Conservatively Speaking

Tax Freedom Day is the day Americans will have earned enough money to pay this year’s tax obligations at the federal, state and local levels.

Tax Freedom Day in Wisconsin will also fall on April 13, 2009.  That compares to last year’s Tax Freedom day of April 21, 2008.

If that sounds like good news, it depends on your view. Wisconsin’s 2008 Tax Freedom Day was the 14^th worst in the country. This year’s Tax Freedom Day is the 12^th worst of all the states.

The third meeting of the WISCONSIN JOBS NOW TASK FORCE was held Monday in Eau Claire. About 50 businesspeople attended to discuss their concerns about Wisconsin’s business climate, according to the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. 

Here is my blog about last week’s task force meeting in Brown Deer and the Green Bay Press Gazette’s coverage of the first meeting in Howard.

I-894/I-43 EB double lane closures from 35^th St to 27th St. 9:30 p.m.-5:30 a.m
I-894/I-43 WB double lane closures from 20^th St to 27th St. 9:30 p.m.-5:30 a.m
I-94 WEST (NB) double lane closure from Rawson Ave to College Ave. 9:30 p.m.-5:30 a.m
I-94 EAST (SB) double lane closure from Airport Spur to College Ave. 9:30 p.m.-5:30 a.m
Single lane closure College Ave WB at STH 38 (Howell Ave.) 9 a.m. - 3 p.m
Alternating single lane closures at the intersection of Layton Ave and Loomis Rd. 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Alternating single lane closures at the intersection of Layton Ave and 27^th St. 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.


THURSDAY, APRIL 2 
I-894/I-43 EB double lane closures from 35^th St to 27th St. 9:30 p.m.-5:30 a.m
I-894/I-43 WB double lane closures from 20^th St to 27th St. 9:30 p.m.-5:30 a.m
I-94 WEST (NB) double lane closure from Rawson Ave to Grange Ave. 9:30 p.m.-5:30 a.m
I-94 EAST (SB) double lane closure from Edgerton Ave to College Ave. 9:30 p.m.-5:30 a.m
Full closure of I-94 EAST (SB) exit ramp to the Airport Spur EB 9:30 p.m.-5:30 a.m
Airport Spur WB full closure at Howell Ave. 9:30 p.m.-5:30 a.m
Single lane closure College Ave WB at STH 38 (Howell Ave.) 9 a.m. - 3 p.m
Alternating single lane closures at the intersection of Layton Ave and Loomis Rd. 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Alternating single lane closures at the intersection of Layton Ave and 27^th St. 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.


FRIDAY, APRIL 3
I-94 EAST (SB) full freeway closure at College Ave.;lane closures begin at Airport Spur 11 p.m - 9 a.m.
I-94 WEST (NB) inside single lane closure at College. 11 p.m - 9 a.m.
Alternating single lane closures at the intersection of Layton Ave and Loomis Rd. 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Alternating single lane closures at the intersection of Layton Ave and 27^th St. 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.


SATURDAY, APRIL 4
I-94 EAST (SB) full freeway closure at College Ave; lane closures begin at Airport Spur. 11 p.m - 10 a.m.
I-94 WEST (NB) inside lane closure at College Ave. 11 p.m - 10 a.m.


LONG TERM CLOSURES
I-894/I-43 WB exit ramp to 27^th Street. Until Late July
27^th St entrance ramp to I-894/I-43 EB. Until Late July    
27^th St NB entrance loop ramp to I-894 WB. Until Late July
I-894/I-43 WB right lane closure between Mitchell Interchange and 27^th Street. Until Late July
Single lane closures on NB and SB 27^th Street between Layton Ave and Bottsford Ave; both directions of traffic will run on the 27^th St. SB bridge over I-894 (two lanes in each direction). Until Late July
Full closure of College Ave from 15th St. to 20th Street. 3/30/09 - November 2009
Full closure of Grange Ave from 15^th St. to 20^th St. Until November 2009

Recently I learned that someone was sending emails to my office, and the emails were not reaching my inbox. As you can imagine, the sender was frustrated at not receiving a reply. This is unacceptable for both the sender and for me.

I contacted staff at the Legislative Technical Service Bureau (LTSB) to find out what happened. LTSB staff explain that each email sent to the Wisconsin Legislature passes through the spam filtering system and is given a spam score. Free web-based emails accounts are frequently used by spammers. Emails sent from these email addresses receive a higher spam score. The filtering technology takes into consideration the sender’s email address, the content of the message, links within the email, the number of recipients, etc. The score determines the likelihood of the email being spam. Spam emails are quarantined or blocked depending on their scores, and if a score is high enough to block an email, even the receiver is unaware that it was ever sent. The parameters associated with the scoring process are adjusted by the spam filtering technology provider on an hourly basis to keep current with clever spammers.

The Legislature receives nearly 100,000 emails from outside sources in a day. Approximately 90,000 of these emails are blocked because they are identified as spam or containing viruses.

Two factors, in this instance, contributed to the recent sender’s emails being blocked. The email came from a free email domain, and contained links to websites. I have since directed a modification to settings to allow this person’s emails to reach my inbox.

I remain very concerned that constituent emails may be blocked. If you have emailed me in the past and have not received an answer, please try again. If you do not receive a response, please telephone my office at 1-800-334-1442. Please keep in mind that Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, etc. and emails containing links may be blocked, and you will not receive a notice that they did not reach their intended destination. If you make my office aware that you are a constituent, that your emails may be blocked, and provide your email address, a modification will be made to allow your emails to reach their destination.

Here is the update for this week from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) for the I-94 NORTH-SOUTH freeway project:

Construction update week of March 22-27:
I-94 North-South preliminary work update in Milwaukee County
All closures are weather-dependent and subject to change.  New long-term closures are BOLD.


TUESDAY, MARCH 24

Right lane closures on Rawson Ave. between 27^th St. and 20^th    9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Single lane closure on 27^th St. between Layton and Bolivar       All day
Double lane closures on I-894 EB from 51^st to Loomis Rd.        10 p.m.-6 a.m.
Double lane closures on 27^th St. NB from Layton to Bolivar      9:30 p.m.-5:30 a.m.

Bi-directional traffic will run on SB 27^th St. over I-894 Until Mid July (two lanes in each direction)
Median work at College Ave. and WIS 38  9 a.m.-3 p.m.


WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25

Right lane closures on Rawson Ave. between 27^th St. and 20^th    9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Median work at College Ave. and WIS 38  9 a.m.-3 p.m.


THURSDAY, MARCH 26 

Right lane closures on Rawson Ave. between 27^th St. and 20^th    9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Median work at College Ave. and WIS 38  9 a.m.-3 p.m.


FRIDAY, MARCH 27

Right lane closures on Rawson Ave. between 27^th St. and 20^th    9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Double lane closures on I-894 EB at 27^th St.    11 p.m - 8 a.m.
Double lane closures on I-894 WB at 27^th St.   11 p.m - 8 a.m.


LONG TERM CLOSURES

27^th St. off-ramp from I-894 WB 3/23/09 - Mid July
27^th St on-ramp from I-894 EB   3/23/09 - Mid July 
27^th St NB on-ramp to I-894 WB 3/23/09 - Mid July
I-894 WB right lane closure before 27^th St.  3/23/09 - Mid July
Bi-directional traffic will run on SB 27^th St. over I-894 3/24/09 - Mid July (two lanes in each direction)
Full closure of Grange Ave from 15^th St. to 20^th St. Until Mid November

The boy’s basketball team at Holy Apostles of New Berlin had a great run in the Padre Serra tournament, finishing 4^th among 36 teams. The tournament concluded Sunday at Mount Mary College.

Ty Sabin of Holy Apostles was named to the All-Tournament team.

Congratulations to Holy Apostles for an outstanding tournament!

You can read more about Padre Serra at their website.

Here is the calendar for the state Senate floor session Tuesday, March 24, 2009 at 11:00 a.m..

The WISCONSIN JOBS NOW Task Force holds a meeting in Brown Deer Monday, March 23, 2009  to hear critical testimony about how to revive Wisconsin’s economy. A successful meeting was held on March 10, 2009 in Howard, near Green Bay. 

It is imperative Wisconsin businesspeople attend, share their expertise and voice their concerns about the ramifications the proposed state budget and the recently approved state stimulus/budget repair bill will have on Wisconsin’s struggling business climate and economy.

I invite business leaders from Senate District 28 that I represent to Monday’s Task Force meeting. Your input is invaluable in reviving our state economy and getting people back to work.

Republicans in the state Legislature have formed the WISCONSIN JOBS NOW Task Force that is touring the state holding listening sessions soliciting input from the business community. Senate District 28 businesspeople, your input will be incorporated into a report of recommendations to the Legislature to create jobs and truly stimulate our economy. The task force was developed by legislative Republicans after the Wisconsin budget adjustment bill was approved and signed into law in a span of 48 hours without adequate scrutiny from the public or news media. The bill made significant changes to the state’s business tax structure with the enactment of combined reporting, a streamlined sales tax, a sales tax on business software, and several other tax increases. Other business proposals in the Legislature include a minimum wage increase and changes in the wage lien law that were approved by Democrats controlling the state Senate and are currently in the State Assembly.

I strongly encourage you to share your much-needed expertise at the next task force meeting:

Monday, March 23, 2009
BioResearch, Inc.
9275 N. 49^th St.
Suite 150
Brown Deer, WI
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM 

Please RSVP your attendance to me.  If you wish to testify and are unable to attend, please send me your testimony and I will make sure it is included with live testimony.

Governor Doyle’s proposed 2009-11 state budget gets worse and worse. The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) has issued a memo that the state faces another huge budget shortfall in the 2011-13 biennium.

The LFB writes, “For 2011-12, the general fund would need to generate $713 million in order to meet current commitments and those of AB 75 (Governor Doyle’s proposed 2009-11 state budget), maintain the required statutory balance, and balance the budget for that year. In 2012-13, $861 million ($148 million over the $113 million in 2011-12) would need to be realized.

That amounts to a $1.574 billion deficit in the 2011-13 state budget that would need to be addressed.

Here is the LFB memo.

Proposed legislation that could be introduced soon in Madison would increase the authority of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR).  Here is an analysis of part of the legislation by the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau. Read carefully:

“Under current law, DNR administers a statewide program to control invasive species. This bill authorizes DNR, for the purpose of administering and enforcing the statewide invasive species program, to conduct compliance investigations. The bill authorizes a DNR warden or other DNR representative to enter premises where invasive species are stored, where records relating to invasive species are kept, where vehicles, boats, equipment, or materials are located, or where activities related to invasive species are conducted. It also authorizes DNR to inspect invasive species stored or possessed by any person, inspect records or reports relating to invasive species, take diagnostic samples, and seize and destroy certain invasive species.”

The Lakeland Times newspaper has picked up on the story with this headline:

“DNR could enter any premise where vehicles or boats are stored”

Investigative reporter Richard Moore writes:

“It (the bill) would also authorize the agency (DNR) to conduct ‘compliance investigations’ and allow the DNR to promulgate an emergency rule to identify, classify, or control an invasive species without providing evidence of an emergency. Such rules can be in place for up to two years.  According to the analysis, the bill would not only expand the law enforcement authority of DNR wardens but empower non-law enforcement DNR personnel to enter a person's private property as well. In other words, any DNR representative could enter any property where a vehicle or boat is kept at any time to conduct a compliance investigation.”

Here is the Lakeland Times article that also raises questions about the constitutionality of the legislation. 

I cannot support legislation that would expand the scope of the DNR’s authority in the manner outlined.

Last month I compared the stimulus package approved by the state Legislature to the huge stimulus measure adopted in Washington. I wrote:

“The state Legislature committed the same colossal error Congress made with the federal stimulus. Legislators were swept into the same rush to act as our representatives in Washington.  There was little, if any light of day shed on a massive budget repair proposal that was approved by the state Senate and Assembly and signed into law. The taxpaying public and the news media did not have the proper time to review the nearly 400-page bill legislators suddenly had dumped on their calendars.”

Veronique de Rugy, an economist specializing in tax matters at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University goes even further, saying that costly, ambitious measures designed to stimulate the economy never work.

De Rugy argues that the New Deal, military spending during World War II, eight Japanese stimulus packages during the 1990’s, and the 2008 federal rebate checks, all crafted to rejuvenate slumping economies failed to have the intended results. She makes a strong, compelling case against the stimulus concept in a column in Reason magazine:

“The thinking behind stimulus legislation assumes that the government is better at spending $825 billion than the private sector. When Obama says, ‘We’ll invest in what works,’ he means, ‘unlike you bozos.’ The president’s faith in Washington is sweet, but politics rather than sound economics guide government spending. Politicians rely on lobbyists from unions, corporations, pressure groups, and state and local governments when they decide how to spend other people’s money. By contrast, entrepreneurs’ decisions to spend their own cash are guided by monetary profit and loss. That’s likely to work better and certain to produce more innovation.

The biggest problem is that the government can’t inject money into the economy without first taking money out of the economy. Where does the government get that money? It can a) borrow it or b) collect it from taxes. There is no aggregate increase in demand. Government borrowing and spending doesn’t boost national income or standard of living; it merely redistributes it. The pie is sliced focus on real incentives to work and invest, such as cutting marginal tax rates for everyone. “

I concur with de Rugy’s final conclusion: “Focus on real incentives to work and invest, such as cutting marginal tax rates for everyone.”

Here is de Rugy’s column.

Here is yet another example of Governor Doyle’s penchant for raiding funds.

The governor is calling for $25 million in rebates designed for consumers to instead be transferred to local governments. It is another in a pattern of moves by the governor to raid funds to use for another purpose. There is a larger principle at play. This is your money and the governor wants to take it away.

The Associated Press has complete details on the history of the rebate and the governor’s provision in his proposed 2009-11 state budget here.

The boy’s basketball team at Holy Apostles Elementary School of New Berlin advanced to the quarterfinals of the Padre Serra Tournament after a 37-32 win over top-seeded St. Joseph’s of Wauwatosa Sunday afternoon at Mount Mary College.

Holy Apostles will play another school from state Senate District 28, St. Leonard’s of Muskego this Friday night in the tournament. St. Leonard’s advanced with their win over Holy Family of Sheboygan Sunday.

In the girls’ bracket, Holy Apostles of New Berlin faces St. Agnes/ St. Anthony of Menomonee Falls this Thursday night. Also this Thursday, St. Mary of Hales Corners plays St. Sebastian of Milwaukee.

You can find complete information about the prestigious Padre Serra Tournament at its website.