Brewtown Gumshoe: February 2021

When your policies only benefit the top 1%, when you have nothing intelligent to add to any conversation, when the majority of your constituents have been hurt by your political decisions, all you are left with is symbolism, revisionism and make-believe.

After COVID shutdown, former Wis. Governor Scott Walker hopes to re-open Reagan’s boyhood home

In fact, it's all about revisionist history, an imagined past, phony accolades and false idols for bozos like Scott Walker.

I Am Not A Cat

Weekend Reading

Kenosha Judge Shrugs Off Kyle Rittenhouse’s Admitted Bond Violations, Denies Higher Bail And New Warrant

Breathing device sobers you up by hyperventilating the alcohol out

Sanders Responds to CBO Report on $15 Minimum Wage

Don’t Believe the Bad Press About the Economic Impact of a $15 Minimum Wage

CBO analysis confirms that a $15 minimum wage raises earnings of low-wage workers, reduces inequality, and has significant and direct fiscal effects

CBO attacks plan for higher minimum wage — or does it?

GOP senators criticized for appearing to pay half-hearted attention to trial

GOP senators discover their discomfort with intemperate tweets

Majority Of Those Arrested In Capitol Siege Had History Of Financial Trouble

Michigan's top GOP lawmaker: Jan. 6 Capitol attack was a 'hoax'

As DeJoy Readies New Assault on Postal Service, Pressure Grows for Biden to 'Clean House'

The Congestion Con

Further Means Testing of the Stimulus Will Be Disastrous for Suffering Americans

Resolution Cuts Pot Possession Fine to $1

Did UW-Whitewater send Robin Vos and Steve Nass to Madison to act like grade schoolers?

Saturday, February 6, 2021

For Conservatives, Government Is The Problem and The Solution

Inspired by all the recent flurries we’ve had in Wisconsin, John Torinus is back shoveling the yellow snow of economic policy. He begins with two head-scratchers.

“Congress should think twice before getting too generous with weekly unemployment compensation. That’s because manufacturers are already having a hard time finding enough workers to man their factories.”

First, what is “too generous” for weekly unemployment compensation? Recent compensation has been bolstered by the fact that we’re living through a global pandemic. It’s part of a stimulus package to keep workers and businesses afloat. It’s not meant to exist into perpetuity.

Second, it’s been pretty clearly and universally established that manufacturers are having a hard time finding workers because the work is grueling and worth more per hour than the amount they are willing to pay.

Tornius alerts, “The labor shortage is real.”

Again, this is wrong. Pay that is not commensurate with the work that is being asked to be done is real. We have a compensation problem, not a skills shortage or a labor shortage.

Torinus then pretends that stimulus money distributed during the ongoing pandemic has left many just sitting at home collecting checks, and many others just planning to do this forever. This is classic Republican bullshit. They’ve been claiming this garbage forever. Poor and working class are lazy and will stay home if given then chance. Yet, conservatives will bend over backwards to cut taxes and provide incentives to the rich. Remember, The Haves are the job creators and something will eventually trickle down to the poor and working class.

He then talks of the plethora of living wage jobs available for any willing worker. “Employers have also raised starting wages in this area to $14 to $16 per hour.” $15 per hour results in a yearly income of just over $30,000.

Torinus continues with even more drivel, “Yes, it is a noble goal to want a minimum level of income for every adult in the United States. But the better way to get there is through good-paying jobs in the private sector. Government jobs, which always seem to keep growing in number, may be necessary, but they do not propel the economy.”

Last I checked, the private sector has been around a while. We’ve deregulated, cut taxes and genuflected to their omnipotence for decades. Yet, the economy has been a roller-coaster of recessions alongside declining wages and benefits for most workers. And, despite Torinus saying so, the number of government employees has been declining, not increasing. As Fiona Hill, of the Brookings Institution, found, “Contrary to popular belief in the bloated growth of the U.S. public sector, the size of the federal government proportionate to the total U.S. population has significantly decreased over the last 50 years.”

Torinus’ article seems, in the end, to be an elaborate smoke and mirrors, which concludes, somehow, that the government is preventing the private sector from employing more people and also responsible for helping the private sector to employ more people.

He concludes, “We don’t need excessive unemployment compensation if there are lots of open jobs with good pay and benefits. Congress and the president have to get the incentives right. We can’t afford disincentives for working.”

Again, what is “excessive unemployment compensation”? What and where are these “open jobs with good pay and benefits”? Funny, too, that, with Republicans, “We can’t afford disincentives for working.” Yet, the subsidies, tax cuts and giveaways to corporations and billionaires can’t be considered anything but a disincentive and/or welfare. Somehow, in the twisted Republican logic, giving incentives to The Haves is sound economic policy, but giving incentives to those who really need it, is bad for business.

Wait, Who's The Snowflake?

I wonder what Republicans would be saying if some libtard, liberal, snowflake stormed the Capitol, destroyed property and wanted to kill legislators, and then demanded organic food in prison.

Man who wore horns in Capitol riot moved to Virginia jail that serves organic food

I don't remember any caveat regarding organic food in Republicans' chants of "Lock 'em up!"

Trickling Down or Just Getting Pissed On

Socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor. Milwaukee's new Economic Development Commissioner wants to double-down on corporate welfare.

Milwaukee officials consider higher incentives to bring businesses downtown

According to the new Commish, "The city is exploring more aggressive policies to incentivize job creation and investments in the downtown area. Those could come in the form of employment incentives using the city’s main economic development tool, tax incremental financing, for example. Or it could involve new ways the city could help growing companies recruit workers to fill new jobs."

There's no money for potholes, we can't fast-track lead pipe removal, workers can no longer have affordable health care or secure retirements, a living wage is too much to ask, we can't upgrade public infrastructure, but there's endless and increasing money to giveaway to corporations.

Improving the roads and transportation options, upgrading broadband, updating the electrical grid and sewer system, greening public buildings, along with numerous other public projects, would go much further toward growing Milwaukee's economy than simply giving "incentives" to already profitable corporations.

For Further Reading:

Open For Business?

Ticked Off About TIFs

Development Gone Astray

The Con That Is Foxconn or How Republicans Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Socialism For The Rich

Job Piracy

Snow Job

Two Milwaukee aldermen call city’s snow removal efforts “simply unacceptable”

“The Department of Public Works’ snow removal efforts in the wake of this past weekend’s snowstorm are simply unacceptable,” begins a joint statement from Alderman Khalif J. Rainey and Alderman Russell W. Stamper, II. “Neighborhood streets across the city are a mess, and we are almost 48 hours past the end of the snowfall. Our residents are—AGAIN—fending for themselves as they use their own shovels and snow blowers to dig out from the snow, doing the job that DPW apparently isn’t up to doing!”

The article goes on to note that, "DPW sent out 110 trucks with salt and plows Saturday night and ended up with 270 pieces of equipment on Milwaukee’s roads by Sunday morning.”

Alderman Nic Kovac offered some pushback to the negativity, “Most of the feedback (about DPW’s efforts) is positive, not exclusively. We can always do better, but I think they’ve been doing a good job and most of the feedback I’ve gotten is our crews are working very hard.”

The City of Milwaukee has 1,424 miles of paved streets (7,000 lane miles). Between the roads, parking lots, and sidewalks DPW is responsible for plowing, having most of this cleared 48 hours after over a foot of snow has fallen, doesn't seem to be a bad job on the part of the DPW.

Maybe the aldermen should be sounding the alarm on truly "unacceptable" issues. It's possible the plowing efforts could use some tweaks. What can't? But, based on the amount of snow and the fact that was primarily cleared within 48 hours, plowing does not seem to be a pressing issue the aldermen should be seeking media attention for and releasing joints statements about.