Category: Politics

Blogs & Democracy

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There have been quite a few dustups recently in the ongoing discussion of blogs.
Locally, Madison School Board Member Juan Jose Lopez recently said of the group education blog: www.schoolinfosystem.org: “I think this kind of forum is destructive”
School Blogger Ed Blume blogs a proper response to Juan’s comments.
We’d all be well served by reading a few of Jefferson’s quotes on education & democracy. www.schoolinfosystem.org has much to contribute.

Paul Ryan and Social Security Reform

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Mike Allen follows Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan around his district as he advocates for Social Security reform:

Ryan, who will help write the legislation as a member of the Ways and Means subcommittee on Social Security and is a longtime proponent of changing the popular government retirement program, is pushing the White House idea to farmers and factory workers throughout his district in the southeastern corner of the dairy state, with 35 “listening sessions” in 12 days.

Federal Income Taxes: The Vanishing State & Local Tax Deducation

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David Leonhardt:

The culprit is a once-obscure federal tax provision known as the alternative minimum tax, which was created in 1969 to ensure that a relatively small number of wealthy people did not use loopholes to avoid paying taxes.

But it is increasingly being applied to families with incomes of $75,000 to $250,000 a year who claim relatively high deductions – like the ones for property taxes, state and local income taxes – and the exemption for children. When it does apply, it cancels some of those deductions..

The impact is about to mushroom. Barring a change in the law, almost 19 million taxpayers will be subject next year to the alternative minimum tax, or A.M.T., up from roughly 3.4 million this year and 1.3 million in 2000, according to the Tax Policy Center, a Washington research group whose calculations on this issue are widely accepted.

The non-indexing of the Alternative Minimum Tax will cause more problems over the next few years for Wisconsin residents.

Schwarzenegger vs. Gerrymander

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Steven Hill:

We can’t change where people choose to live, but we can begin using some type of proportional representation system. For example, California could use a system like that in Peoria, Ill., for municipal elections. Instead of electing 40 state senators from 40 districts, voters in 10 districts could elect four senators each. Any candidate who won at least a quarter of the vote would earn a seat. These districts would be far more likely to be bipartisan, even electing some urban Republicans and rural Democrats.

ID Theft & ChoicePoint Imbroglio

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“We regret to inform you that your identity has been stolen. We hope this does not cause an inconvenience.” Robert O’Harrow, Jr:

Earlier this week, ChoicePoint officials said the records of about 35,000 people in California may have been disclosed. But yesterday, the company said the scope of the scheme is probably much wider than it originally reported. Company officials said they were sending out more letters to 110,000 addresses throughout the country that may be connected to the reports delivered to the fraudsters.

“We have reason to believe your personal information may have been obtained by unauthorized third parties, and we deeply regret any inconvenience this event may
cause you,” the letters say.

Authorities said the number of records involved may go higher as the investigation continues. “This is way far more reaching,” said Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Lt. Robert Costa, commander of an identity theft unit. “I believe that when we’re done it will be more than a half million nationally. It’s huge.”

I ran into Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenshlager at the Winter Farmer’s Market and mentioned that only California apparently has a law requiring notification of identity theft…. It’s long past time for Wisconsin to act.