Category Archives: Government Spending
Trump Drowning U.S. in Red Ink
Over and over again, President Trump has demonstrated that he’s totally inept with numbers. His infamous and unnecessary “ballroom” was supposed to cost $100 million, all coming from private donors (obviously looking for an inside track for government subsidies, lower … Read the rest
Schoemann confusing on UW commissions
Education, Elections 2026, Government Spending, Tom Tiffany, University of Wisconsin System, Washington County
For a leader who came up short on keeping a University of Wisconsin presence in Washington County, despite the use of two task forces, Republican governor candidate Josh Schoemann has some big ideas about reforms for the Universities of Wisconsin, … Read the rest
Republican congressmen still in hiding
The disappearing act of Republican congressmen continues. Their town hall meetings, once a standard practice for staying in touch with their constituents, have become a rare occurrence in the face of in-your-face protests. A case in point is the recent … Read the rest
Spending cuts: start with Musk contracts, subsidies
Any business or organizational leader who has had to reduce deficits and debt must be puzzled by the approaches taken by President Trump and his budget czar Elon Musk. First, budget balancers look for additional sources of revenue. Why then, … Read the rest
Trump, Harris far apart on Ukraine
The policy gaps between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris must be among the widest in U.S. history. The biggest gap in foreign policy, of course, is on Ukraine. Trump promises to get out of Ukraine before he even gets into … Read the rest
Forward Wisconsin: Not just tax cuts in 2023
It’s music to the ears of a broad swath of Wisconsin voters that Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Gov. Tony Evers, Republican and Democratic leaders of our state, are saying they are ready to reach pragmatic compromises in the New … Read the rest
Let’s have strategic fun with huge surplus.
There are countless ways to spend the $6.6 billion surplus accumulated by the state of Wisconsin. I have several ideas for the best ways to move the state forward with that unprecedented pile of cash; you have yours, and each … Read the rest
Why did JFC derail spectacular bluffs project?
It’s starting to look like the Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee (JFC) of the legislature is the place where conservation projects of high value go to die. The JFC of 16 legislators (currently 12 Republicans and four Democrats) has the final … Read the rest
Upstream flood control pays off in Milwaukee watershed
This year’s heart-breaking floods in central Europe and big swaths of the United States point to how far-sighted conservationists have been in their work along the Milwaukee River and its three tributaries in Washington and Ozaukee Counties. For decades they … Read the rest
Unexpected state surplus could fix budget myopia
For Wisconsin politicians, August was Christmas. The Legislative Reference Bureau has just released a new budget projection for 2021-23, and it showed an astounding $1.7 billion in new surplus dollars. Thanks to a booming economic recovery, tax revenues rolled in … Read the rest
