Economics
TAX GIVEAWAY FOR THE RICH
The House Republicans, under Representative Paul Ryan's leadership, recently attempted to quickly push their bill, the American Health Care Act (AHCA), through congressional committees to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Only two days after the AHCA was unveiled, House Committees were voting on it, before the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) even had a chance to release a report analyzing the bill's projected effect on consumers, health care providers, insurance companies, and the federal budget.
Joe Baker of the Medicare Rights Center (MRC), is troubled by ...
OPEN LETTER REGARDING POTENTIAL SELF-INSURANCE PLAN
OPEN LETTER TO WISCONSIN JOINT FINANCE COMMITTEE
REGARDING POTENTIAL SELF-INSURANCE PLAN
POWRS (Protect Our Wisconsin Retirement Security), February 19, 2017
Dear Joint Finance Committee Members:
POWRS has closely followed events leading to the Wisconsin Group Insurance Board (GIB) approval of the self-insurance program proposal. We have been and continue to be deeply skeptical of this proposal. We believe that since the health insurance marketplace is already in turmoil due to dismantling of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), conducting such a radical change ...
WEALTH AND MONEY PART XXIX: PUBLIC BANKING AND INFRASTRUCTURE
The last edition of Wealth and Money discussed how Public – Private investment schemes were likely to be used under the Trump administration to finance the rebuilding of America’s infrastructure. Due to 40 years of tax cuts for the rich and corporations, along with deregulation of the financial industry, our federal and state governments have been defunded. This massive transferal of the nation’s claim to wealth, money, to the richest .01 percent has left government in debt and opened the door for complete predation on the people of America. Rather than paying for ...
WEALTH AND MONEY PART XXVIII: THE WRONG WAY TO FINANCE INFRASTRUCTURE
On June 29th, 1956 President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 and the U.S. interstate highway system, the greatest public works project in world history, was born. This occurred only a few short years after America had invested millions upon millions of dollars in World War II and government debt was at an all-time high.
But dollars and wealth are not the same thing. Following the war America was the unquestioned industrial leader of the world. We had unprecedented capacity to produce true wealth – the products and services of an ...
WEALTH AND MONEY PART XXVII: WAR, TAXES, BANKING AND THE LOOTING OF AMERICA
“Our roads and bridges are crumbling, our airports are out of date and the vast majority of our seaports are in danger of becoming obsolete. All the result of decades of neglect. None of this is really in dispute. Business leaders, labor unions, governors, mayors, congressmen and presidents have complained about a lack of funding for years, but aside from a onetime cash infusion from the stimulus program, nothing much has changed. There is still no consensus on how to solve the problem or where to get the massive amounts of money needed to fix it.” - - - CBS 60 Minutes ...
The Retirement Crisis
One of the annoying aspects of our broken electoral system is that issues of real importance are often ignored. Our elections are a money driven media circus of personal attacks, misleading sound bites, and ideological slogans. The real problems facing citizens and the country are not discussed in any rational, substantive way. Retirement security is one of these issues. Yes, there was some mention of Social Security in the last election. The misleading, party line talking points were reiterated during the “debates.” But the broader issue of retirement security for ...
WEALTH AND MONEY PART XXVI: WHO IS BANKRUPTING AMERICA?
U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said: “Because of Obamacare, Medicare is going broke.” But the Medicare trustees themselves, along with a host of experts, say the Affordable Care Act’s changes to Medicare – including holding the line on spending and raising taxes [a surtax on high income earners] – actually puts Medicare in better shape than before the law was adopted. That’s a long way from making Medicare go broke. We rate Ryan’s statement Pants on Fire. - - Tom Kertscher, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“Pants on Fire” has become standard operating proced...
Looking Forward to 2017
The turn of the calendar to 2017 brings us hope for better prospects in our public affairs. I am particularly inspired this season for the many who wrote with solutions to problems facing our state.
The many letters from readers gives me optimism for a coming bloom of civic mindedness. Certainly your notes and letters bring a fresh approach to lingering problems.
I do see signs on the horizon that our state may be stumbling.
Deep budget cuts have affected the forward progress of our University of Wisconsin System. Faculty have left UW and taken their research ...
Logging the Brule Part 2: The Economics
“Politics: a strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.” Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Bierce was a late 19th - early 20th century journalist and short story writer. He is best remembered for “The Devil's Dictionary,” a collection of satirical definitions of American society. Last week I discussed the changes to the Brule River State Forest to increase the acreage available for logging. The state has mandated that 75% of state forests be managed for logging. This mandate certainly fits Bierce's ...
WEALTH AND MONEY Part XXV: COMEDY WERE IT NOT TRAGEDY
“Paul Ryan was born into a well-to-do Janesville, Wisc. family, part of the so-called “Irish mafia” that’s run the city’s construction industry since the 19th century. When his lawyer father died young, sadly, the high-school aged Ryan received Social Security survivor benefits. But they didn’t go directly to supporting his family; by his own account, he banked them for college. He went to Miami University of Ohio, paying twice as much tuition as an Ohio resident would have. “After his government-subsidized out-of-state education, the pride of Janesville left ...