get on the Internet.

A few years ago, large companies successfully lobbied to remove state oversight of telecommunication companies. Consumer protections and penalties for companies not complying were removed. This makes keeping companies accountable very difficult. The lack of oversight encourages some companies to look for ways to appear to provide coverage without actually delivering it.

Some companies provide fabulous service at a very reasonable price. They do this despite the lack of oversight by the state. Many of these companies are local, customer-owned cooperatives. The Co-op model provides accountability directly to local customers who serve as the Co-op directors. People with problems call a local person or walk into a local office. In western Wisconsin, cooperatives are leading the way to build out reliable, high speed broadband to rural customers.

Pitted against the smaller local companies are the large telecommunication companies with expensive lobbyists in Madison. The result of the uneven resources between small, local companies and large multi-national companies means the Public Service Commission often views the large companies as “walking on water” while having little information about the small local companies who are working the real miracles.

Broadband has become a necessary service to all communities. In the twenty-first century, broadband is as necessary as electric power was nearly one hundred years ago. Businesses cannot function without broadband. Young people know more than many how vital fast Internet is to life today. They are leaving rural Wisconsin because they do not have reliable, fast and unlimited access.

State and federal money has been invested in building out broadband. Too often however the large companies used the access problems in rural Wisconsin to apply for that money and then did not deliver the goods to our underserved areas.

Just tracking the company’s progress in building out service is difficult for the state because there is no independent verification of new customers served.

If you have great service, poor service or no service at all, please take the time to fill out the survey and let your voice be heard. Your investment in time will help those working hard to bring Wisconsin into the twenty-first century.