Boots & Sabers

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Month: January 2017

Another Act 10 Case Settled

by | 2242, 13 Jan 1717 | , | 1 Comment

Excellent. Hopefully other districts will follow Neenah’s lead.

NEENAH – The Wisconsin Supreme Court has declined to review a case brought by Neenah teachers over a change in retirement benefits.

The court’s denial ends a process that has lasted nearly four years, the district said in a news release Friday.

After Act. 10 was passed, Neenah was prohibited from bargaining or contractually agreeing to any provisions other than base wages, according to a state Court of Appeals document.

“In response, Neenah drafted an employee policy manual, which established policies and procedures to address benefits and the terms and conditions of employment that had previously been addressed” in the collective bargaining agreement, the document states. Neenah then voted to change the retirement benefit plans, which applied to those retiring on or after Oct. 2, 2012.

The new plan significantly reduced retirement benefits.

The teachers argued that the original retirement plan was promised to teachers in return for lower salaries and benefits.

A Winnebago County Circuit Judge dismissed the case, a decision the state Court of Appeals for the Second District upheld, though on different grounds.

Ruling Party In Turkey Continues to Consolidate Power

by | 2055, 13 Jan 1717 | | 0 Comments

Sad to see this happen.

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s parliament has approved key measures allowing the president to be a member of a political party and issue decrees, part of a constitutional reform the opposition says will fuel authoritarianism.

The ruling AK Party, backed by the nationalist MHP, is pushing through legislation that President Tayyip Erdogan says will bring strong executive leadership needed to prevent a return to the fragile coalition governments of the past.

The three articles approved overnight set out parliament’s supervisory role, enable the president to retain ties with a political party and detail the president’s executive powers as head of state, including the power to issue decrees.

U.S. Deploys Troops to Poland

by | 0811, 13 Jan 1717 | , , | 1 Comment

President Obama sure is making a lot of dramatic, far-reaching foreign policy moves right before he leaves office. If you think this move isn’t motivated by Obama’s selfish political calculations, just think… would he have done this (or slap Israel; or change Cuba policy; etc.) if Hillary had won?

U.S. and other Western nations have carried out exercises on NATO’s eastern flank in past years, but the new deployment – which includes some 3,500 U.S. troops – marks the first-ever continuous deployment to the region by a NATO ally.

It is part of a larger commitment by President Barack Obama to protect a region that grew deeply nervous when Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and then began backing separatist rebels in Ukraine’s east.

If we were going to do this, we should have done it in 2014 when Russia invaded Ukraine. It might have had a deterrent effect to stem Russia’s advance at that time. It’s too late now. All it does is set up political landmines for the incoming president.

Here’s how this will go down… Trump will pull back these troops because their deployment to Poland serves no purpose and aggravates Russia for no gain. Then the Democrats and media will jump on Trump and accuse him of being pro-Russia, a puppet for Putin, etc. Domestic political posturing ensues.

Millennials Earning 20% Less than Boomers At Same Stage in Life

by | 0649, 13 Jan 1717 | , | 1 Comment

And then there’s this…

With a median household income of $40,581, millennials earn 20 percent less than boomers did at the same stage of life, despite being better educated, according to a new analysis of Federal Reserve data by the advocacy group Young Invincibles.

The analysis being released Friday gives concrete details about a troubling generational divide that helps to explain much of the anxiety that defined the 2016 election. Millennials have half the net worth of boomers. Their home ownership rate is lower, while their student debt is drastically higher.

[…]

Education does help boost incomes. But the median college-educated millennial with student debt is only earning slightly more than a baby boomer without a degree did in 1989.

[…]

Yet compared to white baby boomers, some white millennials appear stuck in a pattern of downward mobility. This group has seen their median income tumble more than 21 percent to $47,688.

Median income for black millennials has fallen just 1.4 percent to $27,892. Latino millennials earn nearly 29 percent more than their boomer predecessors to $30,436.

The analysis fits into a broader pattern of diminished opportunity. Research last year by economists led by Stanford University’s Raj Chetty found that people born in 1950 had a 79 percent chance of making more money than their parents. That figure steadily slipped over the past several decades, such that those born in 1980 had just a 50 percent chance of out-earning their parents.

This decline has occurred even though younger Americans are increasingly college-educated. The proportion of 25 to 29 year-olds with a college degree has risen to 35.6 percent in 2015 from 23.2 percent in 1990, a report this month by the Brookings Institution noted.

Millennials’ Cash Planning

by | 2218, 12 Jan 1717 | | 1 Comment

Interesting.

Millennials were the most financially prepared to handle monetary headwinds with 47% of those aged 18-29 saying they could dip into savings to cover an unplanned expense, a substantial increase from 33% in 2014.

Wheel Taxes on the Rise

by | 2131, 12 Jan 1717 | | 2 Comments

Is it coincidence that both Meth and wheel taxes are on the rise in Wisconsin? Correlation or causation?

Municipalities have increasingly leaned on the measure in recent years to fund road construction projects, offset special assessments or reduce borrowing; 13 of the 16 cities in Wisconsin that employ such a tax have passed it in the last two years, according to a USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin analysis.

A wheel tax is a charge tacked on to $75 annual registrations of vehicles 8,000 pounds or lighter — or most personal vehicles. Commercial vehicles are exempt from paying such taxes under state law. For processing the tax, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation takes a 17-cent cut of each registration, according to the agency’s website.

State guidelines also dictate that wheel taxes must be used strictly for transportation-related projects.

Meth Rivals Heroin in Wisconsin

by | 2127, 12 Jan 1717 | , | 1 Comment

Honestly, I had thought it was on the decline based on news coverage in recent years. Clearly, it is not.

From 2011 to 2015, methamphetamine use in Wisconsin likely expanded between 250 and 300 percent, based on analysis of meth-related arrests, cases, charges, and seizure statistics provided by local law enforcement, state government agencies, and open source reporting. While heroin use continues to remain a focus for Wisconsin’s law enforcement and treatment services, meth has quietly surged to a point where the number of cases, arrests, and charges are on par with heroin. The areas affected by increasing meth use are mostly concentrated in western Wisconsin and rural areas of the state. These areas, unlike more urban areas, are ill-equipped to handle rising methamphetamine use as they do not have the necessary resources to effectively mitigate the threat.

[…]

  • Wisconsin meth is produced in Mexico and trafficked to the state via California or Minnesota.

  • High availability of methamphetamine across Wisconsin has led to the price being relatively low cost.

  • Methamphetamine use is highest in Northwestern Wisconsin but in the past five years has expanded south and east.

  • Between 2011 and 2015, meth-related cases submitted to the Wisconsin State Crime Lab increased 349 percent. In comparison, heroin-related cases rose 97 percent in that same period.

Swiss Deny Vegan Citizenship

by | 2100, 12 Jan 1717 | , | 1 Comment

These folks have standards.

(CNN)A vegan woman has twice had her application for Swiss citizenship rejected because annoyed locals object to her “loud” opinions about animal rights.

Nancy Holten, 42, has lived in Switzerland for more than 30 years. There, applications for citizenship are determined by local governments — sometimes with input from residents.
And among the requirements are that a person is integrated in the Swiss way of life and familiar with Swiss customs and traditions.
And therein lies the issue the residents of Gipf-Oberfrick have with Holten.
[…]
“Shortly before [the applications] she had begun to fight against various Swiss values such as church bells, cowbells, livestock farming, hunting, pig racing, eating meat, circus animals, mouse-catching, giving out milk at school, etc. She did this above all in the media,” Urs Treier, a spokesman for the municipal council, told CNN.

Obama Forces Return Of Refugees Fleeing Tyranny

by | 1645, 12 Jan 1717 | | 13 Comments

I thought we were supposed to welcome refugees with open arms? No borders and whatnot… never mind.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is ending a longstanding immigration policy that allows any Cuban who makes it to U.S. soil to stay and become a legal resident, a senior administration official said Thursday.

The repeal of the “wet foot, dry foot” policy is effective immediately, according the official. The decision follows months of negotiations focused in part on getting Cuba to agree to take back people who had arrived in the U.S.

[…]

The official said the Cubans gave no assurances about treatment of those sent back to the country, but said political asylum remains an option for those concerned about persecution if they return.

Yet another handout to a tyrannical regime in return for nothing. A lot of Cubans yearning to breathe free will pay the price for Obama’s love of this Communist regime.

Philly Mayor Upset at Retailers for Passing on Sweetener Tax

by | 1624, 12 Jan 1717 | | 21 Comments

What a buffoon.

Kenney said he believes most customers understand the reason for the tax and he believes it doesn’t need to impact them as much as it has.

“They’re gouging their own customers.”

Among retailers, only Shop Rite has responded, saying they are passing the tax along because it greatly increases sweetened beverage prices and it wants customers to know.

Philadelphia passed a ludicrous sweetener tax on both natural and artificial sweeteners. Retailers passed along the tax to consumers just like they do with every tax. Many of them also listed the sweetener tax as a separate line item on receipts so that consumers could see why their frappe suddenly costs so much. Retailers certainly don’t want to take the blame for huge price increases when they aren’t even getting the money. The Mayor is upset that retailers are doing this.

What does he expect them to do? Does he expect retailers to just add the sweetener tax to where it calculates the sales tax? That would be misleading. Does he expect them to eat the cost? Why would they do that? Also, if the retailers ate the cost, wouldn’t that negate the health benefits of encouraging people to drink non-sweetened beverages by artificially inflating the price of sweetened ones?

It’s just hilarious to see liberals so shocked and dismayed when the consequences of their tax increases have the predictable effect.

County Board Uses Surplus for Employee Bonuses

by | 0727, 12 Jan 1717 | | 1 Comment

This is ridiculous.

Supervisors voted to approve a resolution Tuesday that authorizes a transfer from the General Fund to offer a one-time bonus for employees. Language in the original resolution stated the measure as a “retention” bonus, but that was changed to the word “appreciation” because of a motion.

According to the committee report, the measure is an effort to address an area identified in the 2015 Strategic Planning Process named, “Workforce Development/ Employee Morale,” and provides an additional $200 to employees in the form of a gift card with the intent of improving morale among staff.

[…]

The committee report also states the initiative requires a transfer from the General Fund not to exceed $150,000 since the total estimated cost would be $145,000.

First, it continues to grate on me that this sales tax even exists. It was created as a temporary measure years ago for some one-time capital projects and the County Board has refused to end it. But I’ll get off my soap box for that for a minute.

The reason this happened is because the sales tax generated more money than the county budgeted. It’s a surplus. When faced with this extra money that the County Board found in our couch, they had some choices. They could have put it into a contingency fund for unforeseen expenses. They could have lowered the property tax levy by that amount. They could have paid off some county debt.

But no. Instead, they are sending gift cards to employees for “employee morale.” What a waste.

The decision assumes two things. First, it assumes that employee morale is low and needs a boost. What leads them to that assumption? Is turnover higher than usual? Are employees protesting?

Second, it assumes that a one time gift card will actually improve morale. Anyone who has ever managed employees knows that’s crap. A gift card is nice and they will appreciate it, but if there is a systemic morale problem, it is money flushed down the toilet. It will do nothing to improve morale of the employees, but it makes management feel like they are doing something. Good for Supervisor Bassill for nailing it:

“I believe there are some problems. I believe it is 1 percent of the employees. I just think we have whiners. Even though the whiners are good workers, the problem is nothing is good enough for them.”

– Michael Bassill

The employees who are generally satisfied will appreciate the gift card, but it won’t change anything. The employees who are dissatisfied will appreciate the gift card, but it won’t change anything for them either.

Wasted.

Money.

The Only Check on the Imperial Presidency

by | 2159, 11 Jan 1717 | | 2 Comments

It’s an interesting point.

I’d like to think that pointing this kind of thing out would address the problem, but my faith in our political classes is pretty low right now. So, given the realities, I have a suggestion for limiting the imperial presidency that will probably work: Only elect straight, white male Republicans.

In our current system, the biggest check on presidential power is public criticism, and despite the rise of niche media such as Fox News and talk radio, the kind of public criticism that actually has an impact mostly comes from the left-controlled “mainstream media.”

With a black Democrat in the White House, those organs have often been loath to criticize the president themselves, and swift to assume that anyone who does offer criticism is partisan, and probably a racist to boot. But with a white male Republican in the White House, all criticisms will be presumed valid.

Every president has some wiggle room, but white male Republicans have less in our system. So if you want the imperial presidency to wiggle less, that’s whom we should elect. And if that’s what it takes to get the press to do its job of scrutinizing and criticizing power, then that’s what we need.

Senate Moves First on Repeal of Obamacare

by | 2002, 11 Jan 1717 | | 4 Comments

Excellent.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-led Senate is poised to take a step forward on dismantling President Barack Obama’s health care law despite anxiety among GOP lawmakers over the lack of an alternative.

Senate approval — expected late Wednesday or early Thursday — and then House passage as early as Friday would trigger committee action to write repeal legislation that could come to a vote next month. A full replacement would follow sometime after that, presuming Republicans can come up with one.

“We must act quickly to bring relief to the American people,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Former Slinger Band Director Charged with Sexual Assault of a Student

by | 1634, 11 Jan 1717 | , | 0 Comments

Wow.

Jan. 11, 2017 – West Bend, WI – Charges were officially handed down today in Washington County Circuit Court as former Slinger High School band director David T. Hanke, 66, (photo left) was charged with a Class D Felony for alleged sexual assault of a student by school staff. If convicted Hanke faces up to $10,000 in fines, up to 10 years in prison, or both.

Hanke appeared in court Wednesday afternoon before Judge James Pouros.

Hanke had a court appearance for a bail/bond hearing before Washington County Judge Andrew Gonring on Dec. 14, 2016 at which time a $3,000 signature bond was signed and Hanke was told to have “no unsupervised contact with females under age of 16. No contact with HLB or RAS.”

The criminal complaint was filed by a former Slinger High School student who was under 18 years old when the alleged assault occurred around September 1999 or 2000. The complaint said the girl was a band student in Hanke’s class. She recalled going to his house, drinking a beer and then going to the basement of the home where a back massage turned to “grabbing and groping.”

In 2004 – 2005 the complaint said the woman wrote an anonymous letter to the school but did not want to disclose the incident. In 2016 she reportedly wrote another signed letter to the principal at Slinger High School and he turned it over to authorities.

Old charges like this are problematic. It’s been over 15 years, after all. Evidence is very hard to verify. But clearly the DA thought there was enough there to charge.

Walker Proposes Tuition Decrease

by | 0958, 11 Jan 1717 | | 11 Comments

This is an interesting proposal.

Gov. Scott Walker said during his seventh State of the State address Tuesday he will cut in-state tuition at all University of Wisconsin campuses in his upcoming budget proposal.

 […]
Walker said after the speech the tuition cut will be covered with additional state taxpayer dollars. Republican leaders of the Legislature’s budget committee reserved judgment until seeing more details.
I heard Walker on the Jay Weber Show explain this morning that his plan would pay down tuition with more state tax dollars, but that those tax dollars would be contingent upon performance at the universities. Obviously, there are a lot of details yet to be known, but we have a basic sketch.

Even though I have kids who would benefit from a cut in tuition, I don’t like the plan as a matter of public policy. The root cause of the reason that tuition is so high is because the universities spend too much. They have to pay for that spending with something. Until such point as the universities control their spending to a greater degree to bring it in line with the state taxpayers’ and students’ ability to afford them, anything that sends them more funding will only exacerbate the problem.

But, as I said, there are details yet to be known. Let’s see what the full proposal looks like.

Monkey Love

by | 2020, 10 Jan 1717 | | 0 Comments

This is more interesting than another Obama speech.

The macaques have previously been observed grooming the deer or riding them in a playful manner.

The curious behaviour is outlined in a study published in the journal Primates.

The monkey seemed to be a low-status male, who guarded his “love interests” by chasing away other male monkeys who came near.

Co-author Alexandre Bonnefoy commented: “The male mounted the deer and displayed some copulation behaviours, which included about 15 sexual movements over a period of 10 seconds, before dismounting.”

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Another Crisis Budget Averted

by | 1038, 10 Jan 1717 | | 0 Comments

Brett Healy at the MacIver Institute provides a good reminder of just how much the budget situation in Wisconsin has improved.

As Wisconsin prepares to begin the next budget cycle, the state’s finances are in solid shape. While taxes have been cut repeatedly, state revenues grew 4 percent from fiscal year 2015 to FY16, a jump from $9.49 billion to $9.87 billion. Overall revenues are projected to continue growing by about 3 percent annually over the next biennium with a modest economic growth projection of 2.2 percent per year.

Wisconsin closed the books on the 2015-16 fiscal year with a positive balance of $331 million. “The State of Wisconsin completed fiscal year 2015-16 with a positive general fund balance of $331.0 million. With this total, we entered fiscal year 2016-17 with the fourth-largest opening balance in 16 years, all four coming after fiscal year 2010-11,” stated Department of Administration Secretary Scott Neitzel.

Total projected revenue in the next biennium is expected to increase by about $1.4 billion over the 2016-17 base. A healthy revenue stream means that Wisconsin is well-positioned for a deliberative, non-feverish budget debate in the coming months.

That’s a stark difference from just a few short budget cycles ago. Back in the Doyle years, Wisconsin lurched from one budget calamity to the next. In response to massive shortfalls between budgets, Doyle and his allies raised taxes, raided funds like the transportation fund, and used every budget gimmick they could to meet the state’s balanced budget mandate.

In the era of Walker, it seems those days are over.

Go read the rest of the piece. It’s long, but gives a great rundown of the landscape for the upcoming budget debate.

Walker to Focus on Workforce Development

by | 0906, 10 Jan 1717 | , | 4 Comments

It’s a good focus.

“Workforce development is going to be the number one priority moving forward, because if you improve the workforce of the state, we improve the economic vitality of the state, and we improve the ability to expand jobs and prosperity to the state,” Walker told the bankers group.

That statement alone is Economics 101: Most experts agree that having the right workforce in place is essential to the economic health of nations, states and communities.

However, Walker’s previews are revealing a far more comprehensive plan to confront Wisconsin’s demographic crunch through educating, retaining, recruiting, rehabilitating or otherwise cajoling every worker possible.

It’s an all-hands-on-deck approach that reflects the seriousness of the problem.

Like many states, Wisconsin faces a wave of Baby Boomer retirements – only more so. Also, birth rates have declined, as reflected in school enrollment figures, and out-migration of workers (the so-called “brain drain”) remains an issue. Wisconsin is also low on the list of states that attract immigrants, who often fill workforce gaps. Unless trends change within 10 years or so, there could be fewer working adults in Wisconsin than there are retirees.

See my column today for one thing that Walker can address. One of the reasons that Wisconsin struggles to attract workers is because it’s too dang expensive to live here. Bold reforms that truly make Wisconsin’s government more affordable would be a boon to the workforce.

The tax burden matters

by | 0628, 10 Jan 1717 | | 9 Comments

My column for the West Bend Daily News is online. Here you go:

One of the assets of our grand republic that has allowed it to perpetuate and thrive is the fact that we are also a federation of states. Our nation was designed to have a relatively small national government with limited powers while states retain broader and deeper powers to regulate our lives. This allows each state to experiment with different policies and for other states to observe and learn from the results of those policies.

Sometimes, those experiments go very well and other states can copy them to benefit their own citizens. This was the case when concealed carry began to sweep the nation after Florida allowed it in the 1987 and saw nothing but positive results. Since then, every state in the nation has come to allow some form of concealed carry and states continue to get closer to a full recognition of the right to keep and bear arms in the form of what has come to be called Constitutional Carry.

Sometimes, however, states try policies that prove instructive to warn other states to not attempt those policies. Minnesota has just provided one of those examples that Wisconsin, in particular, should be watching closely.

Minnesota has long been a state susceptible to fits of political absurdity. It is, after all, a state that has elected such luminaries as Saturday Night Live alum Al Franken and former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura to high office. In 2010 Minnesotans elected the ultra-leftist Democratic-FarmerLabor (DFL) Party member Mark Dayton with a 43.6 percent of the vote. The Republican and Independent candidates split the remaining 56.4 percent of the vote.

Not to be deterred by his mere plurality of support, Gov. Dayton and his DFL majorities in the state legislature launched an ambitious agenda including a massive tax increase on the “1 percent” to fill a budget deficit created by overspending.

Specifically, they passed a $2.1 billion tax increase in 2013 by increasing the income tax rate for people earning over $150,000 ($250,000 for people filing jointly) from 7.85 percent to 9.85 percent. They also passed a slew of other tax increases on the middle and lower taxes, but the crown jewel of their plan was to “tax the rich” to fund their spending.

The results were predictable. Minnesota saw an immediate increase in tax revenue. This makes sense. When a tax increase like this is passed, most people have little choice but to pay it. The prospect of uprooting their families, changing schools, getting a new job and moving out of state to avoid the tax is not an option immediately doable.

But over time, all fixed costs become variable costs. When those high earners begin seeking out their next career move, one of the factors they will consider is the amount of their paycheck they have to send to the government that they would be able to keep by simply moving to a different state. That is exactly what is happening in Minnesota.

The results of the tax increase are becoming known. The IRS keeps track of when people move to different states by the flagging when people list a new resident on their tax returns. This data gives us a vivid picture of taxpayer movement because it is actual data and not just a statistical projection.

As detailed in a report by the Center of the American Experiment, the most recent IRS data available is for the year immediately after Minnesota’s tax increase and it shows a grim picture. Between 2013 and 2014, Minnesota reported its largest net loss of income in its history with $944 million of adjusted gross income leaving the state. Lest one think this is the natural flow of retirees moving to warmer climes, 63 percent of the state’s net loss of tax filers were younger than 65.

Most of the former Minnesotans are predictable fleeing to states with better tax climates like Colorado, Florida, South Dakota, Texas, Arizona and Washington. In fact, five of the 10 states to which Minnesotans flee do not have an income tax at all. It is notable that one of the places that is not receiving an outflow of high-earning Minnesotans is Wisconsin. That is because despite a few years of progress, Wisconsin remains a state with one of the highest tax burdens in the nation. Even after Minnesota’s tax increases, Wisconsin still ranks four notches worse than Minnesota on Forbes’ ranking of overall tax burdens.

The data shows what we all know. The tax burden matters. In the short run, most people do not have a choice but to pay what the government tells them to pay. But over time, choices expand and people will factor the tax burden into their decisions about their lives. Minnesota’s experiment with higher taxes is showing a way that Wisconsin should not follow. In fact, they are showing that Wisconsin should do the exact opposite and push harder to have a tax burden that actually attracts high-earners to our state.

Senate Republicans Go Wobbly on Obamacare Repeal

by | 2138, 9 Jan 1717 | | 2 Comments

Grrr…

A group of moderate Senate Republicans introduced an amendment Monday to give Republicans additional time to repeal Obamacare.

Sens. Susan Collins, Bob Corker, Lisa Murkowski, Bill Cassidy and Rob Portman want to extend the deadline for a repeal bill until March 3 under an arcane budget procedure called reconciliation that prevents a Democratic filibuster. The existing resolution’s deadline is Jan. 27, although none of the deadlines are binding.

Corker told POLITICO that he wants to slow down the entire process so that lawmakers have the chance to think through several factors, including the impact of repealing the law on the budget. He also said President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for HHS secretary, Rep. Tom Price, is unlikely to take office this month.

For six years the Republicans whined and moaned that they couldn’t do anything about Obamacare unless America gave them control of the legislative and executive branches of government. America delivered. If the Republicans can’t deliver on the signature promise to repeal Obamacare, they can get bent.

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