Voter ID Law

I agree with the judges who have ruled against the voter ID law; the argument of prevention of fraud is weak;

In my view the downside of depriving people of the right to vote far outweighs any possible pro case.

Joblessness in Wisconsin

First reported initial claims for unemployment benefits in Wisconsin -last four weeks (these are people who first apply for unemployment benefits and the figures are an important indicator of job growth or losses; greater number of claims suggestive of greater job losses)

Week ending December 17th: 14,065 people
Week ending December 24th: 17,646 people
Week ending December 31st: 27.883 people
Week ending January 7th: 38,086 people


It's all about jobs.

If this means things are working, when would one consider that things are not working, and in reality the situation is worsening? Think about that...

Wisconsin job losses -the beat continues

New data (released 12-20-2011) show that in comparison to all other states Wisconsin suffered the greatest jobs loss in Nov: 14,600 jobs lost

Wisconsin Family Care Cap

The current Wisconsin administration placed a cap on Family Care, a program that helps keep the elderly and those who are disabled out of nursing homes (beginning July 2011). Then on December 13, 2011 the administration was ordered to lift the cap by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid (CMS). On December 28, 2011 a proposal was announced to lift the cap, apparently without mention of the letter from CMS that asked for lifting of the cap. 

The CMS letter can be found here: http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/host.madison.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/8a/78a9a71a-3243-11e1-a6db-001871e3ce6c/4efca4d49f981.pdf.pdf 

Thus besides the issue of trying to take credit for something they were ordered to do, as the timeline suggests, an important issue we should lose sight of is that the above represents poor competence due to lack of understanding of federal health regulations in the first place (and poor homework).

Wisconsin Jobless Claims

Here in Wisconsin: The number of of people who filed initial claims for unemployment rose to 17,646 in the week ending December 24, 2011 from 14,065 in the week before that. These are figures from our own Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.

We continue do poorly...

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker

Governor Scott Walker’s recent reconciliatory tone, if one can call it that, is quite contradictory to the one that was recorded when he thought he was talking to one of the Koch brothers, and I think simply reflects the fact that he is worried he might lose his job. I believe his tone during the he-thought-Koch conversation reflects his true approach. (I do not like to say anything negative about anybody, and this is not intended to be; but I felt I had to make a statement about this)

In any case, this is not the point; there is no emotional or political issue here.

The issue is quite simple, that the current administration’s economic policies are severely flawed; the results speak for themselves, as reflected in the month-to-month job loss in Wisconsin while the broader US economy has shown actually some strength (and job growth). 

Imagine what will happen if the national economy takes a downturn due to one or more factors which I have listed. Wisconsin will likely suffer recession-like conditions, or worse. Every one of us, no matter what we do for a living, will be affected. 

The longer Wisconsin waits for a change in leadership, the worse we will be.

Economic blunder

Letting go of the $600 million plus federal dollars for the new railroad was in my view economically a fatal mistake. One of the basic principles of business: Do not leave money on the table, even a single dollar. Wisconsin did, $600 million of them, and then some. 

The result: Instead of the economic boom that would have been created via the influx of dollars and a cycle of positive domino effects we are seeing months of jobs losses, and we are doing well to be at the bottom, if that were the intent. For example, November 2011: nationwide 120,000 jobs created. Wisconsin highest number of jobs lost: 14,600 jobs lost. I don’t want this to sound melodramatic, simply factual.