Article Which Supports My Selfishness

I've argued that, from a viewpoint of pure selfishness, drivers should be supporting bicycle lanes and mass transit.  After all, every person on a bicycle or a bus/train is one less person on the road in front of you.

Now comes along a writer who supports my viewpoint.

Every additional trip we take on foot, on a bicycle or by public transit frees up significant space for drivers, since the “footprints” of these other modes are so much smaller. The cyclist beside you is not the car in front of you; the bicycle locked to a ring at curbside means one less parking space is taken.

What's Your Ideal City?

A kinda cool game, Urbanology, that identifies the city you most identify with.  They ask you just ten questions, but apparently have plenty more in stock, so each time you take the quiz, you won't see the same questions-or the same results.  A bit odd because the first two times I took it, it said I placed a low priority on innovation, but the third time, a high priority.

Go check it out.

The point of the quiz seems to be to make you think about issues that communities face.  The fun part is seeing how many people agreed-or disagreed-with you after each question.

Schools & Budgets

Some of my recent posts included discussions on the impact of state budget cuts on school budgets and the "budget repair bill" that allegedly would've offered schools a way to fix that.

I don't know about you, but I think it's weird for schools to ask parents for wipes and other classroom supplies.  What's next, toilet paper?

Tax Breaks for My Buddies and None for You

Apparently the Republican Party's Golden Boy likes his tax loopholes for people who give him money.

But a look at Ryan's record since he was elected to Congress in 1998 shows that he has tried to create an array of special loopholes for his top contributors, whose interests range from air fresheners to fraternity housing to beer.

But remember, it's those greedy poor people with Social Security and Medicare that's the problem!

Uh-oh, Someone's In Trouble

Really, how do you not know your actions were wrong?

Update on Pinocchio Watch & Nygren (Part II)

In a recent post, I conceded that Representative Nygren's claims about the effect of the budget repair bill on school districts seemed to be bearing out, no matter how I disagree with how it was done.

However, Representative Mason shared an article by Susan Troller for Capital Times that seems to explain what actions schools were forced to take in order to make ends meet.

Anecdotal evidence, backed up by a recent survey The Capital Times sent to school superintendents across the state, shows that a majority of those who responded, from districts large and small, are now operating with considerably fewer teachers and other staff. Only a small percentage have increased staff, reduced class size —shown to improve student achievement — or added programs.

Many responding districts report that savings from newly imposed employee benefit contributions — 12.6 percent of health insurance premium payments and a 5.8 percent salary contribution toward their pensions — have not been sufficient to get district school budgets to balance, and have required cuts elsewhere to offset the losses in state aid. In any case, the savings of these “tools” only provides a big boost once.

Go read the article.  It's quite depressing.

Fairness Doctorine Amusement

Kevin Drum discusses the conservative belief that liberals are just itchin' to reimpose the Fairness Doctrine, obessing about it far and wide despite the current apparent utter lack of interest on the part of liberals in doing it.  FCC formally laid that to rest on Monday, axing this and other "outdated" rules.

But first, let's look at what Wikipedia says the Fairness Doctrine (in use 1948-1987) means:

The Fairness Doctrine had two basic elements: It required broadcasters to devote some of their airtime to discussing controversial matters of public interest, and to air contrasting views regarding those matters. Stations were given wide latitude as to how to provide contrasting views: It could be done through news segments, public affairs shows, or editorials. The doctrine did not require equal time for opposing views but required that contrasting viewpoints be presented.

Kevin Drum points to Google image search results on the topic of Fairness Doctrine.  Many are from conservative political cartoonists.  I was highly amused that the Fairness Doctrine, which required that contrasting views be presented, was interpreted repeatedly as meaning that conservative voices would be silenced, that they would be gagged.  Go take a look for yourself.

In case Google search results change eventually, here's a few examples.

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Example 4

Either they don't understand the Fairness Doctrine-which would be odd considering how long right-wingers have howled about it-or they truly believe that the presence of dissenting voices is the same as silencing their own voices.  What that says about their beliefs or ideals, I don't know-that it's so weak?

Update on Pinocchio Watch & Nygren

I previously criticized Representative Nygren for boasting about how certain school districts benefiting from the "budget repair bill."  I noted that Kaukana and Pewaukee were the only two school districts I could find that benefited from the repair bill, although the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel  reported that 410 of 424 will receive less public aid.  I pointed out that both are school districts from affluent communities.

In the interest of honesty, I have to share that Representative Nygren's latest newsletter now reports that the Marinette school district will also have a balanced budget.  Marinette is by no means an affluent community, so my theory that the richer school districts benefits more has taken a blow, although my point about none of those three school districts dealing with a voucher program like Milwaukee and Racine does still stands.

An earlier newsletter from Nygren also points to a Fox6 report (I have my doubts about anything FOX-related, but I'll give the local station the benefit of doubt) on this topic which seems to confirm his assertion that forcing teachers to contribute to their health care insurance and pension plans costs are a good thing. 

Maybe it is financially for the district, maybe it's "fair." But I know that many, many, many teachers spend their own money on school and classroom supplies without reimbursement from the school district.  Where's the "fairness" on that?  Not many of our employers expect us to spend our own money on job-related duties.  Funny how "fairness" only seems to operate one way.

Update Here with a better picture of what else school districts had to do to make their budgets work.

HUD & Rural Communities

With a name like Housing and Urban Development, it's easy to forget that HUD does work in rural communities as well.  They recently announced $28 million in grants for rural communities.  The Rural Innovation Fund is designed to "to address distressed housing conditions and concentrated poverty" in rural communities.

HUD awarded Rural Innovation Fund grants in three categories:

• Comprehensive Grants – 7 Comprehensive grants, in which grantees have examined the social, housing and economic needs and resources of their target areas and made proposals that address these needs through activities that will have sustained benefit and resources after HUD assistance is used. The maximum grant amount was $2,000,000 for this category.
• Single Purpose Grants – 31 Single Purpose grants, for more targeted initiatives, which typically focus primarily on either housing or economic development. The maximum award amount was $300,000 for this category.
• Economic Development and Entrepreneurship for Federally Recognized Tribes – 8 Indian Economic Development and Entrepreneurship grants, awarded from $5 million set aside for applications for federally recognized Indian tribes. The maximum award amount was $800,000 for this category.

Congratulations to two Wisconsin grantees.

Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians in Hayward which received $789,063 "to enhance the tourism-based economy by creating a visitor’s center, museum, and gift shop located in former Kinnamon School, which will be renovated. The visitor’s center will promote tribal businesses and will provide a venue for the work of local crafts and tradespersons."

The Ho-Chunk Housing and Community Development Agency, in Tomah, received $300,000 for rehabbing 20 homes in Black Rivers, which includes geothermal heat-pump system and new basement insulation to increase energy efficiency by 63%.

Strange Standards

I had to laugh at this.

In a statement issued late Sunday, Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said they regretted that "this success was so long in coming due to the failure of the United States to employ the full weight of our airpower."

"Ultimately, our intervention in Libya will be judged a success or failure based not on the collapse of the Qaddafi regime, but on the political order that emerges in its place," the two senators said.

"Ultimately, our intervention in Libya will be judged a success or failure based not on the collapse of the Qaddafi regime, but on the political order that emerges in its place," the two senators said.

 Look, I get that Republicans don't want to credit any part of the successes in Libya to the United States, and by extension, President Obama, especially with an election coming up.  But the degree to which they're abstaining from crediting our role is ridiculous.

Never mind the fact that the NATO forces were literally running out of targets in Libya.  The double standard here is breathtaking.    Remember that the rebellion in Libya began in Feburary, and apparently is concluding in September, an impressive timeline.  I don't pretend to know what happens next-probably nobody does.  But without the loss of American lives, compared to Iraq and Afghanistan, this has been a resounding success.

Yet by the good Senators' standards, this isn't good enough.  No, we have to wait and see what happens next.  Fine, maybe that's a fair standard, but certainly not one they held President Bush to as he invaded two countries, both which still are ongoing, incidentally, costing us billions of dollars and many lost lives.

Untouchables

I'm starting to think we have a new class of "Untouchables" in this country.  We have regulatory agencies like Moody's and SEC conspiring to, respectively, give higher ratings to make clients happy (remember those ratings are supposed to be rational and objective), and to literally shred/delete preliminary investigations, despite a law requiring them to archive all of their information.  Matt Taibbi at Rolling Stone did a great story on the SEC cover-up.  Go check it out.

Balloon Juice asks a good question regarding the Moody's situation;

Again, I am not a lawyer, but what exactly has to happen before this stuff falls under RICO. How is this not an organized crime situation?

In an earlier article for Rolling Stone, Matt Taibi opens with this:

Over drinks at a bar on a dreary, snowy night in Washington this past month, a former Senate investigator laughed as he polished off his beer.

"Everything's fucked up, and nobody goes to jail," he said. "That's your whole story right there. Hell, you don't even have to write the rest of it. Just write that."

I've said before that it's not that the poor commits more crime like everyone believes, it's that the rich have more options.  And apparently they have a Get Out Of Jail Lifetime Pass as well.

Follow Up

As a follow up to my previous post, I'd like to note, once again, the biggest housing subsidy is the home mortgage interest deduction program (and other smaller homeownership-related programs).  But there are no oversight or requirements associated with owning a home with that subsidy like there is for renting a home using rental assistance.  Evidently it doesn't matter what crimes I commit if I own a home, but if I rent...then hell breaks loose.

Odious Wall Street

The Wall Street Journal, infamous for its blindly conservative leanings in its editorial pages, has come out with an odious editorial by James Bovard on Section 8 Housing, "Raising Hell in Subsidized Housing", which unfortunately is walled off behind a subscription. 

I'll quote from it as much as I can without violating the "fair use" principle, although I fear there is so much odiousness in it that I might very well end up quoting it in its entirety.

Something Cool

"The 5 Most Incredible Stories of Pimped Out Wheelchairs!"

Wow.

The New York Times has an article on California's Lancaster and its deplorable response to an influx of Section 8 Voucher holders seeking cheap housing in the community after the market crash.  Lancaster, a L.A. suburb, is a city with a population of 157,000, and the market crash doubled its number of the Section 8 (from the county housing authority) voucher holders to 3,700 which by my math is .02% of the population.  Palmdale, another city in the Antelope Valley, had a similar influx, and a similar response.  But because they apparently had the good sense to keep their mouth shut with media, the article focuses mostly on Lancaster.
Lancaster had such an extreme response that they were actually doing frequent check-ups on the households using Section 8 in an effort to catch them at a rule violation.  And that's not all.

She said that in the last few years, her Palmdale home had been the target of intense investigations, with dozens of sheriff’s deputies showing up at her door repeatedly and intimidating her four children. After neighbors learned that the family received a housing voucher, a group of boys threw urine at her youngest son and yelled racial epithets when he was walking to school one morning.

“It turned into a nightmare where we were just afraid to leave our house,” said the woman, who is black. “The reason we came out here some years ago was so we didn’t have to be afraid.”

There is a widespread resentment against the influx of Section 8 participants in the area. The local newspaper, The Antelope Valley Press, prominently features stories about people with any kind of Section 8 violation. “I hate Section 8” became almost a rallying cry — a Facebook page by that name featured pictures of some rental homes. In January, the garage of one such home was spray painted with a racial epithet and the “I hate Section 8” message.       

And why does Lancaster hate Section 8?  Apparently they're destroying neighborhoods (again, .02% of population) and Lancaster contends that Lancaster and Palmdale have a disproportionate number of vouchers from the county in their community.  They contend that there is a lack of social services and there is no real safety net for the voucher holders in the Valley.

He said that by not providing the city with more money to provide social services or warning potential residents that there is little public transportation, the county was “just sending people here to die.”   He has repeatedly said that the program simply “moves the urban poor to the hard-working suburbs.... People come here with no support network, no family at home to help them, nothing but just a house to live in,” Mr. Parris said. “It makes no sense to encourage them to come.”           

Now, because this blog is all about better policies, let's examine this from a policy perspective.

Would the correct response be to limit the number of Section 8 vouchers permitted in the community?  No, because the Section 8 voucher allows people to live wherever they can find an affordable home in the housing authority's service area (county in this case).  Section 8 also allows people to move to other communities-it's called porting. 

Aggressive enforcement like this is, in the larger picture, a useless action because one of the goals of the program is to move people closer to job opportunities, better schools, etc. so that the households can improve their lives to the extent they are no longer poor.  Kicking people out of the program needlessly simply ensures that they remain poor.

So instead of allocating funding toward enforcement, they should've hired people to work with the households, to help them integrate better into the community.  Ensure that they have access to the resources in the community-for example, one of the items in the article mentioned a rising crime rate until the aggressive enforcement began (and I'd want to see real statistics before I believe that).  Perhaps ensuring kids get involved in after-school programs, connecting other household adults with jobs programs, community college, etc. would've helped.

This is hardly the first time that an influx of voucher holders have moved from urban areas into the suburbs, so a search for best practices would've been a step.  Did that happen?  A quick search led me, within seconds, to Baltimore's Housing Mobility Program which does exactly what the Mayor talked about-it provides a support system.

Applicants who pass back-ground checks and meet other eligibility criteria enroll in MBQ’s counseling program, where they are prepared to succeed as tenants in more competitive housing markets.  Participants are taken through budgeting and financial education and are guided by counselors who serve as motivational coaches.  Bus tours introduce participants to the myriad of employment, education, and health-related amenities in high-opportunity neighborhoods. Participants save for a security deposit and, when  they are ready to move, work with their counselor to find a house or apartment that suits their needs.

I really wish that people would look for better policy responses to perceived problems rather than simply trying to make it go away one way or another.

Rental Housing Policy Articles

I think something many people don't realize is just how much work there is being done to find the best approach, the best policy, the best way, etc. in various programs and services.  Housing is no different.  HUD's current Cityscape issue has a focus on rental housing policies.  I haven't had a chance to read them yet, but if you're interested in rental housing policies, this is a good issue for you.

Regulatory Effectiveness and the Environment

Two Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel articles, unintentionally, started me mulling on my thoughts for this post.

The first, an article by Dan Egan, "The Lake left me.  It's gone." looks at the decline and death of commercial fishing in Lake Michigan, focusing on the departure of Milwaukee's last commercial fishing boat to Alaska.  The article notes that although the fishing stock began to decline due to the overfishing, the death blow was the arrival of the quagga mussels that pretty much took over the lake bottom, estimated in numbers at 900 trillion (yes, that's the number in the article, with a 't'!).  The invasive mussels arrived in ballast tanks that were discharged into the lake waters.

What could've saved commercial fishing?  As noted in the article, there were two factors; the overfishing and the mussels.  Both are situations where stronger regulatory efforts could've preserved those jobs.

1. Better controls (or other solutions) on catchs allowed by commercial fishers could've preserved the fishing stock.  Overfishing is an ongoing problem all around the world.  Unfortunately, fishing interests and sympathetic lawmakers have stymied efforts worldwide.
2. Better regulations on ships entering the Great Lakes from other parts of the world could've prevented the entry of mussels into the eco system.  Part of the problem is shipping interests that dislike regulations (just like any other industry), and part of the problem is resistance on the part of some ("Republicans" ) to any regulatory efforts.

The second article that caught my eye was Sand mines create jobs, concern by Lee Bergquist.  It covers the growth of mines extracting sand in western Wisconsin.  Those mines have a special type of sand used to extract oil and natural gases. 

But there are concerns:

Opponents have raised concerns about air and groundwater pollution, and residents living near sites have objected to truck traffic and concerns over falling home values....

Questions are also being raised over whether the industry needs more regulation. A chief concern is crystalline silica, an air particulate of sand mining that has prompted public health concerns.

A decision on whether Wisconsin should limit silica emissions has not been made, and there has been little progress since it was first considered seven years ago, a DNR report acknowledges.

"It's an emerging situation with plenty of questions that deserve to be answered," said John W. Welter, an Eau Claire attorney who recently ended a six-year term on the state Natural Resources Board and now serves as conservation coordinator in the western Great Lakes region of Trout Unlimited.

"There isn't a lot of regulatory oversight and now is the time for research and vigilance to find out what level of protection is necessary."

As someone who looks at housing issues frequently, I am very familiar with the issue of Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) and doubtless that may be motivating some of the opponents, but when you have a large scale operation like a mine with potential environmental problems (one might even say proven instead of potential), there are valid concerns.

But because those mines are moving into rural areas with little zoning oversight, it's unlikely that there will be much resistance.  After all, what county board is going to fight this:

"Anytime you can inject $100 million in capital in a 50-mile area, that's huge," (president and chief executive officer of the Chippewa County Economic Development Corp)Walker said.

It seems that jobs always truimph.

A spokesman for a company, Unimin, said "I don't think that people are focused on the fact that silica is one of the most prevalent substances on Earth - it's sand."  Guess what?  Water is also one of the most prevalent substances on the earth, but if you try to breath water, you're going to have problems, too!

Who Does Not Pay Taxes?

I've been enjoying the "Who Does Not Pay Taxes?" series of newsletters from the Institute for Wisconsin's Future.  Their August poster child is a well-known multinational corporation based in Racine that does not pay any state taxes-not a single cent between 2000 and 2008.  But I bet it used plenety of state infrastructures, services, and had plentiful access to politicos. 

The newsletter also takes a slam at the non-profit tax exemption given to large health care systems.

Evil

Evil.  Just Evil.

Sad thing is, this makes perfect sense from the bank's perspective.

Group Homes Approved in Waukesha

Waukesha's Plan Commission approved two group homes by St. Coletta.  Initially the Catholic service organization wanted to build two group homes in Welsh Oaks, but later modified it after opposition to one in Welsh Oaks (approved in a previous meeting) and one in Rolling Ridge South (approved in the recent meeting).

I always have mixed feelings about city ordinances limiting the number of group homes, or limiting how close they can be to each other.  It's a unquestionable violation of the Fair Housing Act in my view since it limits the choices of people with disabilities, so I'm mostly against those types of ordinances.

But I wouldn't want to see multiple group homes in neighborhoods creating "ghettos of disability" either, since providers tend to like to cluster their facilities for easier staff transit.

New Approach to Foreclosed Homes

A while ago I discussed the City of Milwaukee selling foreclosed houses that they own to Gorman & Company, who then will use tax credits to rehab the properties and rent them out.  Since then, the City has entered a similar agreement with developers Maures and Brinshore.

Now the federal government is getting into the action-sort of.  They're looking at ways to convert foreclosed houses into rental housing, and easing the pressure on home sale prices that are depressed by the glut of foreclosed homes on the market.

I'm of mixed feelings about this.  On one hand, actions like what the City has done, and what the federal government might do, could be seen as subsidies to investors.  With the City, because of the involvement of tax credits from the state, it's a double bonus; they get affordable rental housing, and they get run-down houses that will be rehabbed and improved, as well as maintained for the next thirty years.

But a program like the City's is unlikely to be replicated on a national level, which means that there likely will be no affordability requirements, and who knows what will be involved regarding maintenance.  This could very well end up being a new generation of slumlords who put the bare minimum into the properties.  There'd have to be some kind of upkeeping requirement and oversight, which won't be popular.

Pinocchio Watch

In my ongoing Pinocchio Watch, I noticed that Senator Johnson had the following in his August 5 newsletter:

Senator Johnson Answers Constituent Calls During Debt Ceiling Debate

Um, no.  As a  constitutent, I called his office, spoke to Senator Johnson's staff and asked specifically which programs he would cut if the Cut Cap Balance that he supported so much was passed.  I received a form letter telling me quite literally nothing.  If that's his idea of "answering" then millions of students would've gotten better grades in school!

Freeman Comes Out for Mortgage Interest Deduction Reform

In this period of debt hysteria, the home mortgage interest deduction has come under some attention.  A subsidy previously considered untouchable is now being examined for its impact and effectiveness.  Detractors argue that it disproportionally benefits the well-off, and people would've bought homes anyway. 

The Waukesha Freeman, hardly a liberal rag, has taken a cautious stance on the issue, arguing that "... as part of a resetting of federal taxing and spending, Congress should carefully trim the deduction, keeping a meaningful break where it does the most good."

I've previously covered this question, latest entry here,  In a different one, I noted that

The president's fiscal year 2010 budget reports that, in 2012, the MID will cost the federal Treasury an estimated $131 billion, much more than the total of all outlays by the Department of Housing and Urban Development ($48 billion). Homeowners also benefit from other federal tax preferences, including deductibility of residential property taxes on owner-occupied homes ($31 billion), and exclusion of tax on the first $250,000 ($500,000 for joint returns) of capital gains on housing ($50 billion).

Deregulation and Pollution

Want to know what a world with minimal and lax regulations would look like?  Try this cheery article about the massive oil pollution in Nigeria.  There you have a climate where corporations have free reins\ in a country with little accountability.  The situation in Nigeria was finally brought to London because the Nigeria justice system was not holding corporations accountable.

That'd never happen here, right?....Right?!?

Look, I'm not saying regulation is always the right answer-there has to be a balance and sometimes we'll go too far in one direction or another, which is why it should be an open transparent process with hearings and input from stakeholders.  We should give agencies the authority to determine the reasonable standard, without interference from grandstanding politicos.

Pinocchio Watch

A few days I talked about a new recurring feature that would look at what legislators are saying in their newsletters and calling them on misstatements.  I very nearly named it Johnson Watch in honor of Senator Johnson who inspired this feature.  But given the ahem...double meaning of the word...I decided to search for a new name.  This now will be known as the Pinocchio Watch!  Up at bat this week is Wisconsin State Representative Nygren.

Budget Repair Bill Yields Lower Class Sizes for School Districts

It has only been a month since Governor Walker has signed the new state budget, yet we are already seeing positive results from reforms that we have put in place.

We are seeing the media report across the state that local governments and school districts have already saved more than $220 million in operating costs with millions more likely savings yet to be reported.

The Kaukauna School District, who reported major savings due to changes in the budget repair bill, is now reporting they will have the ability to hire additional teachers.  This will reduce the projected class sizes from 26 to 23 students at their elementary schools and an astounding 31 to 25 students at the high school level.

Offering smaller classroom sizes will give teachers the ability to have more one on one time with their students.  The school district is also reporting they will have money to set aside for merit bonuses for good teachers.

This is, yet again, another case in which Madison special interests continued to spread lies to the public to save their six-figure union salaries.  The head of the teachers’ union Mary Bell, who each year makes $173,466 (2009 WEAC 990 Form) (IRS.gov) from taxpayer funded union dues, said that class sizes would be threatened under the budget repair bill.      

These claims were flat out lies, yet Madison special interests were more than willing to preach them like the Gospel.  For once, the majority party in Madison has put this state’s taxpayers before the liberal special interests in Madison.

Indeed, the whole conservative movement seems to be flogging the Kaukana example online, as if it was-how did Rep. Nygen put it?-Gospel. 

First...don't you love how he conflates "local governments and school districts" to show the $220 million in savings but headlines it as school districts alone?  The fact is, I'm only able to find ONE school district that had a surplus-the school district he named, Kaukana, and not all of the credit goes to the budget repair bill.  Greg Sargent of the Washington Post noted that teachers already offered concessions that would've produced similar savings-if not more.

In April, the school board rejected a proposal from the Kaukauna Education Association to extend the union’s contract and incorporate pension and healthcare concessions along with a wage freeze, a move the union projected could save the district about $1.8 million next year.

Rep. Nygren pretends that Kaukana is representative of all school districts, but the truth is, Kaukana is an outlier.  The Journal-Seninel notes that 410 of 424 school districts will receive less public aid.  Because of caps to property tax levy also passed in the budget repair billl, many communities do not have much flexibility to attempt to balance out the cuts with other funding.

Kaukana and Pewaukee, the two communities mentioned in the article, are both communities with household income above the average.  In the meantime, school districts like Milwaukee and Racine, both cities with lower household income, are  two school districts that get hit with a double whammy-state budget cuts AND school voucher program requirement which takes money away from their schools.

Media Still Doesn't Get It

In a previous post, I criticized a writer who made no attempt to discover whether or not someone (Matt Damon) wsa right, or to find quotes from a source supportive of that person, resulting in an article that was entirely about people bashing someone.

Now I have to criticize an article that desperately seeks balance where none exists.  In an article about S&P's downgrading of U.S. credit, CNN Wire Staff discusses the rebuttal by the Treasury Department, and then goes into the "blame game."  CNN gathered quotes from various politicos from both sides, and left it at that.  But it could've gone the extra step and, you know, read the damn report.  It pretty much implicates the Republicans in Congress for the mess.

Media, it's okay to show that one side is wrong once in a while by pointing to facts contradicting the person who is in error.

Unions & Income Inequality

As much as commenters on the Journal-Sentinel's articles like to refer to union members as a "thugs" there's no denying that unions have had a very positive role in the rights and safety of workers, both in America and around the world.  Yes, they've had problems-but so have companies and corporations (child labor, anyone?).

The decline of unions in America has seen a correlation with a rise in income equality.  Kevin Drum looks at a study in the American Sociological Review that seems to show it's not just a correlation-it's cause and effect to a degree.  The decline of unions doesn't explain all or majority of the rise in income inequality, but there is a visible effect, up to a third in non-union members (apparently unions create an environment that lift all wages, not just for union members).

Kevin Drum closes with:

In other words, deunionization has allowed income inequality to rise partly because unions are negotiating wages for fewer people than they used to, and partly because unions no longer have the power to force the political system to pay attention to the needs of the middle class. But if income inequality has to be reduced in order for middle class wages to grow—and it does—and if robust middle class wages are a key driver of the liberal project—and they are—then we're all in big trouble. Mass unionization is gone, and it's not coming back. This means we still need something to take its place, and we still don't have it. Until we do, the progressive movement will continue to tread water.

I think that in absence of a worker union comeback, what takes its place has to be a consumer union.  The average consumer now has access to an incredible amount of information, much of it useless, but if enough consumers who care get together and collect information (or pay someone to do it via a membership fee), you could see an effect on how businesses treats its employees.  I suppose the best model might be Consumer Reports-not focusing in the quality of product, but the quality of the company.  This also would hold companies accountable for their policies around the world, not just in the United States.

PS-note that Drum is saying here that he believes protection of the middle class is a function of union, and that Progressives are supportive of protecting the middle class.  Which political party has declared a virtual war on unions?

Sad State of Media

Apparently there's a viral video of Matt Damon delivering a well-earned smack-down to a reporter who asked a stupid question.  I haven't seen it yet, but I did see an article on it from The Hollywood Reporter.  The article is titled Matt Damon Is Suddenly The Hollywood Liberal That Conservatives Love to Hate and it made me deplore for the state of dialogue in our culture.

The writer has great fun quoting multiple conservatives mocking Matt Damon's assertion that teachers aren't in it for the money, so financial incentives may not work as well-that they'll do a good job regardless.

I counted twelve people quoted-11 mockingly-but zero analysis of whether or not what he said was actually true or not.  Come on, this is a professional reporter not a unpaid blogger pounding away at the keyboard for fun.  I typed in "Financial Incentives for Teachers" and the top entry was this. And then a bit further down, there was an opposing this.

So maybe the reporter doesn't want to get into education policy for an entertainment article.  I get that.  But would it have been so hard to find a couple of quotes in support of Damon for "balance"  (as much as I deplore reporters who seek false balance when there is none) even though the article is about how conservatives are piling on to Damon?  I mean, a quote from a neighbor that "he is very classy is not exactly a rebuttal.

Yet Another Housing Study Proving Housing Ain't Affordable

The Center for Housing Policy has come out with a report, Paycheck to Paycheck, that documents the lack of affordable housing across the country.  They even have a cool interactive database.  Go check it out.

This joins other studies such as the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach and the Technical Assistance Collaborative & Consortium of Citizens with Disabilities' Priced Out in 2010 report.

An interesting feature of Paycheck to Paycheck is that they look at the jobs that are growing during this anemic recovery, and analyze if they're enough to afford a median 2-bedroom apartment.

New Rule

New rule:  If you have no frakin' idea what you're talking about, you're no longer allowed to participate in any discussions related to the subject, including votes, let alone sponsoring bills.

Yes, Representative Ed Royce, elected by the fine folks of California's 40th District, has no idea what he's talking about.  If he had any shame, he'd immediately withdraw his bill and apologize for wasting everyone's time.

The Obvious Thing

Matthew Yglesias points out that Americans do a poor job of maintaining and upgrading our infrastructures.  We spend about 2.4% of our gross domestic product on infrastructure, compared to 5% in European counties (which I should add are not as car-oriented as the United States is).  We're spending less than we were in the 1960s.

Whenever I drive around, I see communities that can't keep up with repairs on local roads, I read about our aging sewer infrastructure, the number of bridges that will need to be replaced.   When I went on a Illinois river, I was told about a decaying dam that had jurisdictions arguing for years over who bears the responsibility of repairing it. 

Obviously we have a lot of local projects that need work.  Obviously at the moment we have a good number of unemployed people, many of them in construction.  Obviously with the construction industry feeling the pain of a slow economy, prices are competitive.  Obviously with interest rates at near-zero at the moment, now would be a good time to start borrowing and funding some local projects that will have to be done anyway at some point in the future, probably when interest rates are higher.

So obviously the logical thing to do is cut spending.  After all, a chance to fund projects at extremely low interest rates at very competitive prices and putting people to work at a time of high unemployment is simply a fantastic opportunity that must be passed up.

If you don't agree with that, call your Senators and Representatives and ask why the best chance to do a lot of local infrastructure projects at the best price in years is being passed up.

Where's the Outrage? #2

Earlier today I discussed the lack of outrage over the over engineering of roads and the misuse of funds toward that end.  I gave an example, and I have an additional example.

Below in the map, zoom in as close as you can to Hwy 100 at Shepard Avenue.  Now follow it eastward all the way to Hwy 32 near the lake. Speechless, aren't you?  Keep in mind they cut off the east segment of Ryan Road so it is longer connected to the rest of the road in order to create this monstrosity.  What possible justification did they have for this?  What was wrong with simply staying with Ryan Road?


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Like the intersection of Airline Road and Spring Street, there is no apparent rationale for the vast overbuilding of Highway 100 in this segment.

Where's the Outrage?

Many advocates for mass transit have noted that as much as anti-rail and anti-bus people like to complain about the cost of mass transit, there is a definite lack of outrage at misuse of road funds.

I give you Exhibit #1, the grossly oversized intersection of Airline Road and Spring Street in Mt. Pleasant.  Be sure to zoom in to see that the Westbound Spring Street has two left turns into southbound Airline Road, which immediately narrows to one lane and then ends into a quiet residential area served by what can only be described as country roads.  There is nothing in the area to justify this oversized intersection.  I'm sure there are many more examples-send 'em to me.


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Where's the fiscal conservatism and the outrage on this?