12 Things You Need to Know About the Uprising in Wisconsin

Reply to post by inkyminds

Again…no tax cuts.

The governor is offering temporary tax breaks to businesses that move 51% or more of their companies into Wisconsin.

You fail to understand economics.

People need jobs. Offering temp tax breaks to new businesses means businesses will move there. Since they are NEW, they will need employees. Wisconsin people get jobs. They become taxpayers, and after the break, the businesses do as well. This leads to income for the government. Income it does not have right now.

Simple, unless you like being obtuse.


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reply to post by Lemon.Fresh


You are the one who fails to distinguish between economic theory and economic reality.

A company could fulfill that requirement by hiring two or three people in Wisconsin by setting up a company in another state as a holding company employing five people, move that company to Wisconsin and employ three more by bringing them in from a higher-wage state, then funnel the profits through the Wisconsin company for the tax break. The holding company could then pour millions or billons through the state until the tax break died then repaet the process elsewhere. Net result: Lower overall tax revenues, fewer jobs, and more money in fewer hands.

It's been done repeatedly throughout my life. I've seen the same song and dance many, many times now, and the results have always been the same.

reply to post by apacheman


I know exactly what you're talking about. Thank you Chris Dodd and Barney Frank. They strong-armed the banks making it look like the politicians were looking out for the little guy. Whatever happened to Chris Dodd’s Countrywide mortgage papers? Maybe Jimmy Hoffa has them. Anyway, the banks approved anyone with a pulse. I hear about it every day at home.

My wife works for a real estate lawyer. This lawyer for years was counseling against his clients getting into these balloon mortgages, "exotics" as you say. "You can lead a horse to water..." Not the best policy for a real estate law office, telling your clients to walk away from home purchases but at least this guy could live with himself knowing he tried. Lo and behold, the balloon payments hit and these clients were back after a short time crying the blues that they were losing their homes. "Help me refinance!" What could a law office do?

Many of these people were new to the country, often unsophisticated as you mentioned and at a disadvantage with the language. My wife is bi-lingual, English/Spanish and thus her employment and intimacy with all the sad stories. These people got the straight dope and took their chances. Some of their clients were just trying to get in on the "American dream" by moving up to larger homes, vacation homes, rental properties and so on. And so greed was at play here too. In truth home ownership is not part of the American dream. Having an affordable place to live is.

With all of these people it was gambling plain and simple. Instead of a casino it was a mortgage company. Some of these people expected to refinance prior to the balloon, it didn't happen. Some just refused to take the warning, the enticement of ownership was too strong and they thought there would be more income coming down the line to handle the balloon. “We’ll rent out a room. We’ll rent the basement.” Things of that nature but in truth most of them got out of multi-family dwellings and so the thought of going back was not serious. Most lived in bliss for a couple years at best. Some of them actually knew that was all that they would get out of this. The majority of these people were naïve and couldn't believe that a bank or mortgage company would do anything to hurt them. They knew too many people doing the same thing; it was like lemmings over the cliff. Now a good percentage of the business in my wife’s office is involved with "short sales" as you can imagine.

It's the old adage "if it sounds too good to be true, it is". I don't blame the strikers but I don't have to like it. If I had a cushy union deal I would scream bloody murder if it would help me keep it. I worked as a Teamster paying dues through college cleaning **** hole factories at night for just over minimum. Never got a god damned benefit, raise or decent working conditions. Never saw another human let alone a union rep. They needed my dues though. I'm sure I would have seen a rep if my dues lapsed. Just got the privilege of cleaning **** holes for my dues. You do what you gotta do. Unions have become scams. It's been that way for a long time. If the members are getting these plump benefits I can only imagine what the officers and the politicians are reaping. Like Dodd and Frank, they're not there out of the goodness of their hearts.