Wisconsin’s Governor is full of crazy ideas:
The initial $100 million theoretically could stimulate a matching sum in spending from the private sector or foundations, WHEDA estimates.
Here’s a breakout of the funding, as described by WHEDA officials:
$11 million: Loans in strategic neighborhoods to spur new home ownerships.
?$25 million : Loans and federal tax credits to support multifamily housing, which in turn could catalyze a further private or foundation investment in key neighborhoods.
$56 million: Loans and aid for small business development.
$8 million: Earmarked to tear down and remediate blighted properties.
The program isn’t comparable to federal stimulus spending because it doesn’t use tax revenue, Walker said at a Monday news conference.
WHEDA will raise $100 million by selling tax-exempt bonds to private investors. The bond sale proceeds will be used to provide loans for apartment developments, business expansions and other central city projects.
By selling the bonds in the authority’s name, the investors who buy them do not pay state or federal taxes, which means they accept a lower interest rate.
That allows businesses and developers to reduce their borrowing costs. And that amounts to a subsidy from taxpayers because of the bonds’ tax-exempt status.
During a Monday morning news conference at the mayor’s campaign headquarters, Barrett said Walker worked against the city when Walker decided to use $30 million from a nationwide mortgage foreclosure settlement to balance the state budget instead of directing it to victims of the foreclosure crisis.
Barrett said he was pleased that the governor and state now wants to work with Milwaukee on job creation.
He added, “But I have to tell you, I question the sincerity of that when it comes 36 days before the recall election. Had this come during his time as county executive, had this come during the first 15 months of his term as governor, I may have felt he was more sincere. But the timing, one week basically after the state of Wisconsin was identified as the only state in the entire country that had statistically significant decrease in jobs raises the question of whether this is about creating jobs in Milwaukee or this is about saving Scott Walker’s job.”
Barrett, the Democratic candidate for Governor, is very butthurt that Walker wouldn’t accept the fed money that would have gone to creating a high-speed rail boondoggle in Wisconsin, noting that this may have cost 35 jobs at one employer. The devil’s bargain that is high-speed rail would have required costly commitments from the State of Wisconsin, backloaded, as per the administration’s usual practice. More to the point, the administration’s attempt to strong-arm Wisconsin, Indiana, and other states neighboring Illinois was an attempt to create a boondoggle bailout for their Chicago cronies, who had the most to gain.
Illini backed Obama big-time, especially in Chicago, thinking that he was going to save their corrupt bacon. Instead, he blew it on green projects backed by big donors, and then added insult to injury by trying to pay them off on the cheap with his ridiculous last-ditch effort to bring the Olympics to Chicago-Is-Out. The next major effort to pay them off on the cheap was high-speed rail. Chicago is naturally placed as a major hub. In fact, until the railroads started doing big business, backed by private capital, Chicago was relatively a backwater compared with the better steamer-placed Port of Milwaukee.
And it’s that private capital part that stings the most for Proggies. What Governor Walker is saying, in effect, is that he thinks that he can get better results from private investment, and part of the reason that he so suspects is that private investors have this curious way of making good calculations about their investments. As opposed, for example, to Segway Boy. From here, I’m ideally poised to go off on a rant about the leftist disdain for empiricism, but I’ll spare you that, because this is Jeff’s blog and he does a pretty good job of covering that material.
In sum, wouldn’t it be horrible if Walker and his investors succeeded? That would certainly be the worst-case scenario, yeah?
NB: I hope fags what have tons of money invest earn oodles so they can go out clubbing alot in cool revitalized environs, because I hate them so. As a Catholic.
instead of directing it to victims of the foreclosure crisis.
it was just like hurricane katrina
Call me crazy but I don’t think you get to question the timing as it relates to a recall election. Barrett is such a joke.
Myself, I question the timing of the election. It hasn’t been four years yet by my watch.
Fiddle-dee-dee!
baracky to the lemmings: forward!!11!!
I have to question the sincerity of the sincerity questioning.
maybe walker wasn’t being severely sincere
baracky to casey jones: forward
Sorry, I’m still lost at the
comment.
For some reason, I find that extremely difficult to believe. Was he talking about a single day, a couple of weeks ago?
For some reason, I find that extremely difficult to believe. Was he talking about a single day, a couple of weeks ago?
table d
Wisconsin…………………| 2,754,500 | 2,730,600 | -23,900
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.nr0.htm
one week basically after the state of Wisconsin was identified as the only state in the entire country that had statistically significant decrease in jobs…
which is like recalling reagan in the spring of 1982
I guess <1% is “statistically significant” to those who would consider the many-fold increase in national debt under Obama just a bump in the road.
there’s always table b or casablanca
2011 vs 2012
Wisconsin ………………….| 7.6 | 6.8 | -.8
I’d say Wisconson is a piker compared to California when it comes to job losses.
Perhaps the unions should express their concern with ol moonbeams.
If you really want a high-speed rail boondoggle in your state, it helps if your governor is working out daddy issues. Moonbeam: The Governor Edmund G. Brown California Aqueduct is 701 miles long, but the (it’s not official yet but Obama has promised if I stay in line)) Edmund Gerald “Jerry” Brown, Jr. High Speed Rail System is going to be 800+ miles long, with trains running 200+ miles per hour!
my dick is bigger than yours daddylove me daddyFor The People!So it is a subsidy because the tax-payers are going to not have to pay to make up for the taxes that won’t be paid whether this passes or not?
Have I got that right?
We had the same high speed rail argument in Florida- Governor Scott was criticized for rejecting whatever huge amount of Federal money was offered for high speed rail. Of course, Gov Scott had studies which showed the federal money would only pay for a portion, leaving the State on the hook for the rest. I had a very vocal argument with a local sports talk show host in Tampa, who was going on and on about how the lack of high speed rail would ruin our state and destroy all of our professional sports team. He said the money from the Feds was “free money.” He refused to look at anything that showed how Florida would ultimately be on the hook for about 3/4 of the total costs, as well as upkeep and maintenance, and claimed, over and over again, (at one point yelling at the top of his lungs) that anyone who rejected high speed rail was a unAmerican and the doubters were going to ruin Florida. Ironically, now that the studies coming out from several states about what a debacle high speed rail is and how the estimated costs were woefully inadequate, said talk show host refuses to take my call (his call screener acknowledged the host remembered me and our argument but said he would not discuss high speed rail ever again- convenient).
Gov Scott, meanwhile, continues to be reviled by Dems and Repubs alike, all the while finding ways to save Florida money. He may end up a one term governor but I’m damn glad I supported him over the establishment candidate, Bill McCollum, who I suspect would have taken the high speed rail money in a heartbeat.
Yeah, B Moe, because private capital should be taxed, taxed, taxed, even when it’s meant to lift up the economically most depressed areas.
Private capital should be taxed whenever it is used — and if its owners refuse to use it, Elmer Fed can force them to engage in regulatable interstate commerce so it can be taxed anyway.