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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2008 Primaries, Views on News • September 17th, 2008

The iPod tax is back

by Chris Lato

Uh-oh. New taxes could be coming your way in Wisconsin…including the dreaded iPod tax.

With the election less than two months away, the timing on this proposal is interesting. With the state Senate expected to stay in Democratic hands, and the Assembly believed by some to be up for grabs, the thinking is that a Democrat-controlled Legislature, coupled with a Democrat governor, would embrace this list of proposals from the Department of Revenue.

Could this be a game changer in some legislative races? It certainly should be a hot topic on the campaign trail in these final few weeks. Republicans and fiscally-conservative Democrats would be wise to seize this issue as just one example of how important the upcoming elections are.

Those who support these taxes may be asked why they would seek tax hikes when the Wisconsin economy and families are already struggling to make ends meet.

Now, a lot can happen in the next few months. Let’s say Republicans hold onto the Assembly. Or, Barack Obama becomes our next president, and Gov. Doyle leaves Wisconsin for a job in the Obama administration. Barbara Lawton ascends to the throne, and she is thought to be more liberal on tax-and-spend policy.

Or, Congress refuses to act on these Internet-tax proposals.

Those are a lot of ‘what-if’ scenarios. These tax hikes wouldn’t go into effect tomorrow. But by the same token, these ideas aren’t going away and it’s a worthy issue for voters to consider before November 4.

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2008 Primaries, Views on News, public relations • July 31st, 2008

Barack Spears?

by Chris Lato

There are many perils for politicos who associate themselves with celebrities. Witness the mini-uproar over Bill O’Reilly’s favorite rapper, Ludacris, and his tune that sings the praises of Barack Obama.

The problem with tying oneself too closely to a celebrity is that one day the politico may be called on to condemn or defend what that celebrity is doing or saying.

That’s the danger when any surrogate is out there talking up a candidate. Surrogates often stray from the talking points or ignore them altogether. Throughout this presidential election season, the candidates have had to disavow or toss their surrogates aside entirely when the mouth moves faster than the brain (Phil Gramm, anyone? How about Geraldine Ferraro? ).

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