Economics
Gold Dome Bridge to Nowhere
The “Star Wars Dome” Proposal Prioritizes Illusion Over Fiscal Reality
While national defense is vital, the proposed continental missile shield—dubbed a “Star Wars Dome”—ignores practical and economic realities. Israel’s Iron Dome system protects a nation smaller than New Jersey (8,469 square miles), while scaling such technology to cover the continental U.S. (3.8 million square miles) would require staggering investments in infrastructure, maintenance, and iterative upgrades. Even if technically feasible, the system would likely be obsolete by deployment ...
Wisconsin’s Budget
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has released his proposed 2025-2027 budget. In what has become a legislative tradition, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos declared Evers’ proposal “dead on arrival.” The next step in the biennial battle is for the Republican controlled Joint Finance Committee to write their own budget ignoring most of Evers' work.
Gov. Evers' budget proposes a $119 billion plan for investments in education, healthcare, public health, cleaning up environmental problems and tax relief for the lower tax brackets. There are a number of improvements for ...
HEAD START
Right now, Congress is working on a budget proposal that includes eliminating the Head Start program nationwide. For Wisconsin children, this could be devastating. In St. Croix County alone, Head Start funded preschool enrollment for over 9,000 children in 2023.
Head Start promotes school readiness for children from birth to age five who live in low-income households. Families also benefit from participation in the program, as it also provides prenatal care, housing support, job training, and education both for parents and staff.
Starting in 1965 ...
Attacks on Freedom
Funding for institutions of higher learning, including the University of Wisconsin’s campuses in Wausau and Marshfield, is being used to coerce them into following philosophical mandates issued by the Trump Administration. Attempting to coerce universities to change admission and administrative policy is an assault on academic freedom and on the First Amendment to the Constitution.
The First Amendment is written for the express purpose of allowing people to speak in opposition to government policy without recrimination. The Trump Administration has been abducting and ...
Tariffs and Oligarchy
What is a tariff? It is a tax placed on items imported from another country. Does the other country pay the tax? No, the American importer pays the tax and then passes the increased cost of the product on to the consumer. Who benefits? If tariffs become the major way of collecting taxes it is the wealthiest members of society. People with lower incomes spend most of their salaries or hourly wages on their daily needs. When prices rise, because of the across the board tariffs, they will pay taxes on most everything they buy. Wealthier people make money they don’t need for ...
RETURN OF THE ROBBER BARONS 4.0
TIME TO REDISTRIBUTE THE WEALTH
NORTH DAKOTA NON-PARTISAN LEADER 1918 - - HISTORY REPEATS
https://digitalhorizonsonline.org/digital/collection/ppf/id/24639/rec/706
Senior citizens are rightfully concerned about the “security” of Social Security. We hear endless
warnings claiming the program is insolvent and bankrupting the federal government. The
“Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) would happily gut and privatize the program
(something the Robber Barrons of Wall Street have wanted since its establishment under the
Franklin D. Roosevelt ...
Budget Chaos in Wisconsin
Wisconsin Senator Chris Larson is concerned about the impact on Wisconsin's state budget from Trump's cuts to federal funding. The cuts being implemented at the federal level will create havoc with the Wisconsin state budget. Senator Larson has introduced emergency legislation – the Frozen Federal Funds Emergency Act – to help deal with this problem.
The proposed bill requires the legislature to convene an extraordinary session if the Trump funding cuts are implemented. The extraordinary session would “consider” providing money from the “budget ...
Jalisco and the Refugee Crisis
Jalisco state in Mexico rings in the ears with mariachi music and brightly dressed dancers twirling, while onlookers toast glasses of tequila. Both this iconic music and the even more iconic drink fermented and distilled from the blue agave are said to have been born there. Nat King Cole and Elvis sang the praises of Guadalajara, Jalisco's capital, and the beaches of Puerto Vallarata will undoubtedly tickle the memory circuits of many folks from Central Wisconsin. Colorful and inspiring, Jalisco is also home to one of Mexico's brutal drug cartels and ...
RETURN OF THE ROBBER BARONS 3.0
THE POLITICIAN WILL HAVE TO DISGUISE HIMSELF
Non-Partisan Leader Cartoon 1917
https://digitalhorizonsonline.org/digital/collection/ndsu-npl/id/45/rec/68
North Dakota State University Archives
The Non-Partisan League was formed by the farmers of N.D. because neither the Republicans nor the Democrats of that time were serving their interests. The League would go on to establish the public Bank of North Dakota in 1919 which serves the people of N.D. to this day.
Americans are frightened and appalled by the current assault on traditional federal ...
Economic Conundrums
“There is always enough for the needy, there is never enough for the greedy.” Mahatma Gandhi
“Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.” Edward Abbey environmentalist and author
Most of us would be better off if we spent less, spent more wisely, and saved more. But what happens to an economy based on consumer spending when consumers don't spend? If we all do what is good for our personal situation will the economy crash?
American consumer capitalism is full of conundrums. Consumer spending drives the economy but is often not good for ...