Someone lost a box of pizza – breakfast fodder for the birds.
Spreading the Love (Pork): Local Federal Earmark Map – Our Politician’s Deficit Spending (and Payback?)
There are over 1,800 earmarks in the upcoming Labor HHS Bill, and we don’t know where they came from. Help figure it out, by researching and posting in the comment section on this blog post.
1) Who secured the earmark?
What district is it in? Call the office of the congressperson you think might have secured the earmark and ask them if they are indeed responsible for it. Record whatever answer they give.
Check out Wisconsin’s earmarks from this single congressional bill here. (Enter Wisconsin in the search field and click go). St. Mary’s Hospital will receive $350,000 for “facilities and equipment” while Baraboo’s St. Claire Health Care Foundation will also receive $350,000.00 for “facilities and equipment”. The Boscobel Area Health Center will receive $455,000.00 for facilities and equipment. The Beloit Regional Hospice will receive $100,000 for computerization of medical records while the UW-Whitewater will receive $150,000 for “equipment and technology” for its Living and Learning Center. David Obey’s Wausau area Aspirus Wausau Hospital gets $1.2M for for facilities and equipment.
There are many more. Tammy Baldwin represents the Madison area. Earmarks are a heck of a way to increase deficit spending. I hope we see more “sunlight” on this matter. Sunlight’s National Director is Zephyr Teachout – who directed online organizing for Howard Dean in 2004. Judy Sarasohn has more.
It would be interesting to compare earmarks over time with contributions.
Finally, I sent an email to Tammy Baldwin and Dave Magnum seeking comments on earmarks generally and these items specifically.
UPDATE: Michael Byrne (Research Director – Magnum for Congress) responded:
Our view here exactly. Especially things tacked on in the shadows which is why we liked Paul Ryan’s efforts to force this stuff out in the open. Dave will be speaking about pork through the coming days and will be referencing the record of his opponent who has quite a string of earmarks she’s walked through Congress. Some were completely unnecessary and certainly not well publicized. Others were just vote trolling things that won’t help our district keep itself competitive economically… Thanks for checking in and keep coming back. Mike
=============
Michael E. Byrne
Research Director,
Magnum for Congress
www.davemagnum.com email: byrnex4 _at_ tds.net
Cell: 608.712.5340
FAX: 608.767.2187e
On Aug 17, 2006, at 9:22 AM, Jim Zellmer wrote:
I’m surprised and disappointed in the number and amount of earmarks:
http://www.zmetro.com/archives/005931.php
The projects may or may not have merit, but earmarks are clearly an abuse of the system and simply add to the debt we burden our children with….
Any comments? I’ve sent the same email to Tammy Baldwin
Best wishes,
Jim
I’ll post Tammy’s response as soon as I receive it.
Marketplace (now wonderfully available on Wisconsin Public Radio – Finally!) has more.
Keep in mind this is “one” bill!
2nd Quarter 2006 Local Real Estate Market Summary
Dave Stark [PDF]:
The chickens came home to roost a little bit in the second quarter of 2006, as sales of both single family homes and condominiums were down in all markets and price ranges when compared to the same period last year. However, if we look at the full year thus far, we see that the pace of sales is still roughly the same as it was two years ago in 2004. Overall residential sales were down 9.3% for the full MLS, and down 12.1% in Dane County. Inventories have continued to rise as well. The problem, particularly for sellers, remains the same; inventories are double what they were two years ago, and 50% to 70% higher than last year.
Days of inventory remain much the same as they were after the first quarter. However, it’s interesting to note that the number of days of active inventory rose very little from 2004 to 2005, then nearly doubled between 2005 and 2006. Even though inventories started rising last year, the rising pace of sales kept average selling times and absorption rates fairly level. This year, even the relatively modest downturn in sales has caused inventories to really back up.
Dave Stark is a long time friend and client.
Midwest Airlines Expansion Plans
Midwest Airlines in the coming months will make several significant fleet decisions that will guide the carrier through a planned network and schedule expansion. This marks a significant turnaround for the airline, which barely averted bankruptcy three years ago.
Since its 1984 launch, Midwest was always known for its product and service, which was better than many of its larger competitors. The airline won praise from business travelers for its all-first-class seating and a full meal service, even on many of the shorter flights. Following the post-9/11 crisis, however, Midwest quickly realized that its product alone would no longer bring in the revenue premium it once received.
The carrier stumbled for several years but was able to win labor concessions and relief from aircraft lessors during the summer of 2003 that kept the carrier out of bankruptcy court. That same year, after facing a barrage of competition from low-cost carriers, Midwest diverged from its original strategy by adding seats to its MD-80 fleet and targeting leisure passengers with a new “saver service.” The carrier kept its Boeing 717 fleet in the traditional all-first-class “signature service.”
Changing the Air Travel Story
Over the last five years, security measures have gradually eroded the way people feel about commercial air travel. Today’s events (“imminent” mid-air bomb plot disrupted) and the government’s reaction to them will, in my opinion, mark the tipping point for an enormous amount of business travel by commercial air.
I’m delighted that the talented and brave investigators foiled this plot, and I’m saddened that we live in a world where something like this could even happen… the fact remains, though, that a key element of our lives has been changed, perhaps forever.
Classic Madison: Mickies Dairy Bar
Mickies Dairy Bar is a Madison Institution. My eldest tells me that they have the best shakes around. One wonders, with the growing redevelopment environment, or, perhaps put another way – the insatiable appetite for a larger tax base – how long places like this will survive.
The Decline of the Newspapers
Circulation for the nation’s daily newspapers has been declining steadily since 1990. In 2004 and 2005, daily circulation dropped 3.5% and the Sunday circulation declined by 4.6%. In the six months period ending in March, 2006, daily circulation fell 2.5% and the Sunday editions fell 3.1%. Readership declined in almost every demographic group and among people with all levels of education, even those with postgraduate degrees. One study found that baby boomers read newspapers a third less than their parents, and generation Xers read them a third less than the boomers.
Venturesome Consumption
Fascinating article in a recent Economist:
In a marvellously contrarian new paper*, Amar Bhidé, of Columbia University’s business school, argues that these supposed remedies, and the worries that lie behind them, are based on a misconception of how innovation works and of how it contributes to economic growth. Mr Bhidé finds plenty of nice things to say about many of the things that most trouble critics of the American economy: consumption as opposed to thrift; a plentiful supply of consumer credit; Wal-Mart; even the marketing arms of drug companies. He thinks that good managers may be at least as valuable as science and engineering graduates (though given where he works, perhaps he is talking his own book). But he has nothing nice to say about the prophets of technological doom.
* “Venturesome Consumption, Innovation and Globalisation”, presented in Venice at the CESifo and Centre on Capitalism and Society conference, July 21st-22nd.
Sharecropping at the Washington Post
Denise Howell has a great post about the Washington Post’s plan to run a mash-up. According to the terms and conditions, as a condition of participating, the artists must agree to “grant and assign all right, title and interest in the Recording to” the Washington Post.
Youtube and other sites have similar “sharecropping terms.
Where You Vote Matters
“Subtle environmental cues can influence decisions on issues of real consequence,” write Jonah Berger and Marc Meredith, two doctoral students at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, and S. Christian Wheeler, a Stanford marketing professor, in a paper (summary) reported in July’s SER. The “environmental cues” are surprising indeed: according to the authors, the polling places used by voters may influence their choices. One study showed voters in Arizona in 2000 were more likely to support a measure to increase the state sales tax, with the proceeds going to public education, if they voted in a school.