Public Integrity’s site has some very useful lobbying data. This link shows the organizations that have contributed to Tammy Baldwin along with the amounts. Perhaps this lobbying is why we are stuck in the mud on true broadband?
Category: Politics
Our Senators at Work – Hollywood’s Broadcast Flag via a Senate Commerce Committee Reconciliation Bill
Our good Senators may soon try to force Hollywood’s broadcast flag on us, via “piggybacking on a Commerce Committee reconciliation” bill, due 10/26/2005. I wonder if our Senators, Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl will do the right thing for Wisconsin residents, or simply slide up to the bar with the Hollywood types? Click on the links above and tell our Senators to stop supporting Hollywood power grabs to the detriment of our fair use rights.
Senators Continue to Beat the Stock Market – And Us
Professor Bainbridge on Senator Bill Frist’s HCA stock sale – two weeks before a disappointing earnings announcement which caused the stock to fall 15%. I’ve noted before that a recent study demonstrated that Senators beat the market 12%, while corporate insiders are 5% better than the market and the typical US household underperforms. Unsurprisingly, the SEC is NOT investigating this interesting fact.
Bush Tax Cuts = Tax Increase for Some
Over the next 10 years, Americans will not receive nearly $750 billion in tax cuts sponsored by President Bush because the cuts will be offset by the alternative minimum tax, a new report by Congressional tax specialists shows. The report, prepared by the staff of the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, said that from 2006 to 2015, Americans would pay as much as $1.1 trillion more under the alternative minimum tax, partly as a result of the Bush tax cuts. The Bush tax cuts reduced the bill for millions of taxpayers to a level that will subject them to the alternative minimum tax instead of the standard tax rate. As a result, the report said, their tax savings would be reduced by a total of $739.2 billion over the 10 years. Congress has passed a modest adjustment to the alternative minimum tax to allow more taxpayers to take advantage of the Bush tax cuts, but that expires at the year-end. Even if it is extended, the report said, the alternative minimum tax would take away $628.5 million in tax savings, with $416.5 billion of that attributable to the Bush tax cuts over the 10 years. George K. Yin, the joint committee’s chief of staff, wrote that the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 account for just under two-thirds of the increase in collections under the alternative tax. The report was prepared in response to a request from John Buckley, chief tax lawyer for Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee. Families with children who own their homes will be hit hardest by the increased alternative tax.
Jennifer Alexander on the Madison Common Council’s Updated Lobbying Ordinance
The Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce and its partners were successful last night in gaining the council’s approval of a fair and workable lobbying ordinance. With a vote of 15-4, a new lobbying ordinance was passed into law by the Madison Common Council. After months of hard work on this issue, the ordinance that passed was supported and endorsed by the GMCC and will have minimal impact on the business community’s access to local government. Thanks to all of our partners that worked so hard over the past months: Downtown Madison, Inc., the Small Business Advisory Council, Smart Growth Madison, and the Realtors Association.
Knutsen Raises the Local Media Coverage Bar – Quite a Bit!
Kristian Knutsen Live Blogs tonight’s Madison City Council Meeting on Isthmus’ The Daily Page:
Tonight’s Madison City Council meeting is likely biggest of the season, as they will take up several items regarding the tavern smoking ban that was enacted on July 1. Since that time, various tavern owners and their political and media allies have inveighed against that ordinance, making it into the hottest and most divisive issue in the city at least since the casino referendum last year. In fact, the amount of interest this has generated probably surpasses that, generating more media heat and public interest in any city policy in years. In addition, the city’s lobbying regs are on the table as well, an issue that has also been a subject of considerable discussion.
An amazing example of sausage making at its finest.
Vikings to Announce a New Stadium Deal
On Tuesday officials from the Minnesota Vikings and Anoka County will formally announce that they have reached an agreement for a new football stadium. The $675 million, retractable-roof stadium would be built on a 700-acre site in Blaine. The total cost of the project, with roads and other infrastructure, could be as much as $790 million. The Vikings are expected to contribute up to $280 million with the rest of the funding to come from Anoka County and state taxpayers.
I wonder if any NFC North team actually needs a new stadium, given the dreadful outlook this fall. Perhaps they will all finish 3-13? Beyond that, I’m sure we can use this money in much better ways, than by subsidizing the rich.
It’s About Time!. Isthmus Tallies our Federal Representative’s Voting Records
Kudos to Isthmus. They’ve started to tally Rep. Tammy Baldwin, Senator Herb Kohl and Senator Russ Feingold’s voting record (not committees – unfortunately!). Some of our elected official’s votes make me wonder just who they are working for.
“Obeying Orders” More on Yahoo Helping the Chinese Government Put a Reporter in Jail
Washington Post Editorial Page:
This is not merely an abstract business ethics issue: Yahoo’s behavior in China could have real consequences for U.S. foreign policy. Over the past two decades, many have argued — ourselves included — that despite China’s authoritarian and sometimes openly hostile government, it is nevertheless right to encourage American companies to work there. Their very presence has been thought to make the society more open, if not necessarily more democratic. If that is no longer the case — if, in fact, American companies are helping China become more authoritarian, more hostile and more of an obstacle to U.S. goals of democracy promotion around the world — then it is time to rethink the rules under which they operate.
Changing US Foreign Policy in the Pacifc
Edward Cody surveys US policy in the Western Pacific:
The rise of China as a regional force has shaken assumptions that had governed this vast region since the end of World War II, including that of uncontested U.S. naval and air power from California to the Chinese coast. With those days soon to end, senior officers said, the U.S. military in Asia is retooling to reflect new war-making technology, better prepare for military crises and counter any future threat from the emergent Chinese navy and air force.