You would think Jim Doyle would want MORE jobs in Wisconsin!

A new study says that "Cap and Trade" would hurt Wisconsin.

A new study by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) predicts widespread economic hardship for Wisconsin consumers and businesses if Congress adopts the "cap and trade" bill being considered by the U.S. Senate.

The bill is otherwise known as H.R. 2454 or the Waxman-Markey global warming bill.
The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly approved the bill in June.

"Wisconsin citizens can expect higher electric bills, higher heating bills and higher gasoline prices if Congress passes the Waxman-Markey bill," said James Haney, president of the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC). "At a time when we are struggling to keep high-paying manufacturing jobs in our state, this bill would take us in the wrong direction with tens of thousands of additional lost jobs."

Wisconsin consumers and employers would be hit disproportionately hard by global warming regulations because of the state's significant investment in coal-fired electricity, and the state's status as the single-most manufacturing intensive economy in the country, according to the WMC.

The study found that key Wisconsin industrial sectors, including papermaking, machinery manufacturing and other energy intensive industries, would lose thousands of manufacturing jobs as a result of higher energy costs stemming from Waxman-Markey.

"Wisconsin businesses are faced with a highly competitive international marketplace where it is becoming increasingly difficult to compete on cost," said Thomas Howatt, president and chief executive officer of Wausau Paper of Wausau. "Driving up the cost of energy in Wisconsin with regulations like cap and trade will put us at a severe competitive disadvantage with our foreign competition."

Specifically, the NAM study predicted between 41,600 and 56,700 lost jobs in Wisconsin by 2030, depending upon the future price of carbon permits. Those figures are expected to worsen as the H.R. 2454 energy rationing plan reaches full implementation by the year 2050. Since 1999, Wisconsin has lost 160,000 manufacturing jobs, and the state's unemployment rate is at 9 percent, the WMC said.

In addition to the lost manufacturing jobs, the NAM study concludes that Wisconsin consumers would face substantial energy cost increases as a result of the Waxman-Markey legislation, taking a significant toll on the state's overall economy.

According to this Journal Sentinel article Jim Doyle embraces cap and trade. "Regional plan is full steam ahead."

I've got an idea Governor, let's work on supporting bills that will ENCOURAGE businesses to come to Wisconsin and actually CREATE jobs. I'm tired of your efforts to scare business and jobs away!

Doyle lets his departments run rampant

Eh, what's $850k?

Here's another example of how poorly Jim Doyle runs his administration. They are supposed to be looking at cuts and savings, and here is this department spending $850,000 without authorization. (a firetruck? really? for the State Veterans administration?)

STORY

Officials at the state Department of Veterans Affairs are asking state lawmakers to cover the cost of about $700,000 in unauthorized expenses, including a firetruck, that exceeded the department's budget.

An analysis by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau identified another $150,000 in unauthorized spending, bringing the total to about $850,000.

The purchases may have violated state laws regarding spending of state funds without specific prior authorization and spending in excess of budgets, the department said. It has asked the state Department of Justice to investigate the potential violations.

Journal Sentinel Bias

I know it's like saying water is wet, but the Journal Sentinel is showing their bias again this morning.

Take a look at this story: Foster Care Agency Fares Poorly in Report. Go ahead, read it. I'll wait.

So, after reading the story can you tell which government agency is responsible for the Milwaukee County foster care?

I'll give you a hint, it's NOT Milwaukee County.

I did a little, non-scientific, study and had 3 people read the article without telling them why I was asking. When they were done, I asked them who they thought was responsible for the agency. All three said Milwaukee County.

The State of Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, a Jim Doyle agency, is responsible for the problems that the foster care system in Milwaukee County faces. If you read real close and buried in the story it does mention who oversees the program. But from the first sentence of the article, you are led to believe that Milwaukee County runs the program.

No, there's no bias in Journal Sentinel reporting.


On the story itself....

Among the issues uncovered in the report:

• Those involved in Milwaukee County's child welfare system are not sensitive to issues of race and poverty.

• The bureau's computer system does not allow workers to easily determine how many foster homes have space available and what type of children they will accept.

• So many different agencies are providing services within the child welfare system, it is easy for them to avoid responsibility for problems.

• Foster parents are being trained by people who do not have graduate degrees or experience working with troubled children.

And let's not forget about the death of a child that occurred under the watchful eye of Jim Doyle and his administration.

Money Talks

Bruce at BadgerBlogger has some more information on Chandra Miller-Fienen and a coincidental campaign contribution.

Just another example of how Doyle does "business".

Drip, drip, drip...

Documents Shed Light On Doyle's Legal Counsel

Documents Shed Light On Doyle's Legal Counsel

MADISON, Wis. (AP) ― Newly released documents show Gov. Jim Doyle's chief of staff knew the person hired to be the governor's chief legal counsel had not taken the bar exam.

E-mails provided to The Associated Press on Tuesday following an open records request show that Chandra Miller Fienen was given the title of chief legal counsel when hired last year even though she had not taken the bar exam in Wisconsin.

Miller Fienen resigned abruptly on Friday. Doyle's spokesman Lee Sensenbrenner says she did pass the bar after being hired, but for an unknown reason did not get licensed as an attorney.

One e-mail from Doyle's chief of staff, Susan Goodwin, to Miller Fienen dated June 29, 2008, mentions that one issue the two needed to discuss was "taking the bar."

drip, drip, drip...

Doyle's Choo Choo Train Sets

Governor Doyle likes to claim his little choo choo train project is the most "shovel-ready" rail project in the Midwest.

“We’re maybe one of the only states in the country ... if not the only one that’s actually planned for this moment,” Doyle declared July 17 in announcing a new partnership with the Spanish train company, Talgo, to provide sleek new rail cars. “This truly is the most shovel-ready rail project in the Midwest and, I think, the U.S.”

The problem is, that it is far from reality. There has not been sufficient research to support his argument. Before we run off and spend hundreds of millions of tax payer dollars, don't you think we should have the facts?

In a rare example of great investigative reporting Lexie Clinton of the Janesville Gazette helps show why this is far from "the most shovel-ready rail project in the Midwest".

-- Wisconsin officials don’t know how many people currently commute along the route between Milwaukee and Madison. State transportation spokesman Christopher Klein countered that record ridership in Wisconsin on Amtrak, the nation’s passenger rail service, shows the state is ready for more. “Wisconsin doesn’t need to prove we want to ride trains,” Klein said. “We already have.”

-- Officials in four cities where stops are planned—Brookfield, Madison, Oconomowoc and Watertown—are enthusiastic supporters but remain unaware of many of the details. Klein said Wisconsin is ahead of most states in planning but cited a federal report that acknowledged some details aren’t worked out because “states have had little time to prepare for a ... program for intercity passenger rail of this magnitude.”

-- Critics question the viability of the planned stop at the Madison airport, which is nearly 6 miles from the city’s major downtown destinations. Klein said bringing the train downtown would add at least half an hour to the trip, which would be “extremely undesirable” for passengers not stopping in Madison.

-- Other benefits of the project have been thrown into doubt by a recent U.S. Government Accountability Office report that concluded rail projects would have “little impact on the congestion, environmental, energy and other issues that face the U.S. transportation system.”

-- The description “high-speed” is a misnomer. State transportation officials say the train likely would average about 70 mph the first few years. The train is expected to travel up to 110 mph by 2015 once the state completes additional safety improvements.

Read the rest of her article.

h/t Free Whitewater .

Wisconsin needs to go in a new direction

From the StevensPointJournal.com, an article by Scott Walker.

Wisconsin deserves a government that puts the needs of its citizens first, a state that places public safety and the education of its children above the demands of the special interests. We deserve a government that finds new ways to do more with less, not one that looks for new ways to tax families and employers when they can least afford it.

With so many Wisconsin families and employers struggling to make ends meet, it is difficult to understand why Gov. Doyle and the legislature would decide to raise taxes and fees by more than $2 billion while increasing new state spending by $3.6 billion.

To make it worse, they are not being honest with the taxpayers.

The governor says that the budget protects the middle class. In reality, this budget protects government at the expense of our families and employers. It will force families to pay more for property taxes, automobile insurance, nursing home and hospital care, and cell phone use. At the same time, it reduces state funding for law enforcement, local government services and even allows for the early release of criminals into our communities.

Gov. Doyle and legislative leaders say their tax increases are balanced with deep cuts in state spending. However, they actually increased state spending by 6 percent and included $37 million for legislative pork projects that range from renovating a local opera house to buying recycling bins. But even with the deep cuts to public safety and a massive $2 billion tax increase, Wisconsin will be left with a $2 billion deficit in the next state budget.

According to Chief Executive magazine, Wisconsin is ranked as the 43rd best state in the nation to do business -- near the bottom. What have Gov. Doyle and legislative leaders done to improve that ranking? They increased the capital gains tax on business investment by $242 million. This will only drive more employers and jobs out of Wisconsin.

We need to take our state in a new direction founded on the principles of limited government, economic growth and personal freedom.

Through their ingenuity, hard work and determination, the people of Wisconsin have made our state a great place to live, work and raise a family. Our companies are recognized as world leaders in everything from manufacturing motorcycles to making a better bovine. We are famous for our Midwestern work ethic. In fact, Wisconsin once led the nation in reform-changing welfare and providing hope to low-income families through education choice and charter schools.

Wisconsinites want government to live within its means and to set spending priorities that reflect their own priorities, rather than seek ever-increasing amounts of taxpayer money for programs that serve few, if any.

It is not enough to tinker around the edges of failed public policy. We need to change the way Madison thinks as well as the way it does business, but I need your help. Together, we can put government back on the side of the people and build a Wisconsin we can believe in again.

It is so nice to know there are still some politicians that understand what needs to be done and are looking to protect the taxpayers of this state. Walker is going to be a great Governor!