Boots & Sabers

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Category: Politics – Wisconsin

Governor Evers Proposes Massive Tax Increase Budget

by | 2034, 25 Mar 25 | | 0 Comments

Wow. He’s not even pretending any more.

The latest look at Gov. Tony Evers’ budget puts a price tag on just how much the governor hopes to get out of tax and fee increases, as well as new “collections” from the state.

 

The Legislative Fiscal Bureau released the report Monday.

 

“In summary, the changes included in the Governor’s budget would increase net taxes by $2,223,493,200, and would increase net fees by $356,301,800,” the LFB wrote. “In addition, it is estimated that measures…to enhance the collection of current taxes would generate an additional $189,420,400.”

 

“Gov. Evers told all of us during his budget address in February that he was going to cut taxes. Yet, about a month later, we are now finding out the actual truth: Gov. Evers’ budget proposal is irresponsible and unsustainable,” Sen. Patrick Testin, R-Stevens Point, said on Monday. “The good news is Legislative Republicans won’t let that happen and will work hard to craft a fiscally-responsible budget that both addresses our state’s priorities and delivers meaningful tax relief.”

 

LFB reported that Gov. Evers is proposing 14 different tax increases, and 28 proposed tax decreases.

Republicans Propose Penalties for MPS

by | 1625, 6 Mar 25 | , | 0 Comments

There’s no way this won’t be vetoed by Governor Evers. There is no amount of illegal or crappy behavior that Evers won’t accept from a public school. Heck, Evers doesn’t even care that almost no black kids who attend MPS can read or write at grade level. Why would he care about the kids’ safety? This being the case, Republicans should go big.

Proposed legislation would penalize the Milwaukee Public Schools if the district cancels plans to place police officers inside school buildings. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

Republican lawmakers are proposing a law that would financially penalize the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) and the city of Milwaukee if they stop complying with a state law that requires police officers in schools.

 

The bill, coauthored by Rep. Bob Donovan (R-Greenfield) and Sen. Van Wanggaard (R-Racine), comes after months of noncompliance with state law by the school district. Wisconsin Act 12, which provided a boost in funding to local governments, included requirements that Milwaukee Public Schools place 25 school resource officers — sworn police officers assigned to schools.

Voters Sue Over Uncounted Ballots

by | 1620, 6 Mar 25 | , | 1 Comment

Since WEC is incapable of holding election officials accountable for their incompetence or malfeasance, voters will have to do it through the courts.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Four Wisconsin voters whose ballots were not counted in the November presidential election initiated a class-action lawsuit Thursday seeking $175,000 in damages each.

 

The voters were among 193 in Madison whose ballots were misplaced by the city clerk and not discovered until weeks after the election. Not counting the ballots didn’t affect the result of any races.

 

The Wisconsin Elections Commission investigated but did not determine whether Madison Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl failed to comply with state law or abused her discretion.

 

She didn’t notify the elections commission of the problem until December, almost a month and a half after the election and after the results were certified on Nov. 29.

 

The goal is to reinforce and strengthen the right to vote in Wisconsin, said attorney Jeff Mandell, who is general counsel of Law Forward, which filed claims against the city of Madison and Dane County on Thursday.

Tony Evers Renames “Mother” to “Inseminated Person”

by | 0954, 22 Feb 25 | , | 22 Comments

How insulting.

MADISON, WI (WSAU) – Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers’s office introduced a bill on Friday afternoon that would change the way a Wisconsin state law addresses biological women and men.

 

According to the bill known as 2025 Senate Bill 45, which was first reported on by conservative radio host Dan O’Donnell, Section 3106 contains numerous examples of terms such as wife, husband, mother, and father being crossed out and removed in favor of terms like spouse, person, and even inseminated person.

The word “mother” is not just a biological designation. The word is pregnant with cultural meaning connoting love, protection, caring, family leadership, and so much more. When someone carries the title of “mother”, they carry much more than the simple biological fact that someone else inseminated them. How insulting it is to a woman and mother to diminish her importance to only being something that a man did to her. Women are not livestock. Mothers are not just inseminated persons.

Mauston School District Voters Raise Their Taxes

by | 2117, 18 Feb 25 | , | 2 Comments

Sigh… and people wonder why Wisconsin is still a tax hell.

Here’s something worth pointing out. Remember that the Mauston School District put this exact same referendum on the November 5th ballot – a high-turnout presidential election where one could get the input of the most voters. In that election, the referendum failed:

Mauston School District Operational Referendum

No 2,635 Yes 2,566

Notice the vote total. 5,201 voters. 5,201.

The school district turns around and put the exact same referendum on the February ballot – one of the historically absolute lowest turnout elections Wisconsin has. Why? Because it’s a non-partisan primary election with very little on the ballot and immediately after a presidential election where there is voter fatigue.

The turnout today?

3,078

That’s 40% fewer voters

We need referendum reform at the state level to prevent predatory school districts from shopping for low-turnout elections to get unpopular referendums passed. Three simple reforms would make a huge difference:

  1. A school district can only ask for a referendum once per board election. This is usually every 2 years, but sometimes once a year. That way the same elected board can’t keep going back to the well without facing the voters.
  2. A referendum that is rejected by the voters may not be resubmitted in the same form to the voters withing 5 years.
  3. Operational referendums are only valid for one board cycle. Then they must be resubmitted to the voters for continuance.

Wisconsin GOP Proposes to Reverse Dumbing Down of School Benchmarks

by | 0746, 22 Jan 25 | , | 0 Comments

Yes, they should absolutely do this.

Republican lawmakers plan to introduce a bill aligning state education test scores with national standards after Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Jill Underly made controversial changes last year.

 

Each year, Wisconsin elementary school students take the Forward exam and high school students take the ACT. For many years, the categories were labeled “advanced,” “proficient,” “basic” and “below basic.”

 

The DPI recently changed the standards for the Forward Exam by renaming the levels of student achievement and lowering the scores to reach each category, increasing the number of students who score in higher categories. The new labels are “advanced,” “meeting,” “approaching,” and “developing.”

 

The category changes have been met with criticism from Republicans and even Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. It also means the test is no longer aligned with the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Look to California Fires for Why Evers’ Mob Rule Proposal Should be DOA

by | 0826, 9 Jan 25 | | 0 Comments

As we pray for those impacted by the fires in L.A., we also know that many of those who are losing their homes and possessions do not have fire insurance. One of the main reasons is that insurers have been prohibited from charging premiums that reflect the risk. Many of these people live in an area that has a historically high risk for fire and the increased urbanization and poor fire management policies has increased that risk. Despite this, insurers can’t increase premiums enough to make insuring those people viable. Why?

Proposition 103, approved by California voters in 1988, requires the “prior approval” of the state’s insurance regulator before insurance companies can implement property and casualty rates, including homeowner’s insurance.

 

“California has a consumer-friendly approach with Proposition 103, and the insurance industry hates it,” said Kenneth Klein, a California Western School of Law professor and expert on natural disasters.

 

Added Klein, “The insurance industry has been battling that proposition for a long time.”

 

Under Proposition 103 and other California insurance regulations, property and casualty insurance companies cannot take all the losses associated with one event, such as this year’s wildfires, and then simply put them onto next year’s rates. The state requires a longer-term trend, not a one- or two-year disaster impact.

California’s prop 103 did a few things to cap insurance premiums. It restricted insurers from passing on the cost of individual events by requiring them to only factor in the historical trend. It also prohibited insurers from creating risk models for the future. They were only allowed to look at historical data. Well, what happens when insurance customers are looking at future weather patters, the effect of urbanization, and policy choices that increase risk? Doesn’t matter. The insurers can’t use that data to set rates.

If insurers are looking at real actuarial data that calculates a risk and the premiums necessary to insure that risk, but they are not allowed to use that data or charge those premiums, what is the rational decision? They stopped insuring people, of course. Since Prop 103 was passed, numerous insurers have left California completely and many more dropped customers if the insurers couldn’t charge a rate that made insuring them worth it.

It’s gotten so bad, that California actually changed the rules at the beginning of this year to try to alleviate it.

The regulations that take effect Jan. 2 arose out of a broad agreement Lara reached with the industry that gave insurers regulatory concessions, including the use of the computer models, in exchange for a commitment by large insurers such as State Farm, Farmers and Allstate to write policies in neighborhoods prone to wildfires equivalent to 85% of their statewide market share. That would mean, for example, an insurer with a 10% share of the state’s homeowners insurance market would have to cover 8.5% of the homes in riskier neighborhoods as identified by the department. No such requirement currently exists.

It’s a cockamamy scheme cooked up by bureaucrats that probably won’t work in getting a significant number of additional people insured, but the story is that even in California, they realized that they have made it economically inviable for insurers to provide homeowners insurance and they are trying to do something about it.

All this to point out that here in Wisconsin, Governor Tony Evers is proposing that Wisconsin adopt direct ballot measures like California. Prop 103, which is leaving thousands of Californians uninsured and homeless, was one of these direct ballot measures. It was an idiotic policy that passed on an emotional wave of ignorance and hate of insurance companies stirred up by activists.

No, we don’t want this here in Wisconsin.

Evers Proposes Mob Rule

by | 1927, 7 Jan 25 | | 0 Comments

If you want to see why this is a bad idea, you need not look any further than California. A Republic with representative government is the least bad form of government. Straight democracy is mob rule. Thank goodness this proposal is DOA.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ plan to let voters repeal and create state laws without legislative involvement met opposition on Monday from Republican leaders of the Legislature, who signaled that the idea is likely to be rejected for a second time.

 

[…]

 

Evers said on Friday that the state budget he plans to unveil next month will include a mandate that legislators take up a constitutional amendment allowing voters to petition for ballot proposals to repeal state statutes and create new ones. Evers made a similar proposal in 2022 for voters to repeal the state’s 1849 abortion ban, but Republicans killed the plan.

Mauston School District Eyes Third Referendum Within a Year After Voters Say “No”

by | 2034, 25 Nov 24 | , | 2 Comments

This is going to be a long post, so buckle up. It is just one example of how Wisconsin government school districts cry poor and threaten kids’ education even when they are swimming in cash and how the data shows exactly where the money is going. Let’s go…

The Mauston School District is threatening to dissolve after an operational referendum was rejected by the voters this month. But wait, there’s more… the failed referendum in November was after they had another failed referendum just seven months ago in April. But wait, there’s more… despite the voters telling the school board to live within their means twice within a year, the school board is considering putting ANOTHER operational referendum on the ballot in February. But this time, they are threatening to dissolve the school district if they don’t get more cash. They just can’t possibly see a way forward without getting more money. They are blaming the usual suspects: declining aid with declining student population, rising expenses, and that dastardly equalization aid formula. You can read their agony in this story by WPR, but that’s the gist.

What’s really going on?

All of the data used in this post is found in various reports publicly available from the state DPI. I prefer longitudinal data and the data set takes us to the 2022-2023 school year. I’ll refer to school years going forward by the year when the school year ended. All good? Let’s dig into the Mauston School District and their alleged woes.

ENROLLMENT:

For the past 10 years, enrollment in the district has been relatively flat with an average enrollment of 1,448 students. In 2013, they had an enrollment of 1,462. In 2023, they had an enrollment of 1,410. Over a 10 year period, that’s an enrollment decline of 3.6% over a decade. This is actually better than most school districts that are facing steeper enrollment declines due to the overall demographic trends in the state.

So let’s lick apart the superintendent’s statement from the WPR story:

“It’s so enrollment driven, which is a challenge in rural areas,” Heesch said. “You’re seeing declining enrollments, your revenues are either flat or decreasing based on those enrollments, while your expenditures, especially through an inflationary period, have increased dramatically.”

Enrollment is down. A bit. A little bit. But a 3.6% decline over a decade is very, very manageable. It is not a precipitous collapse. So let’s look at revenue and costs.

REVENUE:

Over the same 10 year period, from 2013 to 2023, Total comparative revenue is up 28.7% from $20,795,476 to $26,757,154. In per-student terms over the same period, revenue increased 34.5% from $14,114 per student to $18,977 per student.

In inflation adjusted dollars, $18,977 in 2023 was worth about $14,814 in 2013 dollars according to the CPI calculator from the federal BLS.

So, the conclusion is that revenue on both a total and on a per-student basis has kept up with inflation and then some. District revenue has exceeded the inflation rate by about 5%. That’s not an excessive amount, but it does show that the taxpayers have provided increasingly more funding to the Mauston School District in excess of the rate of inflation.

COSTS:

Enrollment is flat to a slight decline. Revenue is increasing in excess of inflation. So why is the school districts claiming a financial crisis that may require them to dissolve without even more money?

It’s the costs. It’s always the costs. Let’s take a look:

In the report titled “Audited Annual Report Comparative Cost” for Mauston in the longitudinal reports (it downloads as an excel sheet), we can see the spending for every line item over time. The thing to look for is which line items are increasing in excess to inflation or are new expenditures. Here are some key cost drivers (note that I am going to use per-pupil numbers to normalize the spending to enrollment):

  • Total Instructional Expenditures are up 22.4% from $6,983 per student to $8,544 per student. That’s not bad. It’s actually lower than the rate of inflation over the same period.
  • Operational/Administration/Other expenditures are up 51.1% from $2,793 to $4,220 over the 10-year period. That is double the rate of inflation.
  • That doesn’t tell the whole story of the cost of administration. Beginning in 2015, all Wisconsin districts broke out Administration costs into its own category (thank you, Republicans) so we can see them better, Between 2015 and 2023, just Administration expenses went up 37.5%. Over the same period, Operational expenses increased 47.5%. Both categories were increasing well in excess of the rate of inflation.
    • The big drivers in these categories were “Operation Administration,” “Other Support Services,” and “Purchased Instructional Services.”
  • Interestingly, between 2013 and 2023, transportation costs went up less than 1% – well below the rate of inflation. So the excuse that many rural districts use for spending is the cost of transportation in a geographically large, population sparse, district does not apply here.
  • Facilities costs went up 77% between 2013 and 2023 from $1,838 per student to $3,259 per student.

SUMMARY:

The story of the Mauston School District is similar to so many other school districts in Wisconsin. Student enrollment has been flat to declining, but their revenue has been increasing to match the rate of inflation and then some. The spending on direct student instruction – the money spent on actual teachers in the classrooms – has increased, but not as quickly as the rate of inflation. Meanwhile, spending on administration and facilities has far exceeded the rate of inflation – soaking up all of the additional revenue, and then some, and squeezing out spending on teachers.

The alleged financial struggles of the Mauston School District are entirely self-inflicted by wasteful spending on administration and facilities. Meanwhile, the students and the teachers are left wanting. The taxpayers are right to deny them more money through an operational referendum and the school board and administration are utterly incompetent and/or corrupt if they can’t manage the district’s finances any better than this.

West Bend = Madison

by | 2126, 6 Nov 24 | | 1 Comment

What do West Bend and Madison have in common? They both passed idiotic, wasteful school referendums that will strangle your taxpayers for decades to come. And neither referendum will result in a single kid getting a better education. But it’s not really about the kids, is it?

Waukesha County Charges Ahead with Implementing Sales Tax

by | 0747, 22 Oct 24 | | 5 Comments

They vote tonight. In an era where Waukesha residents are being hit from all sides with price increases, homes are unaffordable, and every taxing entity is reaching further into their pockets, let’s pry that the Waukesha County Board members find the strength to stand with the citizens who elected them. And no, the citizens don’t get a direct vote on this.

On Thursday, October 3, 2024 the County Executive introduced an ordinance to authorize a 0.5% county sales tax to be added to the existing state sales and use tax of 5%. The ordinance implements a sales tax beginning on July 1, 2025.

 

The plan is a compromise proposal to address our critical fiscal needs for nearly a decade. The specifics of the proposal are as follows:

  1. Up to 20% of sales tax collections (estimated $12 million if sales tax collections reach $60M) would go toward a direct reduction of property tax bills partially offsetting the impact of the sales tax on property owners. With the property tax cut in place the impact of the sales tax on a homeowner drops from about $12.00 per month to roughly $7.25 per month. The tax cut will appear on the December 2025 tax bills.

  2. Up to 20% of the sales tax collection beginning in January of 2027 (estimated to be about $12 million if sales tax collections reach $60M) would go toward local property tax reduction through monthly municipal aid payments. The level of aid will be determined based upon population of the municipality. Local aid levels would be revisited every two years in conjunction with the state budget cycle.

  3. The remaining 60% of sales tax dollars (roughly $36 million of an estimated sales tax collection of $60M) will be used to further reduce the County’s reliance on the property tax levy by eliminating our annual budget shortfall for at least the next 8 to 10 years and provide funds to the capital budget further reducing the County’s need to borrow funds.

Buc-ee’s in Wisconsin Hinges on Election

by | 0802, 18 Oct 24 | , | 2 Comments

I’ve been to Buc-ee’s many times. It’s a great place to get gas, a sandwich, a change of clothes, some jerky, and a deer stand. It’s fun. It’s not a place to necessarily get your morning coffee or just a quick fill up. There’s no doubt, however, that it’s a draw. Buc-ee’s are almost always busy. I prefer a Kwik Trip for everyday use.

This article is annoying because the reporter doesn’t actually do the work to put the various candidates on record on whether or not they would support Buc-ee’s or not. The article says that the future of Buc-ee’s in Wisconsin depends on the outcome, but doesn’t give voters any insight into which candidates favor it and which ones don’t. And I don’t think it’s necessarily a partisan issue. These issues normally come down to local preference and tolerance for corporate welfare.

As a result, the proposed Buc-ee’s plan includes a $15 million upgrade to the Interstate 39/90/94 interchange. Without it, the convenience store is likely to cause traffic to back up onto the interstate, he said.

 

Buc-ee’s plans to reimburse 47% of the cost of the interchange project, Chang said, leaving local officials to figure out the rest. In June, he told the Journal Sentinel that the village was brainstorming ways to foot the bill, such as a tax improvement district.

 

Now, Chang said the village is waiting to see who wins multiple local and state government seats in the Nov. 5 election: Dane County executive, State Assembly District 42 and State Senate District 14.

 

“We anticipate that we’ll need some political help with the interchange project …,” Chang said. “I hate to make it an issue about elections, but we really are just waiting to see who’s going to help us because we definitely can’t do it ourselves, and we know that the impacts are far-reaching.”

 

[…]

 

Buc-ee’s owns the DeForest land and plans to build a 74,000-square-foot store with 120 gas pumps and 20 electric vehicle charging stations. This rivals the brand’s biggest store, a 74,707-square-foot one in Sevierville, Tenn.

 

[…]

 

The entire Buc-ee’s project is estimated to cost $50 million, Chang said. The store is expected to bring in $25 million in gross taxable sales per year, including $1 million annually in sales tax revenue for the state. The store will create between 200 and 225 jobs, he said.

Arrowhead Asks for Fortune

by | 0736, 15 Oct 24 | , | 0 Comments

You would have to be near braindead to think that this is a good idea.

WAUKESHA — Voters in the Arrowhead Union High School District will be asked on the Nov. 5 ballot to approve two referendum questions seeking to fund a new high school and to cover operational expenses over the next four years.

 

The first question seeks for residents of the school district to authorize $1.9 million annually over the next four years, to be used to attract and retain staff, protect educational offerings, aid in maintenance, and keep up with inflationary cost increases, the district said on a website explaining the referendum. It would succeed a $1.7 annual operating referendum passed in 2019 and which expires this year, said Conrad Farner, district superintendent.

The second question asks voters to approve $261.2 million for a new high school on the current AHS site. Its aim is to bring Arrowhead High School, now split into two campuses, under one roof, with a new eight-lane pool to be made available for community use as well, a 1,000-seat auditorium also to be made available for public events, updated classroom technology, enhanced security, and more inside a building of about 555,000 square feet.

They want a QUARTER OF A BILLION DOLLARS to replace a fully functional facility. Why? Because they want to. Zero students will get a better education for this expense.

 

West Bend Schools Asking Voters to Approve Idiotic Referendum

by | 2151, 13 Oct 24 | , | 0 Comments

This is probably the easiest decision on the ballot. The West Bend School District is facing a rapid and persistent DECLINE in enrollment and has done almost nothing to plan for it. You would be an imbecile to give them over $150 million to educate fewer kids with zero commitment to improve educational outcomes.

In West Bend, district residents will be asked to approve a $106.25 million facilities referendum to fund security improvements, critical capital maintenance improvements, improve operational efficiency, realign grade levels and replace Jackson Elementary School.

 

With interest included, at a rate of 4.75%, and annual fair market property growth, at 2%, the estimated total cost is $165.45 million. The current interest rate of 3.95% would place the total cost at about $13 million less, for an estimated $152.45 million.

 

The estimated tax impact would be an increase in the mill rate of $102 per $100,000 of assessed property value for approximately 20 years, if approved (based on a 20year repayment for Tax-Exempt General Obligation Bonds, a 2% annual fair market property value growth and approximately $59.2 million in estimated interest costs — the cost at a 4.75% interest rate.)

 

Included in the referendum plan is the closing of Decorah Elementary, Fair Park Elementary, the Rolfs Education Center and the Education Service Center (district central office), which will help the district avoid $51 million in capital maintenance costs, according to the WBSD.

 

The referendum question for WBSD residents on the Nov. 5 ballot reads: “Shall the West Bend Joint School District Number 1, Washington County, Wisconsin be authorized to issue pursuant to Chapter 67 of the Wisconsin Statutes, general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $106,250,000 for the public purpose of paying the cost of a district-wide school building and facility improvement project consisting of: construction of a new Jackson Elementary building on district-owned land; renovations and construction of additions, including for safe and secure entrances at East/West High Schools; renovations, including new safe and secure entrances and grade level reconfiguration at Green Tree and McLane Schools; renovations and grade level reconfiguration at Silverbrook and Badger Schools; districtwide capital maintenance and site improvements; and acquisition of furnishings, fixtures and equipment?’

Noticing What’s Missing

by | 2034, 28 Sep 24 | | 14 Comments

I spent a good chunk of the day at the world’s largest cranberry festival in Warrens, Wisconsin. It struck me that there were hundreds of people wearing pro-Trump gear, and dozens of vendors selling pro-Trump gear, but I did not see a single pro Biden or Harris thing. Not a shirt. Not a hat. Not a button. Nothing. Nowhere.

No doubt there was a pro-Harris person in there somewhere, but I didn’t see them. While my observation was passive for the first couple of hours, I began to really look for one once it struck me.

Nothing.

I realize that Warrens is in the middle of conservative, rural, Wisconsin, but it was striking that there was not a single pro-Harris person willing to wear the brand.

Evers’ Unconstitutional Veto Challenged

by | 1943, 21 Sep 24 | , | 0 Comments

I’d like to think that this has a chance of succeeding, but I doubt it with our Leftist Supreme Court.

There are new challenges to Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ 400-year school funding increase.

 

Both the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty and the Institute for Reforming Government recently filed amicus briefs with the Wisconsin Supreme Court, challenging the governor’s veto power.

 

“The partial veto power is a tool in the governor’s toolbelt, but it has a specific purpose. When it comes to fiscal policy, the partial veto power is a one-way rachet. It empowers the governor to tighten public spending and taxation by eliminating or reducing budgetary items, but it does not permit the reverse. The governor cannot use the partial veto power to increase either appropriations or revenue. That function requires a different tool – legislative power – which is not in the governor’s toolbelt,” IRGs brief states.

 

Evers changed a line in the current state budget to change a two-year school funding increase into a 400-year increase.

Recognize that if/when the Republicans are able to reverse this some time in the future, the liberals will accuse Republicans of cutting school funding.

Red Florida

by | 0844, 15 Sep 24 | , | 1 Comment

This is the lesson that so many elected Republicans refuse to learn. Why has Florida shifted so quickly and firmly into a solid Republican state? Because DeSantis and other Florida Republicans actually governed according to their conservative beliefs and the beliefs they ran on.

But for the first time in recent political memory, the 2024 presidential race has left Florida as a comparative afterthought. Democrats here have tried to maintain momentum and voter intensity, but nearly every measurable factor indicates that Florida is not realistically in play for them in this year’s presidential contest.

“Are you happy we are a solid Republican state? It used to be …presidential elections, we would be on a razor’s edge about the state of Florida,” Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, told a crowd of the party faithful at a gathering last weekend at the Hard Rock Casino in South Florida. “Because if Republicans could not win the state of Florida, then you did not have a path to win the Electoral College.”

 

Florida has long been solidly red at the state level as Republicans built a now more than 1 million person voter registration advantage, and they remain firmly in control of nearly every lever of political power. But in the past, when huge sums of money flowed in during presidential races, the state was considered winnable for Democrats.

We saw this in Wisconsin. When Governor Walker and the legislative Republicans were first elected on a strong conservative platform, they immediately went into action. That first term was amazing and advanced dozens of key conservative initiatives like tax cuts, concealed carry, castle doctrine, regulatory reform, judicial reform, entitlement reform, and on and on and on. The result was that legions of voters came out to reelect Walker in the recall election and for a second term. Voters also elected strong Republican majorities in both houses of the legislature. The voters liked what they were getting.

Then what happened? In Walker’s second term, he and the legislative Republicans got soft. Their policies were weaker. They caved to the Democrats too often. They radically increased spending. Walker moderated as he tried to run for president and several of the legislative leaders did the same as they eyed higher office or aspired to be liked in the clubs of Madison.

The weakening in Walker’s second term led directly to his defeat against the Grey Man of Tony Evers. It wasn’t that Evers was a great candidate. It was that a lot of Republicans who voted for Walker three times were just not excited to vote a fourth. Walker wasn’t offering the bold conservative agenda that had brought him into office.

Meanwhile, in Florida, DeSantis remains a conservative powerhouse. He continues to push conservatism wherever possible and is an outspoken conservative voice. The result? Florida is no longer a swing state. It is solidly Republican.

When conservatives govern as conservatives, they win. Why? Because conservative policies work, and people vote for policies that work.

Tammy Baldwin Allegedly Uses Government Power for Benefit of Partner and Self

by | 0818, 30 Aug 24 | | 0 Comments

Out government has become just a giant grift, hasn’t it?

Baldwin co-owns a $1.3 million DC penthouse condo with her partner, Wall Street private wealth management adviser Maria Brisbane but hasn’t included any of their jointly owned assets on her financial-disclosure reports — despite reporting the assets of her previous partner. In fact, Brisbane has never appeared on the senator’s reports.

The 2015 Tammy Baldwin might have objected to this arrangement.

[…]

Brisbane is the founder of Brisbane Group, whose archived website from when it was at Merrill Lynch (archived at the end of 2023) claimed to “enhance performance” by investing in “small biotechnology” companies.

Brisbane previously managed a “biotechnology mutual fund” at Merrill Lynch, where she was said to have an appreciation for cutting-edge research that informs her current investments in biotech companies. Brisbane is also on the Cancer Research and Treatment Fund board of directors, who “rapidly deploy funding to the frontlines of research.”

[…]

Baldwin said she “met privately” with US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to “make a final pitch” for Wisconsin to win the Phase 2 Implementation Grant as a Biohealth Tech Hub.

The Wisconsin senator’s role in securing funding for biotech companies is no secret.

Baldwin also chairs the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, which manages appropriations for the National Institutes for Health.

In 2018, a biotech CEO thanked Baldwin for her “support” after her firm received an award from one of the relevant NIH programs. That CEO, Ayla Annac, contributed nearly $4,000 to Baldwin, including more than $1,000 in the months before and after she thanked Baldwin. Baldwin also included Annac in the Business Leaders for Tammy coalition one month before the CEO thanked the senator for her help.

This is a really simple story. Baldwin’s partner – with whom she lives and shares a life – makes a very good living advising small biotech firms and their investors. Baldwin uses her position in government to help decide which firms will receive taxpayer-funded grants, protections, favoritism, etc. When the firms Baldwin supports get a pile of money, so do the investors and the person who advised them… Brisbane.

This is an old school Chicago-style grift.

Wisconsin DPI Lowers Performance Goals for Students

by | 0857, 23 Aug 24 | , | 0 Comments

This happened a few months ago, but I missed it. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has lowered the performance levels for the Forward Exam – the state standardized test that we use to measure the success or failure of our schools. Put another way, the Government Education Complex was frustrated with the fact that test scores have been flat or declining for years, so they decided to lower the standards to make it look better.

The bars for labeling the comparative success of kids have been lowered. Lowered to levels that are more constructive, reasonable and realistic? To levels that undermine efforts to set rigorous goals and improve the overall achievement of Wisconsin students? Different people would have different opinions.

 

The bars — known as “cut scores” — mark the boundaries between one category of performance and the next higher or lower category on the tests. This fall, when information on state test results from last spring are released to the public, the percentages will rise, although by how much is not yet known.

They also changed the nomenclature to:

Advanced – The student demonstrates a thorough understanding of the
knowledge and skills described in the Wisconsin Academic Standards for their
grade level and is on-track for future learning.

• Meeting – The student is meeting the knowledge and skill expectations described
in the Wisconsin Academic Standards for their grade level and is on-track for
future learning.

• Approaching – The student is approaching the knowledge and skill expectations
described in the Wisconsin Academic Standards for their grade level needed to be
on-track for future learning.

• Developing – The student is at the beginning stages of developing the knowledge
and skills described in the Wisconsin Academic Standards for their grade level
needed to be on-track for future learning

It used to be Advanced, Proficient, Basic, and Below Basic.

Look for the news stories when this year’s test results are released. I expect to see educrats celebrating a “rise in scores,” but remember that what actually happened is that we lowered the standards to appease crappy teachers.

Our government education system has been failing and collapsing for decades. We are larding up the bureaucracy with administrators and cost while educational performance keeps falling. We are filling up the curriculum with useless information and social engineering while other countries are teaching their kids how to be successful in the 21st century. We are failing our kids and the government’s response is to lower the standards and use different words to obfuscate their failures. Bad test scores are not an indictment of the kids. It is an indictment of the system and adults who are failing the kids.

 

UW to Ask for $855 Million More

by | 2209, 22 Aug 24 | | 1 Comment

How about…. no.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Universities of Wisconsin regents agreed overwhelmingly on Thursday to ask Gov. Tony Evers for an additional $855 million for the cash-strapped system in the next state budget.

This.

The Universities are educating 17,297 fewer people. That’s like the entire population of Kaukauna or Cudahy. Why would the taxpayers spend another $855 million to educate fewer people?

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