Conservatively Speaking
State Senator Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) represents parts of four counties: Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine, and Walworth. Her Senate District 28 includes New Berlin, Franklin, Greendale, Hales Corners, Muskego, Waterford, Big Bend, the town of Vernon and parts of Greenfield, East Troy, and Mukwonago. Senator Lazich has been in the Legislature for more than a decade. She considers herself a tireless crusader for lower taxes, reduced spending and smaller government.
College students: Beware of identity thieves
After attending a special summit this summer at the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s
However, the main presenter at the summit, Special Agent Wayne Ivey of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement cautioned that “No one is immune.” That includes the young.
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP) reports that during 2009, young people aged 20 to 29 nationwide filed the highest number of identity theft complaints. The department is concerned about young victims, especially college students, and rightfully so.
The 2010 Identity Fraud Survey Report released by Javelin Strategy & Research discovered that 18 to 24 year olds are the slowest to detect identity fraud. The report states, “Millennials (consumers aged 18 to 24 years old) take nearly twice as many days to detect fraud, compared to other age groups, and thus are fraud victims for longer periods of time. Millennials were found to be the least likely group to monitor accounts regularly and take advantage of monitoring programs offered by financial institutions.”
“Identity thieves don’t care if you’re a struggling student and don’t have a penny to your name. Sometimes all they want is to exploit your clean credit record,” says Angie Barnett, President and CEO of the Greater Maryland Better Business Bureau.
School is back in session. College students away from home share living arrangements in dormitories. Not all personal belongings are under lock and key. It’s a perfect scenario for identity thieves.
The Wisconsin DATCP urges college students to take precautions to avoid becoming victimized.
Check your credit report on a regular basis to see if there are any unexplainable debts or creditors. Free credit reports can be obtained from any of the three credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion by calling 1-877-322-8228 or online at www.annualcreditreport.com.
Your mail is critical, one of the easiest and most popular targets of identity thieves. Shred or dispose of mail in a safe manner. Open all junk mail before disposing. A pre-approved credit card offer could be filled out by someone else in your name. Want to opt out of getting pre-approved credit card offers? Call toll-free 1-888-5OPTOUT (567-8688) or by go to www.optoutprescreen.com.
Have sensitive mail sent to your parents’ home or a PO Box.
Review your bills and bank statements immediately for unauthorized expenditures or withdrawals. Report them immediately to your bank or credit card company. If you pay bills online, check your account periodically.
Do not leave written personal numbers, user names, or passwords where someone can steal them. Retaining this information to memory is best.
Beware of phishing scams used by thieves attempting to get you to divulge personal information over the telephone. Special Agent Ivey gave this advice at the identity theft summit. Ask yourself, why would a company I do business with every day suddenly need my private information? DATCP warns, “Never give out personally identifiable information unless you are the one who initiated the contact.”
Place firewall, virus, spam, and spyware protection on your computer. Never leave your computer on unattended. The 2010 Identity Fraud Survey Report found that “Millennials were the most likely group to take action such as installing anti-malware software when they discover fraud.”
For more information about identity theft, visit www.privacy.wi.gov.
Making Wisconsin's economic disaster even worse
For the past few months,
“
Nationally, the 89,526 state and local government units employed 16.6 million during 2009. The Census Bureau describes the figure as ‘statistically unchanged from 2008.’ The same holds true for part time employees that number 4.7 million during 2009, approximately the same number as 2008.
The Census Bureau detailed specific areas of employment for state and local government employees. Most, 8.9 million, work in education. Another one million work in hospitals. Other areas include police protection (963,139), and corrections (759,513).
Keep in mind that during the 2002 gubernatorial campaign, Jim Doyle promised he would eliminate 10,000 state jobs by 2010. WisGOP.org reported during May 2009, ‘To date, the administration has actually taken on an extra 3,000 jobs since Doyle took office’.”
State statutes require budget requests by the various state agencies be submitted to the State Budget Office not later than September 15 of each even-numbered year.
The Wisconsin Associated Press reported July 9, 2010:
“Outgoing Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat, ordered state agencies to continue holding open vacant positions and freezing compensation for employees. He said they should develop their budget requests not expecting any increase in revenue, and develop plans to cut their core budgets by 10 percent by Nov. 8, only a few days after the election.”
Governor Doyle’s agency leaders weren’t paying attention, didn’t listen, or both.
The Wheeler Report, a news agency that covers the state Capitol, has been crunching the numbers of the agency budget requests that have trickled in thus far. It discovered that agency budget requests are at least $1.1 BILLION over current approved spending. Here are the numbers.
Needless to say these enormous requests are unacceptable. The next Governor and Legislature must produce a budget in line with current household and business economies.
UPDATE: Toolkit to Surviving Road Construction on Janesville Road
A special meeting has been scheduled Wednesday, October 6, 2010 at William's Supper Club to discuss the reconstruction project on
Toolkit to Thriving During Road Construction
Informational and Planning Meeting
Oct. 6th
5:30 pm
William's Supper Club
S76 W17745 Janesville Rd.
It's Your Business - Be There!
View Toolkit Here
Questions:
Keith Hammit (414) 840-7207
Kathy Chiaverotti (414) 422-1155 x 111
Election Day is November 2....let's vote today
“Never mind that October is filled to the brim with televised debates, advertising pitches and eager anticipation from candidates waiting to see if they win the endorsement of their local newspaper’s editorial page. These old political rituals take place after millions of voters have already selected their candidates.
Unelected tax and spenders need to be accountable
A blistering article about the Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel was stunning. However, it was not surprising. The newspaper reports:
“
The Journal Sentinel also reports, “MATC already sets its property tax rate at the maximum amount allowed, and other revenue options are limited.”
The MATC Board is in the process of formulating next year’s budget that assuredly will include a property tax increase with the question being, the amount increase.
MATC is one of the state’s 16 technical colleges. Consider the total tax levies for the schools. According to the non-partisan Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, the technical college tax levies have increased from $251 million during 1992-'93 to $622 million during 2005-'06. That’s an increase of almost 150 percent compared to a 75 percent increase in overall levies during the same time period. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau reports property tax levies for the technical colleges increased to $680.6 million during 2007-08.
Technical college property tax hikes are considered by, voted on, and approved by unelected technical college boards that are free to raise tax levies leaving powerless taxpayers without recourse. The process is the perfect example of taxation without representation.
I support making unelected technical college boards with taxing authority elected bodies that are accountable to voting taxpayers. I also support extrapolating that concept to other unelected boards in the state.
Audit: Health Insurance Risk-Sharing Plan Authority
The Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau (LAB) completed a statutorily-required financial audit of the Wisconsin Health Insurance Risk-Sharing Plan (HIRSP) Authority for 2009. The report a) examined financial statements and b) made a recommendation about internal access to the Authority’s pharmacy records.
The HIRSP Authority offers medical and prescription drug insurance to individuals unable to obtain private insurance or who have lost their group coverage provided by an employer. Participants must be Wisconsin residents that are not eligible for employer-sponsored group insurance, Medicaid, or
Policyholder premiums, financial assessments on health insurance companies that do business in
HIRSP enrollment continues to increase this year. As of August 31, 2010, there were 17,944 policyholders. Increasing enrollment is attributed to reduced premiums, increased income limits for subsidies, and individuals that have lost employer-sponsored coverage exhausting their COBRA benefits.
The LAB reports the HIRSP Authority has kept a sound financial position with a total net asset balance at the end of 2009 of $27.5 million. Helping the HIRSP Authority remain strong has been a transition to higher-deductible plans, an increased use of generic rather than brand-name drugs, and reduced utilization. The LAB surmises this could be the result of improved health of the policyholders.
New light bulbs not so green after all
Traditional, incandescent light bulbs Americans have been using for years are being phased out. Taking their place: fluorescent bulbs that have been mandated by the federal government. Part of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 approved and signed into law during 2007 calls for the elimination of traditional light bulbs beginning in 2012 leading to an all-out ban in 2014 in favor of energy-saving compact fluorescent bulbs or CFLs that contain mercury. When broken, the bulbs leak mercury into surroundings, requiring extreme caution and care.
According to Governing Magazine, the problems associated with CFLs will only get worse. The first supplies of CFLs that were purchased during 2008 will start to lose their life during 2011. Certainly many consumers will simply dump them in the garbage and their next stop will be local landfills all across the
One bulb contains but a tiny amount of mercury, but it is estimated that 290 million CFLs were sold during 2007. As Governing Magazine reports, “Once mercury reaches a landfill, the risk of its being released remains forever.” Landfill operation failures could result in mercury being released into groundwater and the air.
A more recent analysis questions the green claims made about LEDs or light-emitting devices. A study was conducted by the highly-regarded Sandia National Laboratories in
“Solid-state lighting pioneers long have held that replacing the inefficient Edison light bulb with more efficient solid-state light-emitting devices (LEDs) would lower electrical usage worldwide, not only ‘greenly’ decreasing the need for new power plants but even permitting some to be decommissioned. But, in a paper published in the Journal of Physics D, leading LED researchers from Sandia National Laboratories argue for a shift in that view. ‘Presented with the availability of cheaper light, humans may use more of it, as has happened over recent centuries with remarkable consistency following other lighting innovations,’ said Sandia lead researcher Jeff Tsao.”
Here is the Sandia release.
In Washington D.C., Representatives Joe Barton, Michael Burgess, and Marsha Blackburn want to repeal the ban on traditional light bulbs. Representative Burgess told the blog, Power Line, “Thousands of American jobs have been shipped overseas as a direct consequence of this light bulb provision in the Democrats' 2007 energy bill. Further, I have stated all along that exposing our citizens to the harmful effects of the mercury contained in CFL light bulbs, which are being manufactured in China, is likely to pose a hazard for years to come.”
Representative Barton said, “The unanticipated consequence of the '07 act - Washington-mandated layoffs in the middle of a desperate recession - is one of many examples of what happens when politicians and activists think they know better than consumers and workers, From the health insurance you're allowed to have, to the car you can drive, to the light bulbs you can buy, Washington is making too many decisions that are better left to people who work for their own paychecks and earn their own living.”
I wholeheartedly concur.
Want to reduce poverty? Say "I do"
Poverty tightens its grip on
The U.S. Census Bureau reports poverty increased to 14.3 percent during 2009 from 13.2 percent the previous year. The percentage of Americans living in poverty is the highest level since 1994.
The Census Bureau reports one in seven Americans or 43.6 million people lived in poverty during 2009, up from 39.8 million during 2008. The poverty threshold for a family of four during 2009 was set at $21,954 by the federal government.
So what are the solutions? Certainly, more jobs and more Americans staying in school and finishing their education come to mind.
How about strengthening families and the institution of marriage? Marriage is directly linked to poverty. A new study by the Heritage Foundation calls marriage
According to the study, during the launch of the War on Poverty in 1964, a mere 6.3 percent of children in the
Odds are clearly stacked against single-parent families with children that are nearly six times more likely to be poor than married couples. Factors working against single-mother families are lower education levels of the mothers and lower income due to the absence of fathers.
DNR wants public input on condition of WI waters
Residents statewide are encouraged by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to submit data they have personally collected about Wisconsin waterways that will be used to identify waters failing to meet water quality standards.
Information can be submitted now through December 31, 2010 that will help the DNR compile a list of the state’s impaired waters as part of the biennial water quality report required by Congress. The DNR reports about 1,000 lake volunteers and another 2,000 stream volunteers are actively involved in water monitoring programs.
The goal is to help state officials pinpoint lakes and rivers in need of clean-up and allocate scarce resources to those areas.
Here is more information.
Spending remains out of control
Stunning news from the Wall Street Journal. The newspaper picked up on a huge story that was missed by most, if not all other media.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) unveiled preliminary figures for fiscal year 2010. The big spending machine in
The Wall Street Journal reports, “Spending rolled in for the year that ended September 30 at $3.45 trillion, second only to 2009's $3.52 trillion in the record books. What did
CBO calculates that during the two-year period from 2008 through 2010, federal spending increased by a whopping 21.4 percent. From the Wall Street Journal:
“The 21.4% federal spending increase in two years ought to put to rest any debate about the nature of
The same holds true for state government. The current 2009-11 state budget increased spending 9.4 percent according to the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance. And that was during a recession. I am pretty confident few households in
The Wall Street Journal’s solution for the nation’s capital should also be applied at the state Capitol:
“Stop the spending and change the policies.”
Congratulations Universal Electronics!
During these difficult economic times filled with sad news of people losing jobs, it is heartwarming to learn about successful, expanding companies. One of them is Universal Electronics, a supplier of electronics manufacturing services that designs and assembles devices for medical technology, the military, aerospace, communications, and agriculture. Universal most recently has been producing energy-saving street lights.
Universal Electronics is thriving in a dismal economy, hiring 65 people since the beginning of this year. The company has 225 employees at their Whitewater facility and 30 to 35 employees at their prototype shop that moved from Mukwonago to
Friday, October 8, 2010, I was pleased to attend an Open House at Universal’s new
The new
I congratulate Universal Electronics for their expansion and continuing success, and I am thrilled they are providing jobs and located in Senate District 28.
Socking it to the wealthy comes up woefully short
The Heritage Foundation has been carefully analyzing the impact of President Obama’s tax and spending proposals. The President claims he will raise taxes, and the increases will only be imposed on the wealthy.
The implication is clear. President Obama hopes most Americans will have a knee-jerk reaction that the wealthy can afford higher taxes, so why not? The Heritage Foundation says because spending is so out of whack, the president’s plan does not come close to fixing the economy:
“Obama’s current tax hike plan would raise the top two income tax rates from 33 and 35 percent to 36 and 39.6 percent, respectively. This tax hike will take effect on January 1, 2011, if he has his way and will slow the already badly struggling economy. This will keep unemployed Americans out of work longer and suppress the wages of those fortunate enough to retain their jobs. In fact, the higher tax rates Obama calls for will destroy an average of 800,000 jobs per year by the end of the decade and lower incomes by $720 billion over that same period. Over the next 10 years, the Obama tax hikes will take almost $700 billion from taxpayers. That is only 8 percent of the nearly $9 trillion President Obama’s budget adds in debt over that same period.”
The Heritage Foundations reaches the proper conclusion:
“Low tax revenues are not the cause of the debt explosion; spending is. If President Obama and Congress committed to spending reductions, the deficit could be lowered to more acceptable levels without raising taxes a dime.”
Read more here.
Wisconsin school spending continues to increase
The nonpartisan Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance (WISTAX) provides some revealing data in its latest SchoolFacts report. Among WISTAX’s findings:
“
Since 1999-2000 (school year), per student spending has risen an average of 4.0% per year.
The increase in spending came in spite of state cuts in school aids and allowable revenue increases.
General (school) aids were reduced 2.9%.
The drop in general school aids resulted in above-average school property tax increases.
Total school levies rose 6.0% in 2009-10, the sixth increase over 5% in the past seven years.
School property tax increases topped 10% in 116 districts, compared to 72 last year.
Another 151 had levies rise between 5% and 10%, versus 115 in 2008-09.
A new development this year was 98 districts that did not tax to the maximum allowable under state law, including 47 that levied property taxes at least 5% under their limits.”
Read more here.
New Jersey says no, so should Wisconsin
A construction area near
“That $3.0 billion commitment will be the largest commitment made to any transit project anywhere in the
Those assembled responded with obligatory applause, including then- New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine. Today, Chris Christie is governor, and on October 7, 2010, Christie officially killed what has been reported as
“I have made a pledge to the people of
Fifteen months after groundbreaking for the ballyhooed tunnel, the project funded with billions of federal dollars is dead. Christie’s remarks uncannily mirror the political debate surrounding the controversial $810 million high speed train between
Opponents of the
The cost of the rail line is equivalent to two Miller Parks. The contentious debate about
Because the federal allotment for the rail line is nearly $8-million short of expenses, there is a deficit to the project. The state must find a way to fund nearly $8-million every year for operating expenses.
Job creation claims made by proponents are dubious. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel looked at the state’s application for the $810 million in stimulus money and reports, “Only 55 permanent jobs would be created to operate and maintain the trains, tracks and stations, starting in 2013, per the application.”
Sensing growing opposition to the Milwaukee-Madison project, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood defiantly responded, "High-speed rail is coming to
A Public Policy Forum poll of residents in
“The state-level opposition is a reminder of the challenge of building a national transportation project in the
Prudence mandates slamming the brakes on high-speed rail in
And now, NJ Governor Christie may have set a precedent with his bold and fiscally responsible move to reject an unaffordable project because his state is broke, he fears cost-overruns, and he knows his state would be responsible for the additional costs. Sound familiar,
Even the pro-rail website alltransit.com concedes, “The problem is that, while (stimulus) money has already been allocated to high speed rail projects in
A hefty amount of cash
We need to follow
Here comes more ethanol
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has decided to allow up to 15 percent ethanol in gas for cars made after 2007. Currently, gasoline contains up to 10 percent ethanol.
Photo: NPR
Concerns are already being raised. The Wall Street Journal reports:
“Auto makers and oil marketers have expressed concern that use of gasoline with higher ethanol content may harm engines, particularly in older models, leaving a big bill to honor vehicle warranties. Some leisure boat owners--who already use a higher ethanol/gasoline blend--are already suing fuel suppliers. Refiners can choose to buy credits to meet the government's existing renewable fuels mandate instead of blending more ethanol into their mix. Gasoline stations will have to ensure that fuel dispensers, pipes and tanks are certified for use with the higher ethanol usage or replace them to avoid potential lawsuits for any vehicle damage. Pumps will have to be clearly labeled as E10 (for a 10% ethanol blend) or E15 (for 15% blend) but that may not be enough to prevent misfueling, industry associations said.”
Adding to worries is that ethanol demand creates competition between food and fuel.
The newspaper also reports that ethanol producers gave only “a cautious welcome’ to the EPA news. One trade group official that supports alternative fuels admits the jury is still on E15.
Read more here.
If the Bush tax cuts expire, how much will it cost you?
If Congress fails to take action by the end of the year to extend the so-called Bush-era tax cuts, Americans will suffer a big jolt to their pocketbooks. Tax Foundation President Scott Hodge says, "Most federal income tax rates will rise, the estate tax and the marriage penalty will return, capital gains taxes will rise, and more.”
The key question is what will be the direct impact on you, the individual American taxpayer if the Bush tax cuts go away? To supply the answer, the Tax Foundation has created a free online calculator that will inform how your 2011 income taxes will change under the following possibilities:
1) The tax cuts expire.
2) The tax cuts are extended.
3) President Obama’s budget is enacted.
4) Congress passes a tax bill with a statutory pay-as-you-go provision.
The Tax Foundation provides this example. A married couple filing jointly making $80,000 with two children would pay $2,137 more in federal income taxes next year if Congress fails to extend the Bush tax cuts.
Check out how this issue would affect you personally here.
Overseas ballots still available
With the November elections just around the corner, some states have experienced problems getting ballots to military personnel and citizens overseas. The Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs offers an easy answer to any voter overseas that has yet to receive a ballot: obtain your ballot online. On its website, the Department posts an article from the American Forces Press Service that reports:
“Local elections officials are encouraged to make use of the Federal Voting Assistance Program's Electronic Transmission Service (ETS) for overseas faxes to reduce costs. ETS will also forward e-mails to military and overseas citizens. Additionally, voters from all 55 states and territories can use the FVAP online federal write-in absentee ballot automated assistant to vote for at least all federal candidates.
(Bob) Carey (Federal Voting Assistance Program director) said the federal absentee ballot can be used for all jurisdictions' federal-level elections. 'You can choose your federal candidates online,' he said. 'It will print out the ballot with your choices already in there, and give you complete instructions including a pre-addressed envelope to send back to your local election officials'."
Carey confirms absentee ballots are still available.
Here is The Federal Voting Assistance Program website.
Management 101: Wisconsin needs improvement
Typically as reports are issued grading states on various issues,
In essence,
Let’s review what
How does
Not surprisingly, most
Some questions immediately come to mind. Do we really want to toss out our health care system and convert it into a government health care program? Why would we go that route, especially while many
Put the
We can learn a valuable lesson from critical advice offered by
“States can control their own destinies. Well-run states have a great deal in common with well-run corporations. Books are kept balanced. Investment is prudent. Debt is sustainable. Innovation is prized. Workers are well-chosen and well-trained. Executives are picked based on merit and not ‘politics’.”
State Senate Committee Acts on Bureaucratic Overreach
Earlier today, the Senate Committee on Small Business that I serve on met to discuss payday loan regulations put forward by the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI). The new regulations follow the payday loan bill, signed into law earlier this year.
UW research brings hope for ovarian cancer
I was pleased to attend a presentation today by the Wisconsin Ovarian Cancer Alliance in the Senate Parlor at the state Capitol that brought exciting news. The University of Wisconsin Medical School is on the cutting edge of ovarian cancer research.
Presenters included Manish Patankar and Joseph Connor, both Assistant Professors at the UW Medical School Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The school received a two-year pilot study grant during June from the National Institute of Health (NIH) to fine tune research on the cancer 125 (CA-125) molecule. Obtaining the grant is noteworthy since the NIH rejects about 90 percent of grant applications received.
The CA-125 molecule is a large molecule made on the surface of cancer cells that sheds into the bloodstream. UW researchers made the discovery that CA-125 attaches or sticks onto immune cells in the body. A healthy immune cell can suppress a cancer cell. CA 125 is seen in pelvic disorders.
Ovarian cancer patients have donated blood and tissue, allowing researchers to analyze CA-125 and learn more about its functions inside the body. UW researchers want to create an antibody therapy that will target CA-125 molecules stuck on ovarian cancer cells.
More than 21,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer annually, and more than 15,000 women die from the disease each year, according to the American Cancer Society.
I commend Professors Patankar and Connor for their dedication to saving women’s lives and wish them continued success.
It's high school football playoff time!
Congratulations and good luck to these Senate District 28 high school football teams selected by the WIAA to play in the state playoffs beginning tonight:
Franklin
Greendale
Muskego
Mukwonago
Wisconsin business climate could be better
The state of
As it does every year, the Tax Foundation examined the following state data to calculate rankings followed by
The Corporate Tax Index (29)
DOC defends administrator's commute from Illinois
During August 2010, the Legislative Audit Bureau (LAB) released a report about the Division of Gaming that included details about reimbursements for a staff attorney.I blogged:
“The LAB suggested the expenditures pertaining to the Division’s full-time legal counsel be monitored closely to ensure they are reasonable and necessary. The
The same month, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that an administrator with the state Department of Corrections (DOC) was commuting to
“The state employee in charge of responding at a moment's notice to riots and other disturbances in Wisconsin prisons recently moved to Illinois, more than 90 miles away from his office in Madison.
The employee also received an exemption to state policy requiring him to keep his specially equipped emergency response vehicle at his home overnight. The same policy forbids the car, a 2008 Chevrolet Impala similar to a police cruiser equipped with a special two-way radio, to be driven outside of
Here is a ballot measure to keep an eye on
The
The November 2, 2010, statewide ballot in
The details make this issue fascinating. Voters will decide whether the state sales tax in
Proponents say the lower sales tax will increase commerce, create more private sector jobs, and will allow residents to keep more of their own money. Opponents say the tax cut will create a bigger hole in the state’s deficit.
The question will be interesting to watch Election Day given the current mood of voters. The ballot measure reads:
“Do you approve of a law summarized below, on which no vote was taken by the Senate or the House of Representatives before May 4, 2010?
This proposed law would reduce the state sales and use tax rates (which were 6.25 percent as of September 2009) to 3 percent as of Jan. 1, 2011. It would make the same reduction in the rate used to determine the amount to be deposited with the state Commissioner of Revenue by non-resident building contractors as security for the payment of sales and use tax on tangible personal property used in carrying out their contracts.
The proposed law provides that if the 3 percent rates would not produce enough revenues to satisfy any lawful pledge of sales and use tax revenues in connection with any bond, note, or other contractual obligation, then the rates would instead be reduced to the lowest level allowed by law.
The proposed law would not affect the collection of moneys due the Commonwealth for sales, storage, use or other consumption of tangible personal property or services occurring before Jan. 1, 2011.
The proposed law states that if any of its parts were declared invalid, the other parts would stay in effect.
A YES VOTE would reduce the state sales and use tax rates to 3 percent.
A NO VOTE would make no change in the state sales and use tax rates.”
America is not ready for online voting
We can put a man on the moon, create a computer chip the size of a human white blood cell capable of storing the Declaration of Independence, and develop a device that propels a blade of water to penetrate steel that our troops use to disable improvised explosive devices.
Yet...we cannot vote online?
Seems like a logical question. Internet users make purchases, banking transactions, pay bills, and send various communications across the globe. However, when it comes to elections, hitting the send button has yet to be perfected. Given a recent experiment in the nation’s capital, the notion of online voting should probably be sent back to the drawing board.
The plan was called Digital Vote by Mail, a never-before attempted technology. Overseas voters could receive, print and mail their ballot. A voter could opt to also digitally mark and return a ballot.
Between September 24, 2010 and September 30, 2010, Digital Vote by Mail was given a practice run with testers logging in as fictitious voters, requesting and submitting absentee ballots.
Something went wrong two days into the weeklong testing period.
Computer scientists at the
“Hail! to the victors valiant
Hail! to the conqu'ring heroes
Hail! Hail! to
The leaders and best!’
Instead of test ballots, election officials got the
Quite a funny gag, except University of Michigan professor J. Alex Halderman testified in Washington D.C. about the hacking, he produced, according to Stateline.org, “937 pages of names, addresses and PIN numbers of test voters who had signed up to try out the system. Had it been a real election, Halderman said, he could have changed the votes on ballots or revealed voters’ supposedly secret choices on the Internet. Additionally, Halderman’s crew wasn’t the only one rooting around in the D.C. system. They noticed other attacks occurring, originating in
Not surprisingly,
Online voting supporters are unwavering, pointing to
Stateline.org submits a most salient argument about this ongoing debate:
“Nobody doubts that states can safely use the Internet to reduce the time it takes to send ballots out. The question is whether voters can return those ballots online without the risk of hackers tampering with the results.”
July 23, 2009, I testified before a Government Accountability Board (GAB) public hearing at
“The Government Accountability Board, in its own report during March of this year admits there are drawbacks. The Board cited a Caltech/MIT report that raised worries about absentee and mail-in voting including the potential for voters being coerced because privacy could be compromised, for example, by family or staff at a nursing home. There are also concerns about mail security and voter fraud. The possibility of uncounted, unmarked, or spoiled absentee ballots was also mentioned in the report.
Expanding early voting has the potential of catching on and becoming popular. However, if such a system were to be implemented, every precaution must be taken to prevent fraud. As for me, one of the best changes we could and should make to our election process is to require a photo ID to vote.”
Ultimately, the GAB recommended against early voting and instead advocated improvements in
The same caution about early voting needs to be exercised about online voting.
TIME focuses on fading fast trains
TIME.com has posted an article explaining why the approved half fast train between
Michael Grunwald writes in High-Speed Rail Goes Off the Tracks in Wisconsin that such projects are not political or public darlings:
“High-speed rail was once a bipartisan dream, but ever since it was included in Obama's controversial $787 billion stimulus bill, it's become another hyperpartisan issue in a hyperpartisan climate. Republican candidates for governor in
(Republican Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Scott)
Grunwald concludes, “Like other long-term Obama priorities slipped into the stimulus - clean energy, electronic medicine, the Race to the Top education reforms - it's a legacy program, an effort to use government to create something of enduring value. These days, that's not an issue that anyone can run on.”
Read the entire article here.
UPDATE: New Jersey says no, so should Wisconsin
A few weeks ago, I blogged about comparisons between the proposed $8.7 billion commuter rail Hudson River tunnel project in New Jersey to and from
“I have made a pledge to the people of
Christie said the tunnel costs “far more than
For any tunnel supporters holding out the faintest of hopes that Christie would reconsider, those hopes were dashed October 27, 2010 as Christie said, reported by National Public Radio, “I can’t do it and I’m not going to do it.” NPR reports NJ Governor Christie’s decision to kill the nation’s largest public works project is final.
As I blogged, “NJ Governor Christie may have set a precedent with his bold and fiscally responsible move to reject an unaffordable project because his state is broke, he fears cost-overruns, and he knows his state would be responsible for the additional costs. Sound familiar,
"The bottom line is the train that Jim Doyle and Tom Barrett want, that the Obama Administration is pushing, is something we don't want and can't afford. As the Journal Sentinel pointed out in it's fact checks of late, we can stop it. Unlike what the politicians are saying, we can stop it, as money that still has to be let through contracts by the state of
You can see Scott Walker’s entire statement here.
Scott Walker has my complete support in that effort.
Are you waiting until Tuesday to vote?
Most voters cast their ballots on Election Day. However, a growing percentage of voters is opting to vote early.
Early voting has proven to be flawed. Deroy Murdock, a media fellow with the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace at
Linda Chavez, chairman of the Center for Equal Opportunity prefers to vote on Election Day and admits being “self-righteous” on the topic. Chavez writes that early voting “eliminates an important public exercise of civic duty, one that helps build a sense of community and responsibility. Election Day is the only time citizens come together in their communities in one place at one time to engage in an important civic activity. When I go to the polls on Tuesday, I will see my neighbors, meet political volunteers, and judge for myself how well election officials are handling their duties.”
Deroy Murdock and Linda Chavez are both right.
Murdock says, “Physically voting at the polls is a vital exercise in self-government. It also gives election officials a chance to deter or catch cheaters. Voting at home while clad in a towel prevents such scrutiny.”
Can
“Step one is for the American people to march valiantly to the polls Tuesday and dislodge those who have brought the country to this point. Then, with a new Congress rededicated to limited government, public integrity, accountability, and the rule of law, the American people should demand photo-ID requirements at the polls, serious jail time for vote fraudsters, a rollback in absentee ballots and early voting, and other steps to establish voting norms worthy of the Home of the Brave.”
Ultimately, Linda Chavez nails it:
“Choosing our elected officials is the most important thing we do as Americans. Is it really too much to ask that we set aside a few minutes every two years to go to the polls and cast our vote?”
REMINDER: Transportation referendum on the ballot
Tuesday, voters in 53
"Should the
How did this referendum get on the ballots in almost three quarters of the counties in the state?
During three consecutive biennial state budgets, Governor Doyle raided the state’s transportation fund. Here is the history, provided by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) in an informational paper published during January 2009:
“The 2003-05 budget act used a combination of direct appropriations from the transportation fund for general fund programs (shared revenue and K-12 education aids) and a transfer of revenues from the transportation fund to the general fund, for a total of $675.0 million.”
First raid = $675 million.
Back to the LFB:
“The 2005-07 biennial budget act made a transfer of $427.0 million from the transportation fund to the general fund, but did not make any direct appropriations from the transportation fund to general fund programs.”
Second raid = $427 million.
Again, from the LFB:
“The 2007-09 budget act (Act 20) and the 2008-09 budget adjustment act (Act 226) together resulted in a transfer of $155 million from the transportation fund to the general fund. “
Third raid = $155 million.
The six-year total of transfers and appropriations from the transportation fund = $1.257 billion.
The LFB reports the use of replacement bonds offset the transfers ($865.5 million), however the debt service paid from the transportation fund during the 2003-05 biennium ($43.9 million) adds to the loss.
The LFB concludes, “Therefore, the total loss to the transportation fund over the six years equals $435.4 million.”
That’s $435.4 million unavailable for the use it was intended: road projects statewide.
"Should the
I will be voting yes.
Right on, Sasha!
They are unable to vote, however, they inform
The Wisconsin Council on Children and Families invited students from across the state in grades KG through eight write letters to Scott Walker and Tom Barrett. One student wanted “laptops instead of desktops.” Another wrote that the candidates should encourage people to adopt babies, even if they have medical problems. Feeding the homeless was mentioned.
A favorite is from Sasha Gentile, a 10-year old boy in fifth grade at Edgewood Elementary, Greenfield Sasha writes, in part:
“Right now, thousands of families in
Sasha, we sure could use you in the state Senate!
Here is a sampling of the letters sent by the children.
