Showing posts with label Great Lakes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Great Lakes. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 16, 2020
Midweek Reading
Blue States are Not Wrong to Want to Restore the Deduction for State and Local Taxes
Trump calls for Fox News journalist to be fired for report on war dead scandal
How Dangerous Is Police Work?
Science Magazine Editor Pens Scathing Critique Of Trump’s ‘Shameful’ COVID-19 Lies
Trump claims crime is up in US cities. The truth is more complicated.
58% of Key Great Lakes Wetlands Unprotected50 years later, Milton Friedman’s shareholder doctrine is dead
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Midweek Reading
Bryan Adams apologises after 'bat eating' coronavirus rant
Rand Paul Tells Dr. Anthony Fauci He Should Have a Little “Humility"
Gov. Tony Evers: GOP Leaders 'Unconcerned' About Patchwork Of COVID-19 Response How the Coronavirus is Killing the Middle Class Trump calls coronavirus testing ‘overrated,’ claims U.S. would have ‘very few’ cases if no testing Politicians failed us. So it's up to citizens to protect Wisconsin We could stop the pandemic by July 4 if the government took these steps The Great Lakes are higher than they’ve ever been, and we’re not sure what will happen next The 12 deadliest viruses on Earth See which states still have increasing rates of COVID-19
Rand Paul Tells Dr. Anthony Fauci He Should Have a Little “Humility"
Gov. Tony Evers: GOP Leaders 'Unconcerned' About Patchwork Of COVID-19 Response How the Coronavirus is Killing the Middle Class Trump calls coronavirus testing ‘overrated,’ claims U.S. would have ‘very few’ cases if no testing Politicians failed us. So it's up to citizens to protect Wisconsin We could stop the pandemic by July 4 if the government took these steps The Great Lakes are higher than they’ve ever been, and we’re not sure what will happen next The 12 deadliest viruses on Earth See which states still have increasing rates of COVID-19
Saturday, July 13, 2019
Wisconsin Reading
When Socialists Swept Milwaukee
Why GOP Opposes Federal Medicaid Funds
The Incredible Shrinking Foxconn Plant
House passes $5M for Great Lakes Hyperloop that slots Milwaukee for Phase 2
Regrets, He Has A Few: Robin Vos Wanted To Do Even More For Wealthy In Wisconsin
Wisconsin's GOP Speaker Says He Wants To Consider Legalizing Medical Marijuana, Just After Rejecting Governor's Plan
State's Loss on Federal ACA is $1.3 Billion
Supreme Court's Gerrymandering Decision Fails Wisconsin
Why GOP Opposes Federal Medicaid Funds
The Incredible Shrinking Foxconn Plant
House passes $5M for Great Lakes Hyperloop that slots Milwaukee for Phase 2
Regrets, He Has A Few: Robin Vos Wanted To Do Even More For Wealthy In Wisconsin
Wisconsin's GOP Speaker Says He Wants To Consider Legalizing Medical Marijuana, Just After Rejecting Governor's Plan
State's Loss on Federal ACA is $1.3 Billion
Supreme Court's Gerrymandering Decision Fails Wisconsin
Saturday, March 30, 2019
Wisconsin Reading
GOP Redistricting Edge Moderated Democrats' 2018 Gains
WEDC Awards $7.5 Million In Tax Credits To Amazon For Wisconsin Projects
The Arrogance Of Robin Vos
Scott Walker Has A New Job
Scott Walker To Head 'Slow Moving Coup' To Repeal-And-Replace U.S. Constitution
Great Lakes States Are Warming Faster Than The Rest Of The Country, More Flooding Is In Store
WEDC Awards $7.5 Million In Tax Credits To Amazon For Wisconsin Projects
The Arrogance Of Robin Vos
Scott Walker Has A New Job
Scott Walker To Head 'Slow Moving Coup' To Repeal-And-Replace U.S. Constitution
Great Lakes States Are Warming Faster Than The Rest Of The Country, More Flooding Is In Store
Saturday, January 19, 2019
Weekend Reading
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Wants To Raise Taxes On The Rich - And Americans Agree
Economists Get Serious About Harm From Monopolies
Declining Birth Rates: Are We In Danger Of Running Out Of People?
The House Democrats' Colossal Election Reform Bill Could Save American Democracy
Why You're Wrong About Communism: Here Are 7 Huge Misconceptions About It - And Capitalism
Why Scott Walker's Welfare Legacy Will Outlast Him
The Future Of The Great Lakes
Anticompetitive Mergers In Labor Markets
Labor Market Concentration
Beware of Consultants Bearing Rosy News About Mergers
Economists Get Serious About Harm From Monopolies
Declining Birth Rates: Are We In Danger Of Running Out Of People?
The House Democrats' Colossal Election Reform Bill Could Save American Democracy
Why You're Wrong About Communism: Here Are 7 Huge Misconceptions About It - And Capitalism
Why Scott Walker's Welfare Legacy Will Outlast Him
The Future Of The Great Lakes
Anticompetitive Mergers In Labor Markets
Labor Market Concentration
Beware of Consultants Bearing Rosy News About Mergers
Saturday, April 28, 2018
Weekend Reading
The Myth That Markets Get Prices Right Won't Die
Who Creates A Nation's Economic Value?
Donald Trump And The Next Big Crash
Kansas Rancher Explains How Trump Has Betrayed US Farmers
Michael Cohen Case Shines Light On Sean Hannity's Property Empire
The Dumb Money
Smearing Robert Mueller
A Critical Look At Suburban Triumphalism
Richard Florida Can't Let Go Of His Creative Class Theory. His Reputation Depends On It.
The GOP Has Become The Caricature The Left Always Said It Was
Trump's Company Is Suing Towns Across The Country To Get Breaks On Taxes
The Oil Pipelines Putting The Great Lakes At Risk
The War On Pensions Continues
Where The Great Lakes Compact Ends And Wisconsin Law Begins
Hidden Figures: How Donald Trump Is Rigging The Census
Who Creates A Nation's Economic Value?
Donald Trump And The Next Big Crash
Kansas Rancher Explains How Trump Has Betrayed US Farmers
Michael Cohen Case Shines Light On Sean Hannity's Property Empire
The Dumb Money
Smearing Robert Mueller
A Critical Look At Suburban Triumphalism
Richard Florida Can't Let Go Of His Creative Class Theory. His Reputation Depends On It.
The GOP Has Become The Caricature The Left Always Said It Was
Trump's Company Is Suing Towns Across The Country To Get Breaks On Taxes
The Oil Pipelines Putting The Great Lakes At Risk
The War On Pensions Continues
Where The Great Lakes Compact Ends And Wisconsin Law Begins
Hidden Figures: How Donald Trump Is Rigging The Census
Sunday, May 7, 2017
Sunday Reading
Corporate Profits Are Way Up, Corporate Taxes Are Way Down
Trump's Tax Plan: Having A Laugh On Laffer
Water Bill Violate Constitution
U.S. Appeals Court Upholds 15-Miles Residency Rule For Milwaukee Cops, Emergency Workers
Hacked Records Show Bradley Foundation Taking Its Conservative Wisconsin Model National
Evaluating Trump's First 100 Days - On His Own Terms
New Study Suggests That Men Need To Drink With Friends Twice A Week To Stay Healthy Wisconsin ranks among U.S. states with the heaviest tax burdens
Trump's Tax Plan: Having A Laugh On Laffer
Water Bill Violate Constitution
U.S. Appeals Court Upholds 15-Miles Residency Rule For Milwaukee Cops, Emergency Workers
Hacked Records Show Bradley Foundation Taking Its Conservative Wisconsin Model National
Evaluating Trump's First 100 Days - On His Own Terms
New Study Suggests That Men Need To Drink With Friends Twice A Week To Stay Healthy Wisconsin ranks among U.S. states with the heaviest tax burdens
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Weekend Reading
State To Spend $559 Million More Than It Takes In Next Year
The Top 10 Global Warming 'Skeptic' Arguments Answered
Median CEO Pay Crosses $10 Million In 2013
Does 'Right-To-Work' Create Jobs? Answers From Oklahoma
Lesson For Other States From Kansas' Massive Tax Cuts
The Polarized Court
In North Dakota, There Will Be Blood
Milwaukee Is A Great Lakes Star
Wife Of Judge That Shut Down Scott Walker Investigation Is A Frequent Walker Contributor
The Top 10 Global Warming 'Skeptic' Arguments Answered
Median CEO Pay Crosses $10 Million In 2013
Does 'Right-To-Work' Create Jobs? Answers From Oklahoma
Lesson For Other States From Kansas' Massive Tax Cuts
The Polarized Court
In North Dakota, There Will Be Blood
Milwaukee Is A Great Lakes Star
Wife Of Judge That Shut Down Scott Walker Investigation Is A Frequent Walker Contributor
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Development, Sprawl and Water
Sprawl: low-density, lacks mixed-use, separates residential from non-residential property, lacks mass transportation options, increases auto-dependence and commute times, consumes more and more green space, and lacks affordable housing.
I know suburbanites feel they can just continue growing outward, building more roads and sewer lines, paving over more and more green space, and this will have no deleterious effects. Yet the real debate we should be having over the Great Lakes Water Compact is that the suburbs (and sprawl) are a misguided, unsustainable pipe-dream. We don’t have enough money to take care of the roads we have now, yet some want us to continue sprawling outward. America has more paved mileage per capita than any other country. Sprawl is merely duplicating infrastructure we already have. People complain about taxes now, yet they want to continue sprawling, which will only require more police, more maintenance, more of everything, which includes more taxes.
White flight and the “screw the inner-city” attitude is what drove suburbanites outward in the first place. All of this was encouraged by the highway and home-building lobbies. Suburbanites turned their backs on the problems of the city. This was also aided by federal policies. The Federal Housing Administration provided government-insured mortgages to whites in the suburbs (while denying them in the inner-city). Policies have also kept gas prices artificially low, while reserving gas tax and highway toll revenues for road-building rather than mass transit, which subsidizes suburban commuters and continued sprawl.
Another much touted, yet becoming more so destructive, policy tool is tax incremental financing (TIF). These were initially established to bring investment to blighted, low-income areas. But nowadays, more states are loosening their eligibility requirements and allowing affluent areas to reap the benefits. TIFs allow a municipality to issue a bond to pay for part of the costs of the new development. The property tax revenue generated by the development is then used to pay off the bonds. Some municipalities also allow sales tax increments, where the sales tax generated by the new development can be diverted to redevelopment costs.
The City has the trump card in these negotiations. If suburbanites want access to the City's water: 1) move back to the city, 2) pay a ridiculous amount for the water (to offset the negative externalities of such development), 3) pay for mass transit improvements to link inner-city unemployed with suburban employment, or 4) make some effort and recognition to show that suburbanites understand their present water-deprived reality and are willing to work towards a long-term, sustainable resolution.
We cannot keep pretending that we can do whatever we wish and mold nature to our liking. The suburban land of strip malls and highways is a blight and cancer on our landscape. The idea that suburbanites can use Lake Michigan water, take it from the Great Lakes Basin, divert it west of the Subcontinental Divide, and never return it, or somehow return it through pipelines, does nothing to address the unsustainable nature of sprawl, which is devouring our green space and natural habitat nationwide. And, as Barbara Miner reports in her Milwaukee Magazine article The Politics of Water, "One of the world's oldest lakes took less than 50 years to shrink away...diverting the Aral Sea's tributary rivers in order to grow cotton in the desert - turned into a massive ecological disaster." In the last few decades the U.S. population has grown by roughly twenty percent, but urbanized land has grown by over fifty percent. This cannot continue.
The simple fact that certain localities are running out of water is Nature’s way of saying you were not supposed to be there in the first place. The sooner we realize that we can’t keep running from our problems and building over evermore green space with parking lots and highways, the better off we will be, and the better off the planet will be.
For Further Reading:
Fair Faucet
A Firm Hand on the Spigot
Great Lakes Deal Announced
Great Lakes Forever
Options Running Dry
State Struggles on Where to Draw the Line
Those who control oil and water...
Time to start paying waters real price
I know suburbanites feel they can just continue growing outward, building more roads and sewer lines, paving over more and more green space, and this will have no deleterious effects. Yet the real debate we should be having over the Great Lakes Water Compact is that the suburbs (and sprawl) are a misguided, unsustainable pipe-dream. We don’t have enough money to take care of the roads we have now, yet some want us to continue sprawling outward. America has more paved mileage per capita than any other country. Sprawl is merely duplicating infrastructure we already have. People complain about taxes now, yet they want to continue sprawling, which will only require more police, more maintenance, more of everything, which includes more taxes.
White flight and the “screw the inner-city” attitude is what drove suburbanites outward in the first place. All of this was encouraged by the highway and home-building lobbies. Suburbanites turned their backs on the problems of the city. This was also aided by federal policies. The Federal Housing Administration provided government-insured mortgages to whites in the suburbs (while denying them in the inner-city). Policies have also kept gas prices artificially low, while reserving gas tax and highway toll revenues for road-building rather than mass transit, which subsidizes suburban commuters and continued sprawl.
Another much touted, yet becoming more so destructive, policy tool is tax incremental financing (TIF). These were initially established to bring investment to blighted, low-income areas. But nowadays, more states are loosening their eligibility requirements and allowing affluent areas to reap the benefits. TIFs allow a municipality to issue a bond to pay for part of the costs of the new development. The property tax revenue generated by the development is then used to pay off the bonds. Some municipalities also allow sales tax increments, where the sales tax generated by the new development can be diverted to redevelopment costs.
The City has the trump card in these negotiations. If suburbanites want access to the City's water: 1) move back to the city, 2) pay a ridiculous amount for the water (to offset the negative externalities of such development), 3) pay for mass transit improvements to link inner-city unemployed with suburban employment, or 4) make some effort and recognition to show that suburbanites understand their present water-deprived reality and are willing to work towards a long-term, sustainable resolution.
We cannot keep pretending that we can do whatever we wish and mold nature to our liking. The suburban land of strip malls and highways is a blight and cancer on our landscape. The idea that suburbanites can use Lake Michigan water, take it from the Great Lakes Basin, divert it west of the Subcontinental Divide, and never return it, or somehow return it through pipelines, does nothing to address the unsustainable nature of sprawl, which is devouring our green space and natural habitat nationwide. And, as Barbara Miner reports in her Milwaukee Magazine article The Politics of Water, "One of the world's oldest lakes took less than 50 years to shrink away...diverting the Aral Sea's tributary rivers in order to grow cotton in the desert - turned into a massive ecological disaster." In the last few decades the U.S. population has grown by roughly twenty percent, but urbanized land has grown by over fifty percent. This cannot continue.
The simple fact that certain localities are running out of water is Nature’s way of saying you were not supposed to be there in the first place. The sooner we realize that we can’t keep running from our problems and building over evermore green space with parking lots and highways, the better off we will be, and the better off the planet will be.
For Further Reading:
Fair Faucet
A Firm Hand on the Spigot
Great Lakes Deal Announced
Great Lakes Forever
Options Running Dry
State Struggles on Where to Draw the Line
Those who control oil and water...
Time to start paying waters real price
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