Global Concerns, Leadership, Messaging, Views on News• June 10th, 2009

Budget blues

by Chris Lato

Once again, I waited far too long between posts – keeping very busy on the business side, which is always a good thing.

But reading today’s Journal Sentinel inspired/disheartened me.

The following comes directly from the article:

Both houses agree on taxing oil company revenue, but they differ on how to structure the tax. Doyle and Senate Democrats want to bar the oil companies from passing the tax on at the pump, but the oil industry is threatening to sue over that provision on the ground that it would violate constitutional protections on commerce.

Some Assembly Democrats said they didn’t want to wind up paying interest and legal fees on a case they were likely to lose. (emphasis added)

Wait what?

So, the Legislature and governor want to enact a tax that they know will get them sued, and some legislators even admit they will likely lose in court…but they still want to go ahead and run up a taxpayer tab.  Just how big is that state deficit again?

So, what is this, other than a feel-good shell game? (Get it? ‘Shell’ game!) I guess we’re expected to take comfort from the knowledge that Wisconsin is trying to punish Big Bad Oil, no matter how fruitless and expensive.

And, if we actually did win a lawsuit, it would mean higher prices at the gas pumps. Assuming this actually survived a legal challenge, does anyone honestly believe the cost to oil companies somehow wouldn’t be passed along to us? In the meantime, I wonder which law firms will benefit from the suit…

Another bit from the article that caught my eye:

The state budget faces a record $6.6 billion shortfall over two years. To close that gap, Democrats plan to cut state agencies and aid to local governments, spend federal economic stimulus cash and raise taxes and fees by about $1 billion a year. (emphasis added)

The budget is still in flux right now and the amount of that hike may well change. Still, just a little something to keep in mind next year when politicians are out looking for your vote, and they claim to be fiscally conservative types who oppose tax and fee increases - as they have been known to claim whether it’s true or not.

Give ‘em a little truth test - ask for detail on how they voted on the budget back in ’09.

Related tags: oil tax • state budget • taxes • Wisconsin Legislature

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Views on News, wispundits• April 29th, 2009

Specter switches

by Chris Lato

I know I have been long overdue in writing something….it’s been a busy stretch lately, thankfully. But when Arlen Specter pulled an utterly cynical move to expand his own power base and advance his political career, handing Democrats a filibuster-proof 60 seats in the Senate (assuming an Al Franken win in Minnesota is finalized sometime this decade) and a free pass to do whatever it wants…well, I had to speak up.

I am not typically a fan of party-jumpers, as my comments not too long ago about Libertarian-turned-Republican-turned-whatever State Rep. Jeff Wood will prove. For every party-jumper who claims to be ‘taking a principled stand,’ dig a little deeper and you will typically find opportunistic reasons for the switch. And Specter’s move is particularly craven. It is difficult to pin down the areas where Specter has had political courage to stand on principles. As one Specter staffer anonymously admitted about the switch, “It is all about him.”

So what else is new? Isn’t self-preservation what most politicians care about? Maybe so, but Specter is an exceptionally vivid example of a career politician - a onetime Democrat who jumped over to the GOP in the past when it became clear he couldn’t win as a Dem. He’s now jumping back because polling indicates he can’t win re-election next year as a Republican.

What’s particularly galling is that Specter himself warned against giving one party too much power just a few months ago, in explaining why he was going to stay a Republican. How can Specter’s constituents trust anything that comes out of his mouth? He effectively disillusions Republicans, while Democrats can rightly argue that Specter is not truly one of their own. The middle is left to wonder whether Specter is going to wear his red tie or his blue tie depending on which way the wind is blowing that day.

Specter really wants to hold onto his job and has proven he’s willing to pay any price. And after 29 years in the US Senate, politicians like Arlen Specter are poster boys for a term limits movement.

Related tags: Al Franken • Arlen Specter • party-switching

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Creative, Promotions, Uncategorized• March 18th, 2009

Slammin’ the slogan

by Chris Lato

Mama always said, if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. So…how do I put this…

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Related tags: logo • new slogan • Wisconsin Tourism Department

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Views on News• March 13th, 2009

Color me shocked

by Chris Lato

I had to read this piece very closely to make sure it wasn’t some kind of joke. You could’ve knocked me over with a feather. On the Daily Page (the online incarnation of Madison’s free liberal mainstay publication, Isthmus) Bill Lueders has written a, yes, fair and balanced piece about the state Supreme Court race that actually has some strong praise on behalf of candidate Randy Koschnick and points out Shirley Abrahamson’s disingenuousness on the campaign trail.

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Related tags: Bill Lueders • Isthmus • Randy Koschnick • Shirley Abrahamson • the Daily Page • Wisconsin Supreme Court • WMC

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Strategic Blueprints, Views on News• March 12th, 2009

Recall Doyle? Really?

by Chris Lato

Apparently a debate is raging that I just haven’t been paying much attention to…on whether to seek a recall election against the governor. Kevin Fischer has a recap and his own thoughts on the idea.

I daresay Gov. Doyle’s loyal opposition has far more important things to worry about – and this is coming from a former flack for the state GOP. The mood of the state is not inclined to embrace the recall of a politician who, while not universally loved, is no Blago either. It’s a waste of effort that would be better spent organizing now for 2010.

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Related tags: Democrats • election • GOP • Gov. Doyle • Scott Walker

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Leadership, Messaging, Speeches, Views on News• February 25th, 2009

Fact-checking

by Chris Lato

One thing that you can count on is that when given a big stage to speak from, most politicians find it mighty hard to avoid using some creativity in their facts, figures and versions of history.  So, while President Obama knows how to deliver a speech, and every reasonable American should be pulling for him to succeed, it’s always good to do a bit of fact-checking.  

Bottom line: last night’s address to Congress and the nation not detail-heavy. In fact, some may have been disappointed by the lack of detail, but all that comes later. Obama was doing nothing new in that sense. And these deep economic problems won’t be solved overnight, no matter how much some want to believe that all our president has to do is wave a magic wand and our national nightmare is over.

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Related tags: Afghanistan • approval rating • economy • housing crisis • Iraq • President Obama

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Views on News• February 24th, 2009

Selling the stimulus

by Chris Lato

This is the point where government bailouts are entering some dangerous territory. For example, in Houston they’re considering paying some of the bills for potential first-time home buyers to help improve their credit scores. President Obama is offering a mortgage bailout plan that critics say crosses the line from needed relief to rewarding bad individual economic decisions and irresponsibility.

Tonight, the president will speak to Congress and the American people and address what he’s done so far and what he’s still looking to do.  The basic template will likely include: Bush got us into this mess; more pain is coming; and, we’ll get out of it.

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Related tags: economic stimulus • former President Bush • mortgage crisis • President Obama

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Views on News• February 23rd, 2009

The devil’s in the details

by Chris Lato

Yes, the title to this one is a cliche, but reporters statewide are now sifting their way through Gov. Doyle’s next budget, and to say it has a lot of potentially controversial components is the understatement of the month – kinda like saying Sean Penn’s political views lean a tad leftward.

Consider the idea of releasing prison inmates early – Republicans are hopping all over this one as an example of former attorney general Doyle being soft on crime. This is fraught with political dangers, as UW-Madison political science professor Charles Franklin rightly notes – heaven forbid an inmate on furlough commits a heinous crime while on the streets. Michael Dukakis can tell you all about how a similar furlough program worked out in his state.

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Related tags: Gov. Doyle • Sean Penn • speeding • statewide smoking ban

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Views on News, wispundits• February 19th, 2009

Raiding the penny jar

by Chris Lato

Interesting. Gov. Doyle is proposing to get rid of the state’s film tax credit program.

Gov. Doyle may be stinging from the criticism of the tax credits, which brought the upcoming Christian Bale/Johnny Depp flick “Public Enemies” to Wisconsin for filming in 2008. After all, critics - including the state Commerce Department - questioned whether the big tax breaks were worth the resulting economic bump.

Doyle may also be smacking his lite guv down a notch after Barbara Lawton after she stepped into the limelight with very vocal public support of the film tax credits.  

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Related tags: 'Public Enemies • Christian Bale • Gov. Doyle • iPod • Johnny Depp • Lt. Gov. Lawton • taxes • toll roads

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Views on News• February 13th, 2009

Minimum markup runs out of gas

by Chris Lato

For now, at least, Wisconsin’s archaic minimum markup law is down for the count. The Depression era law, which requires gas stations to markup the wholesale price of gas, was seen as a way to prevent some (read: larger) gas station chains from slashing their prices to drive others out of business, then hiking prices back up.

In reality, the minimum markup is anti-competition and deserves to die, especially at a time when the economy is hurting. Granted, the price savings wouldn’t be huge (estimated at up to 8 cents a gallon) but there will be an impact.

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Related tags: Attorney General Van Hollen • gas prices • Gov. Doyle • minimum markup law • Scott Jensen • Shirley Krug

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