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Issue: 8 Cost: $1.25 of Conservative Issues and Ideas Taxpayers taken for a ride, a ride that is now ending By Sen. Alberta Darling (R-8th District) permanent maintenance facility for 20 years vs. and Rep. Robin Vos (R-63rd District) the cost of running the current Amtrak trains. The difference made last week's decisions an This past session, we spent a lot of time fix- easy one for Wisconsin taxpayers. ing the mess former Gov. Jim Doyle and the The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau Democrats made when they were in power. From estimated that Talgo trains would cost taxpayers filling a $3.6 billion deficit to repaying the $10 million more each year for the next 20 years. Injured Victims Compensation Fund that he raid- We didn't believe it was wise to throw $200 mil- ed, we've made it our goal to protect taxpayers lion taxpayer dollars at a bad project. from the bad decisions made in years past. As the The state would be bound by contract to have chairs of the budget-writing Joint Committee on a more frequent maintenance schedule than Finance, it is our job to be responsible stewards Amtrak, instantly inflating the cost of operations with the generous money taxpayers provide the by 3%. These new Talgo trains have to be serv- state. iced every other day. The current Amtrak trains The no-bid Talgo Inc. contract was astonish- are maintained on a set schedule and on an as- ingly irresponsible, even by Doyle and the needed basis, similar to how you maintain your Democrats' fiscal standards. Shortly after a hasti- own car. ly announced jaunt to Spain, Doyle used a loop- The Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimates the hole in the law to commit Wisconsin to a no-bid cost to operate the new trains would be $5.1 mil- boondoggle that locked in escalating costs for a lion higher. However, that's assuming the same train that couldn't survive without continual tax- number of people ride the trains. However, the payer support. Talgo trains are smaller. In addition, Illinois now The more we found out, the less there was to helps pay for 25% of the Amtrak contract, but it like. The deal was sold as a $47.1 million con- wouldn't pay anything to help maintain the Talgo tract, but the actual cost was closer to $70 mil- trains. It's not part of the Talgo agreement. lion. Those trains were meant to be built for a Now you have to add the required construc- less than high-speed rail line between Madison tion costs of the maintenance facility. The capi- and Milwaukee at great taxpayer expense. Gov. tal costs would add $5 million annually to the Scott Walker smartly turned away one-time fed- state's bill. That brings the total cost to $10 mil- eral funding for a train people didn't want and lion each year for the next 20 years - $200 mil- couldn't afford. The federal funding wouldn't lion that can be better spent elsewhere. have touched the long-term costs of maintaining For those who currently ride the Amtrak and operating the train that wouldn't have saved train, this decision means you will see no differ- commuters any time and would cost taxpayers in ence with your service. However, if we would've perpetuity. It was a boondoggle we couldn't chosen the more expensive route, riders of the afford. new trains could potentially see fair hikes, less Since the trains wouldn't be used for the seating on the train and this popular line sudden- Madison-to-Milwaukee line, the trains had to go ly becomes less attractive. It's a gamble we were to Amtrak's Hiawatha line. Unfortunately, the not willing to take. trains are too small to meet ridership demands Luckily, the state has options. According to for that line, which means we would need to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, if no funds were build even more cars that are more expensive to given for the Talgo maintenance facility, the operate on the Hiawatha line. It's throwing good "agreement can be terminated by either party." money after bad. For the sake of the taxpayers in So that's where we are now. The state will go Wisconsin, it was time to go back to the table back to the table with Talgo and try to work out and work on a deal that would better protect tax- a better deal than the no-bid one they received in payers. the final days of the Doyle administration. We made the decision in the Joint Finance Wisconsin taxpayers were taken for a ride by Committee like any family would–by looking at Doyle and the Democrats. We're proud to say the numbers. In early December, the committee that the ride is coming to an end. passed a motion to ask the Department of Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) and Transportation for a full analysis of the taxpayer Rep. Robin Vos (R-Rochester) are co-chairs of cost of running the Talgo trains and opening a the Joint Finance Committee. Page 2 Conservative Digest May 2012 Walker and the Legislature had to fix liberal mess Gov. Scott Walker and the Wisconsin Legislature with this HOPE AND CHANGE program voted in were faced with some very tough decisions after nationally. being elected in 2010. Raise taxes and chase people Scott Walker is a REFORM governor, sent in to and businesses out of state–as Jim Doyle, Wisconsin's clean up the mess made by Liberal Tom Ament and worst governor in 100 years and as Illinois and his leftists. They feathered their beds at the expense California are doing–or to restore fiscal sanity to the of the taxpayers, as have the other public employee budget for a generation. They figured that they were unions around the state. Now, having to deal with the going to have to break a few eggs. mess left by the Leftists in Mad City, Walker and the Not wanting to see massive layoffs and big class Legislature made some tough decisions. He dealt sizes, across the state, they settled on the best possible with Milwaukee County's mess and is now dealing answer–making public employees pay their fair share with the mess in Mad city, and, boy. are they scream- of pensions and health costs, as the rest of the state ing. "When you pull all of those noses away from the does. trough, you sure do get a lot of oinking,” Ronald Their results were good and they are working. Reagan said. Some of the public employees were a little upset, with Unions, faced with the loss of dues that they use having to do with the same salary deductions as what to pad their fat salaries and further their leftist politi- the taxpayers are getting and so decided to complete- cal power, have been the worst. ly engage in a civil war with the governor and legis- Tommy Thompson showed us the way in 14 years lature, upsetting the whole community and throwing as governor. He cut taxes, encouraged businesses, the economy into a tailspin. controlled spending, and kept a steady course to Few businesses want to work with these aggres- attract and grow businesses. Walker is following the sive unions and their foul mouthed friends so they same path, while the dimwitted left wants to make have held back and watched. The carryover from the enemies of those that start from scratch, work 60 bad decisions of the Doyle administration precluded a hours per week, and grow their businesses to create quick recovery, so Wisconsin continues to suffer jobs. They need capital to do that and the more we under their obnoxious tactics. take from them the less we get. With this recall election, Wisconsin has two dis- If you take money from productive people and tinct paths to follow for their schools: either the path give it to non-productive people, you get less produc- of our kids under the thumb of the union thugs or the tion from both. path of more freedom for the families and local com- There is a reason that around 7,500 top income munities to plan for their own kids. people have left this state and over 150,000 tax eaters Already we have seen some amazing changes. have moved in and it isn't because of Conservative In Brown Deer they have shown that minority stu- fiscal policy. dents can be taught to read while in Milwaukee, still It might be nice to live in Mad City with the uni- under the thumb of the union thugs, thousands more versities, hospitals, and state government there, pro- kids will leave school with minimal skills, but the viding stable, high salaried jobs, but the rest of the teachers pensions, health and salaries will remain state does not have that and we need private jobs to intact. pay the way there. While the leftists in Mad City can If a kid can't read by 4th grade, he or she is pretty stroll along the lake in their birkenstocks puffing on a much lost. little pot while talking about socialism and its goals, Why do you think kids are in trouble? Poor fam- the rest of us have to work. ily lives, uncaring school monopoly and unable to comprehend lessons put in front of them, they act up. Bob and Jean Dohnal, Publishers Thank God that CHOICE came along to give some of The Wisconsin Conservative Digest them hope, something that they have not had even Give $25 or Get 25 Digests!! About this time of the year, after the elections, is get immediate updates on what is happening in when all conservatives go to sleep, zip up their billfolds Madison and DC. Then you can help by hollering, and say: "we elected them do all of the hard lifting". sending letters, calling your local newspaper editors That is why we win battles and lose wars. The cam- and talk shows. This is a fight for the future. paigns must go on, Conservatives have to keep work- Do you want to see the future become that of the ing and keep giving. Politics is a Blood sport, you can leftwing visions? Or do you want a future for our kids see that in Madison the last few weeks. that includes, personal freedoms, property rights, low Ronald Reagan said once: "When you pull all of taxes, better jobs and salaries, homes and lives? those snouts away from the trough you are going to get It is your choice: Help!! a lot of oinking.” That is what is happening. The left is Bob and Jean Dohnal, Publishers/Editors apoplectic. They might lose 25% or more of their con- 11324 W. Potter Rd. tributions. That can kill some of them. The left lives Wauwatosa, WI 53226-3407 off the rest of us. Public employees and many public (414) 258-1719 agencies depend on our money, tax money, to pay for [email protected] their political activities. We Conservatives must go out and get money from hard working people. Most of the Name______rich people have become liberals. Conservatives are the Email______people that are out there every day busting their butts. Address______Please help us organize: Send us $25 or send us a Contribution______request to get 25 of the new Conservative Digests. Distribution#______Distribute them to libraries, coffee shops, organiza- Phone______tions, meetings, and friends. Join our e-mail lists and May 2012 Conservative Digest Page 3 Time to ‘RESTORE America’ By Tommy Thompson time for action is now. Together, we’ve faced very tough and diffi- I’ve had the pleasure to tour Wisconsin to cult circumstances before and we prevailed. unveil elements of my ‘RESTORE America’ When I first ran for governor, a feeling of plan, and the outpouring of support I’m receiving hopelessness hung over the Badger State. Jobs heartens me. and businesses were leaving Wisconsin in To get America working again we need fun- droves, failed liberal economic and social poli- damental reforms that put the taxpayer first, pro- cies trapped people in poverty and state govern- tect our liberties and bolster our free market ment become a roadblock to prosperity and inno- economy. Those conservative principles will be vation. But we did not run from our prob- the driving force behind my initiatives to reform lems…we solved them. We were successful our nation’s entitlements, repeal Obamacare, bal- because we implemented free market strategies ance the budget, simplify taxes, and overturn to make government work for the people – not regulatory excess. the other way around. As part of my budget reforms, I’ve called for Bold reforms and the courage to take on the Senators to stop getting a paycheck until they ful- establishment were the keys to our success. fill their responsibility by adopting a budget, We reformed Wisconsin’s education system something Harry Reid and the current U.S. to give parents the freedom and power to choose Senate majority has failed to do for nearly three the best education for their child through our years. In addition, I have outlined a plan to School Choice initiative–the first and largest address excessive public sector worker benefits school choice program in the entire country. I at the federal level–similar to what Governor fought the education establishment all the way to Walker has done here in Wisconsin. the United States Supreme Court because reli- My tax reform plan includes a variety of ini- gious values were not the problem, failing tiatives that will spur economy growth and vital- schools were. ity including an option for a simplified flat tax, We reformed Wisconsin’s tax code by slash- permanency of the Bush tax cuts, eliminating the ing the income tax rate three times. I eliminated tax on Social Security benefits, reducing corpo- the inheritance and gift taxes, cut capital gains rate taxes, and repatriating foreign profits by taxes, and delivered $2.4 billion in property tax U.S. companies. relief. In all, I cut taxes 91 times and saved tax- I will pursue a policy of zero taxation on for- payers more than $16 billion and the overall tax eign profits repatriated to the U.S. when those burden during my tenure as governor went down. profits are used for investment in plant and We reformed Wisconsin’s business climate by equipment, job training or research and develop- cutting regulations and getting government out of ment. Investing more than $1 trillion in our the way of job-creators. My reforms ushered in economy at little or no cost to the U.S. Treasury an era of unprecedented growth and prosperity (because those profits are generally not taxed for the people of Wisconsin and created more now) is among the most powerful near-term than 740,000 new jobs. Among those were actions we can take to restore America’s econo- 94,000 new manufacturing jobs for Wisconsin; my. this at a time when the nation as a whole experi- To further restore America, we must reduce enced a net loss of 462,000 manufacturing jobs. our nation’s dependence on overseas oil and We reformed Wisconsin’s welfare system and stimulate job creation while finding new sources created a model for the entire nation on how to of energy. I support the Keystone Pipeline, open- reform an entitlement program. We gave people a ing new resources for oil and gas exploration, hand up, not a hand out. And we ended a cycle of and easing regulations to stimulate the develop- government dependency that often spanned gen- ment of domestic natural gas supplies. I encour- erations. age you to learn more about RESTORE America I’m proud of the work we did to turn by visiting my website Wisconsin into America’s laboratory of reform. TommyForWisconsin.com. School Choice, job creation, tax and welfare The bold proposals I’m unveiling to get reform were landmark victories for conservatives America working again are based in my conser- in Wisconsin and across the entire country. vative philosophy and what I know will work to My record is one of innovation, limited gov- empower entrepreneurs, stimulate job growth ernment, protection of life and liberty, and living and development, and make the country compet- within our means. itive again globally. In essence, my plan is to To get American working again Republicans get the federal government out the way and must win here in Wisconsin to help deliver a unleash the power and ingenuity of the American GOP majority in the United States Senate and people. defeat Barack Obama. It is the only way to derail I cannot sit by and watch the American their big government agenda. Dream vanish for our children and grandchildren. I can deliver that historic win for With the rapidly growing national debt, the mort- Republicans. And I’m ready for the challenge. gage meltdown, and a sluggish economic recov- Tommy Thompson was the 42nd governor of ery, the promise that each generation would have Wisconsin and a current U.S. Senate candidate. the same opportunity for success and prosperity as the current generation is slipping away. The Page 4 Conservative Digest May 2012 Promises made, promises kept under Governor Walker By Brad Courtney to Wisconsin to relocate in order to see their Chairman of the Republican Party of businesses flourish. Wisconsin Gov. Walker also promised an end to the years of billion-dollar budget deficits. In his After eight years under the oppressive first budget, Gov. Walker was able to elimi- thumb of the Doyle regime, Wisconsin is nate a $3.6 billion dollar deficit and pay off finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel. $800 million in IOUs left by his predecessor. In 2010, a resounding majority of the vot- Not only did he live up to this promise, but ers of Wisconsin spoke loud and clear at the he did so without raising our taxes. ballot box that enough was enough. Gov. Walker also promised an end to the Sweeping changes were ahead for our state. reckless disregard of your hard earned tax Russ Feingold was replaced by Ron Johnson; dollars and the tax-and-spend mentality that the uber-left majorities in the state house and came with it. By returning the federal gov- senate were turned over to those with sound ernment’s wasteful high speed rail handout, fiscal ideas to get our financial house in the governor not only saved us time and order, and Scott Walker stepped behind the money today, but billions in the future for a desk in the governor’s office. project that without-a-doubt would have With his new job as Governor, Scott drained valuable and limit resources from Walker immediately got to work keeping the state coffers. Spending money for the sake of promises he made during the 2010 campaign. spending money is a useless waste of tax- Gov. Walker promised to address the stag- payer money, and with people like Gov. gering job loss during the three year before Walker at the helm of leadership, we are Gov. Walker took office. On his first day in likely to not see such a waste of money office, the governor called an emergency ses- again. sion on jobs that curbed frivolous lawsuits, The governor also promised to protect cut taxes on job creators, and eliminated the our second amendment rights, and by cham- state tax on Health Savings Accounts. pioning and signing Wisconsin’s conceal During 2011, the job losses created due to carry law and castle doctrine, he has done Doyle’s reckless spending were put to an end just that. and a foundation for growth was firmly put Gov. Walker is a man of his word, and in place. Due to Gov. Walker’s reforms, our although it may not be popular with the lib- unemployment rate is at a three-year low of eral left and their cronies in the big-govern- 6.9 percent and 17,800 new private sector ment public labor unions, he is sticking by jobs were created this year alone. Trends are the promises he made, and making them looking up and companies are now looking promises kept. Governor Walker continues to be a hero for hunting By Bob Welch 2010, following shortly by a letter of intent to sue USFWS for failure to act in a timely Gov. Scott Walker continued to show why manner. Soon after the Walker-appointed he’s a hero to Wisconsin hunters this spring. DNR administration also filed formal com- On April 2, 2012, Gov. Walker signed into ments which in combination with the HRC law the Wolf Management Act, creating actions led to the USFWS delisting. Wisconsin’s first wolf hunting and trapping We continue to anticipate out-of-state season. This season will finally allow animal rights extremists will challenge the Wisconsin to manage its rapidly increasing USFWS decision as they have done with pre- gray wolf population. vious listings. Gov. Walker’s signature marks the end of However this time around we’re confi- a long battle. We’ve previously reported on dant the scientific basis for the delisting will the years of work from the Wisconsin’s trump the uninformed emotionalism of the Hunters Rights Coalition (HRC) and like- opponents. minded organizations fighting to get the Once delisted, wolves once again moved recovery of the gray wolf recognized by the into DNR jurisdiction. Sen. Terry Moulton US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). HRC member organizations filed a formal petition seeking the delisting back in May of Continued to Next Page May 2012 Conservative Digest Page 5 ...Walker a hero to hunting DNR is to set up the hunting/trapping sea- From Previous Page son. and Rep. Scott Suder then introduced the • The annual season will start October 15 Wolf Management Act to give the DNR the and run through February and be open to tools necessary to manage the growing pop- both residents and non-residents. License ulation. The bill made its way quickly fees are set at $50 for a resident and $250 for through the legislature and eventually to the a non-resident. Both will also have a pro- desk of the very supportive Gov. Walker. cessing fee of $9.75. Wisconsin’s wolf population is estimated • Assuming there are more applicants by the DNR to be around 800 wolves. This than licenses, the DNR must issue 50% of is the most wolves ever counted in the licenses at random and the remaining Wisconsin and far exceeds any and all popu- 50% based on a cumulative preference sys- lation goals. Eight hundred wolves is eight tem. times the 100 wolves set as the recovery goal • The DNR may close a wolf harvest zone in the federal Timber Wolf Recovery Plan to hunting and trapping if it decides closure and more than twice the Wisconsin manage- is necessary to effectively manage the wolf ment goal of 350. 2010 was the worst year on population Wisconsin’s record in terms of wolf attacks • A license will authorize the hunting of on livestock. wolves using a firearm, bow, or crossbow. Most observers feel that the 800 wolf Dogs to track and trail wolves will be per- estimate is only about half of the real num- mitted. ber. Barring any lawsuits, the wolf season will The hunting and trapping season is a very be up and running this October. Although important part of the DNR’s wolf manage- the rules are not finalized yet, it is expected ment plan and thanks to the signing of the that about 300-400 wolf tags will be release Wolf Management Act they should now have this first year. all the necessary tools. Bob Welch is a former member of the The bill includes many details on how the Wisconsin State Assembly and Senate. First Statewide Wisconsin LibertyVention: June 15-16, 2012 A statewide celebration of the Tea Party Wausau Tea Party. Other Tea Party groups movement will be held June 15 – 16, 2012 at who would like to help sponsor the event, the historic Hotel Mead and Convention please contact one of the hosting groups. Center in Wisconsin Rapids, WI. “Wisconsin’s history and political cir- The name LibertyVention has been cumstances yield some unique challenges adopted for the event to reflect the Tea for liberty-minded individuals and groups Party’s true mission. The movement sprung here,” Kirsten Lombard notes. “We wanted up more than three years ago out of a desire to gather people to network, relationship- to restore liberty and roll back government build, and idea-share in ways that will allow intrusion into the lives of American citizens. them to navigate those challenges success- Plans are in full motion to bring national fully.” and state speakers to the two-day conven- Registration will begin May 1st. Watch tionstyle gathering. Individual members of for further announcements in the coming Tea Party and invited groups from across days and weeks. Wisconsin will be in attendance to engage, For further information, contact Kim network, learn and relax during the two day Simac ([email protected]), Kirsten event. Lombard ([email protected]), LibertyVention will be hosted by Annette Olson ([email protected]) Northwoods Patriots, the Wisconsin 9/12 or Meg Ellefson (patriots@wausautea- Project, the Uninfringed Liberty Group, and party.com).

Listen to Jay Weber weekdays 6 to 10 a.m. on WISN 1130. Page 6 Conservative Digest May 2012 Read the column the ‘Journal Sentinel’ requested, then refused to run On Wednesday, April 25, 2012 the could read the huge, screaming headline Milwaukee Journal Sentinel approached the regarding the state’s job numbers. The MacIver Institute via email with a request to lengthy article examining old data was filled write an OpEd column for Sunday’s newspa- with speculation regarding how the informa- per. tion reflects upon Governor Scott Walker, his Would you guys like to comment on the policies and his political future. story Craig Gilbert had this morning on jobs You ran a much smaller article the next and Walker? I’m wondering to what extent day that showed how the employment num- you think Walker should be help [sic ] bers in the Metro Milwaukee Area are the responsible? We’d look to use the op-ed this worst in the state. Yet that piece made no Friday or Sunday. We’d need potentially as mention of Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, early as Thursday afternoon. Are you inter- his policies or his political future. It is also ested? Is that doable? notable that the unflattering article ran on the Thanks for considering this. last page of the business section. We responded that we could provide a It’s also humorous that, in general, the critique, but suggested they go in a different same Big Government liberals in this state direction if they wanted something different. who believe George Bush is to blame for the We could talk about what’s behind job current national jobs picture are putting all creation and mention the pres and gov but if the blame for Wisconsin’s employment situ- you desire a full throated politcal [sp] piece ation at the foot of our current governor. By promoting the gov, perhaps u should keep their logic, President Obama needs more looking. than 3 1⁄2 years to assume responsibility for …and later: the nation’s economy, yet every bit of bad Just let me know by 5 p.m. today, we news here in the last 16 months is all could get you 650 words by 5 p.m. tomorrow. Governor Walker’s fault. Our piece would address the following: Moving beyond that ridiculousness, the Job numbers-Who’s to blame? Obama? fact of the matter is for Wisconsin business- Walker? Barret? es to succeed, we need economic policies What employers need to increase hiring? that: What’s the best prescription for a robust 1) Encourage risk and capital investment jobs climate? 2) Appreciate and work with those who Their response? wish to bring new jobs here That sounds great. I think it will dove-tail 3) Does not punish success through well with our editorial. oppressive taxation So, below is the column, which they ulti- 4) Invest in sound infrastructure like mately refused to run. The paper did publish roads, ports and airports rather than boutique an unsolicited column by State Sen. Alberta novelty trains that move too few people to Darling (R-River Hills) on the topic. too few places Notable, however, is that Darling’s column There are those who support a govern- does not mention any criticism of the news- ment-driven economy who believe we need paper’s coverage of the issue. to increase the taxes on the rich and the cor- So, we publish this column (and a tran- porations. If we do so, they argue, our gov- script of our exchange with the JS Editor) for ernment will be stronger and in a position to two reasons. One, we put the time and effort fund programs and projects that will lure into writing the piece, setting aside some business and jobs here. other projects to fulfill the Journal To them, I say: Been there. Done that. Sentinel’s request–so we’d like to at least Didn’t work. have this column see the light of day. Two, The 2009-10 state budget created a new we’ll raise the question: Did the Milwaukee custom computer software tax; Increased Journal Sentinel spike this piece because taxes on combined reporting; Applied sales they cannot tolerate even the mildest form of tax on all transactions between affiliated criticism within the pages of their own businesses; Eliminated tax deduction for paper? (Criticism, you will see, that was domestic production activities; Increased entirely justified.) taxes on “throwback sales.” In all, that document increased overall On the Hypocrisy and Logical taxes by several billion dollars. Inconsistency of the Jobs Blame Game The failed policies of the past further By Brian Fraley increased spending by 6.2% or $3.6 billion; Anyone within a thousand yards of the Increased borrowing to $3.58 billion and left Wednesday edition of the Journal Sentinel Continued to Next Page May 2012 Conservative Digest Page 7 MATC needs accountability By Rep. Duey Stroebel counsel in attendance, the candidate who with- (R-6-th District) drew “was probably not eligible” for the MATC District Board due to the requirements that are Recently, as a representative from my local in place at this time. Thus, it would appear the school board, I participated in a public hearing rationale for the candidate’s withdrawal letter conducted to appoint three new members from a was either disingenuous or uninformed with slate of four candidates to the regard to his actual viability as a candidate. In Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) any case, this is not the first time that after District Board. Over the years, this flawed applying the “representation requirements” process has resulted in a board dominated by there was no viable outside candidate to chal- special interest representation from the city of lenge the returning incumbent. Milwaukee. For years, the board has been That left three candidates for three open- selected by a 20+ member committee dominat- ings. As part of the “representation require- ed by Milwaukee educrats. Below is a brief ments,” one of the openings had to be filled by synopsis of the dysfunction that occurred at this a school district administrator. years meeting. That opening was filled de facto by the one The meeting opened with the reading of a and only school district administrator candi- letter from one of the candidates announcing his date. withdrawal from consideration. The candidate Now, two incumbent candidates for two indicated that his desire to withdraw was due to openings remained. The two incumbents were “outside forces looking to change MATC’s gov- asked questions that pertained to emerging erning structure”. The candidate reflected upon trends in education. One question asked if being “impressed by how well the college MATC should consider merit pay, while the appears to be serving our communities” and that other question inquired if tenure was beneficial he had no desire to be associated with the newly to education. Unfortunately, the answers given proposed board selection process. by both incumbents showed little or no inclina- The current selection system is guided by a tion to consider those two concepts. confusing matrix of “representation require- Lastly, each candidate was asked if given ments”. These requirements focus on gender, the opportunity to reopen the union contract and minority status, geographic area, and employ- derive cost savings through greater employee er/employee status. Ironically, as stated imme- diately after the meeting by the MATC legal Turn To Page 8 ...column ‘Journal Sentinel’ refused to run thousands of good-paying family-supporting From Previous Page jobs for generations there. It would have this current Administration and legislature helped large manufacturers here in the facing a $3.6 billion hole from which to Milwaukee area for several years, too. climb out. Indeed, the same agitators who are joy- All of that fiscal irresponsibility cost fully directing people to your Wednesday Wisconsin far more jobs than have left the headline didn’t care about those jobs. state since last January. When government Bad timing, I guess. Heaven forbid a extracts dollars from the private sector, there favorable jobs-related headline in the heat of is less private sector economic activity. the recall, right? Not one Democratic state When there is less private sector activity, senator supported the mining bill. there are fewer jobs created. So, although Too many Big Government agitators were this never resulted in a 6 column above the too busy rallying around the Angry Blue Fist fold headline in this paper, it is nonetheless of Big Government to raise a finger to help true: In the final 3 years of the Doyle attract private sector mining jobs to the state. Administration, Wisconsin lost not 15,000 To quote a familiar refrain from Madison, jobs, but rather a staggering 150,000 jobs. “Shame! Shame! Shame!” Since then, the labor reforms, tax cuts, incentives and tort reform legislation enacted ABrookfield resident, Fraley is the in Madison provided a good start toward a Communications Director of the John K. better direction. MacIver Institute for Public Policy, a free However the legislation that would have market think tank in Madison. MacIver’s given Wisconsin the single-biggest jobs mini-documentary“Mine Shaft,” about the boost, the mining bill, was mired in partisan failed attempt to modernize the state’s mine politics and died an unmerciful death earlier permitting process, will be released next this spring. A mine in Gogebic Range in month. Northern Wisconsin would have brought Page 8 Conservative Digest May 2012 Back to the future Why are we embracing a 19th-century tech- 15-minute streetcar ride will be a lot slower nology when all the evidence shows rail transit than the six-minute car trip to cover the same doesn’t work? by Tom Bamberger route. But also slower than a 10-minute bike In July of 2007, Michael Cudahy took ride. For that matter, you could take the No. 30 Mayor Tom Barrett, County Executive Scott bus from Farwell and Ogden to Fourth and Walker and Metropolitan Milwaukee Wisconsin in 11 minutes, walk three blocks to Association of Commerce President Tim St. Paul and still beat the trolley. Sheehy on his private jet to Portland, Ore., to Yet much of Milwaukee’s leadership hails behold the future of mass transit. the streetcar as a boon to the city. “It will Portland is the dream city for rail-lovers, ensure Milwaukee’s position as world-class with a $3 billion system that includes 52.4 city,” Cudahy insists. It will be “a catalyst for miles of light rail, 14.7 miles of heavy rail, a economic development of Downtown,” mile-long aerial tram and an 8-mile trolley declares Bill Bertha, president of US Bank in loop. Barrett loved it. Wisconsin. “I believe we can replicate the great success “There isn’t a major American city that isn’t [of] Portland here in Milwaukee,” the mayor developing streetcars,” says Patrick Curley, declared. Barrett’s chief of staff. “Once you start, people In fact, Barrett is starting with a streetcar will want it.” that runs just two miles, from the Intermodal If you build it, they will come. That’s the Station at 433 W. St. Paul Ave. to Burns Square theory. The facts are another matter. just north of Juneau Park, planned for comple- For all the transit Portland built in the last tion by 2015. It will be powered by overhead 20 years, the number of people driving to work wires and run on tracks, just like the good old has barely changed. The 2 to 3 percent increase days. Its one major advance? These modern, in people taking mass transit to work was near- low-floor streetcars make it easy to board with ly matched by a decline in carpooling. With 76 wheelchairs, baby strollers and bicycles. miles of rail, Portlanders still drive about the It will cost about $64 million to build–using same number of miles per capita as we do in largely federal dollars–and require some $2 Milwaukee, with no rail. million of local taxes for annual operating costs Nationally, things look even worse. From to supplement the estimated $650,000 per year 1980 to 2005, one study noted, spending by earned in fares. That’s a lot of bucks for very little bang. A Continued to Next Page ...MATC needs accountability From Page 7 As seen over the years, that has not been its track record. For this reason, SB275 was recent- participation in pension and healthcare benefits, ly signed into law by Governor Walker. SB275 similar to the recent MPS legislation, would now requires the MATC District Board be they do so? Again, neither of the incumbents selected by a committee consisting of the was interested in exploring this option. Milwaukee County Executive and the chairper- Should we be surprised by these attitudes? sons of the Milwaukee, Ozaukee and Most likely not. One of the incumbent’s prior Washington County Boards. Furthermore, the career was the past president of a powerful pub- board must now consist of five of the nine mem- lic workers union in the City of Milwaukee; bers representing employers and manufacturing. therefore, he fulfilled the “employee” require- As Walker spokesman, Cullen Werwie, so ment in the matrix. The other incumbent is appropriately stated, “We must do more to fos- employed by the City of Milwaukee Housing ter collaboration between employers and educa- Authority. Because the incumbent has one part tion to create jobs in Wisconsin”. SB275 rep- time employee reporting to her, she fulfilled the resents a step in that direction. “employer” requirement in the matrix. Is this Not surprisingly the educational establish- really the best we can do to fill these important ment was not happy about SB275. It was the positions? The problems with this system do not root cause of a protracted 33 hour session on the stop here. For all practical purposes, the City of assembly floor. Democrats put forth over 70 Milwaukee is guaranteed a majority of members amendments in an attempt to kill the bill. on the nine member board—the geographic Now more than ever MATC needs to provide requirements mandate four members from the effective services to its students and the com- City of Milwaukee and the other requirements munity. Unfortunately, reforms did not occur virtually assure a minimum of five members from within MATC. It took involvement by the from the City of Milwaukee. State Legislature in the form of SB275 to begin MATC needs to focus on accountability and the process of transforming MATC to an institu- results in its educational mission. tion that works for all. May 2012 Conservative Digest Page 9 AWisconsin Vindication Wall Street Journal editorial dollar benefits year over year, but any hold- the-line tax respite is both rare and welcome in The public employee unions and other lib- this age of ever-expanding government. erals are confident that Wisconsin voters will The real gains will grow as local school turn out Governor Scott Walker in a recall districts continue repairing and rationalizing election later this year, but not so fast. That their budgets using the tools Mr. Walker gave may turn out to be as wrong as some of their them. Those include the ability to renegotiate other predictions as Badger State taxpayers perk-filled teacher contracts and requiring start to see tangible benefits from Mr. Walker's government workers to contribute more than reforms—such as the first decline in statewide 0% to their pensions. A year ago amid their sit- property taxes in a dozen years. ins and other protests, the unions said such On Monday Mr. Walker's office released policies would lead to the decline and fall of new data that show the property tax bill for the civilization, but the only things that are falling median home fell by 0.4% in 2011, as report- are tax collections. ed by Wisconsin's municipalities. Property The political lesson is that attempts to taxes, which are the state's largest revenue modernize government are always controver- source and mainly fund K-12 schools, have sial, but support usually builds over time as risen every year since 1998—by 43% overall. the public comes to appreciate the benefits of The state budget office estimates that the typ- structural change that tames the drivers of a ical homeowner's bill would be some $700 status quo that includes ever-higher spending higher without Mr. Walker's collective-bar- and taxes. The Wisconsin recall donnybrook in gaining overhaul and budget cuts. June will test whether voters value their own The median home value did fall in 2011, by bottom lines more than the political power of about 2.3%, which no doubt influenced the unions. slight downward trend. But then values also A version of this article appeared April 17, fell in 2009 and 2010, by similar amounts, and 2012, on page A14 in some U.S. editions of the state's take from the average taxpayer still The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: A climbed by 2.1% and 1.5%, respectively. In Wisconsin Vindication. absolute terms homeowners won't see large ...back to the future struction.” From Previous Page Another liberal, Peter Rogoff, head of the governments on rail transit rose slightly (in real Federal Transit Administration and an dollars) from $6 billion to $15 billion. Yet the appointee of President Obama, offered a brutal number of Americans taking rail transit to work assessment: “Supporters of public transit must plummeted, from 2 million to 1 million. be willing to share some simple truths that These stats are from the liberal Brookings folks don’t want to hear. ... Paint is cheap, rails Institution. You needn’t look to conservatives systems are extremely expensive. ... You can for a sobering analysis on rail transit. entice even die-hard rail riders onto a bus, if Rail champions prefer to not talk about its you call it a ‘special’ bus and just paint it a dif- impact on driving, instead arguing it encour- ferent color. ... [Then] paint a designated bus ages development (and new transit riders) lane on the street. ... Throw in signal pre-emp- along the rail line. To test this, The Oregonian tion, and you can move a lot of people at very sent reporters to interview people living close little cost compared to rail.” to the Orenco MAX light rail station, an award- This is a country that always innovated its winning New Urbanist project 15 miles outside way to the future. Yet city after city has been Portland. Hardly anyone took the train to work. embracing a 19th-century technology, adding This was confirmed by Lewis & Clark College some form of transit. The electric trolley was professor Bruce Podobnik, who found that perfected in Richmond, Va., in 1887 and start- commuters from towns served by Orenco’s sta- ed declining after 1920, when only 40 percent tion fell as a percentage of all Portland rail of households had cars. transit between 2002 and 2007. The future will not be about fixed rail but As the Brookings report concluded, about electric cars, micro-cars, stackable cars “Studies have yet to show that after their con- and other innovations that will reduce the struction transit systems have had a significant auto’s carbon and physical footprint. The only effect on employment or land use close to sta- good news about Milwaukee’s streetcar is that tions … [or] greatly exceed the benefits from it has come so late, leaving this city’s landscape commercial development that would have uniquely rail-free for when the real revolution occurred elsewhere in the absence of rail con- comes. Page 10 Conservative Digest May 2012 Do we need a John Doe for the John Doe? By Tom Wolff Darling. After the WI GAB determined that Editor of Freedom Weekly Pasch’s campaign provided illegal benefits to entice voters, the Public Integrity Unit conduct- Last week, former Waukesha County District ed their own investigation and determined noth- Attorney Paul Bucher formally requested an ing was wrong. investigation into the John Doe proceedings in Individuals have every right to contribute to Milwaukee County. In a letter to Attorney the campaigns of their choice and to support any General VanHollen, Bucher asked that the candidate that they so desire. But when the Department of Justice investigate the DA’s office actions clearly show a strong bias – and they are in Milwaukee and its handling of its current allowed to conduct investigations into their probe into the staff and associates of Governor allies and opponents, the “public integrity” is Walker. He further requested that the DOJ take clearly compromised. over the investigation, or at least play an over- The evidence is mounting that the Walker sight role due to the growing problems within the John Doe is nothing more than a fishing expedi- County DA’s office. tion, hoping to find “anything” connected to It’s no secret that the John Doe proceedings Walker that can be used for political gain. have been going on for two years now, and the Rumors of a “surprise indictment” have circulat- confidential process has been anything but confi- ed for months, trying to fan the flames against dential. Leaks have been regular occurrences the Governor or members of his staff. from within the DA’s office, and have been And all of this comes on the heels of what strategically timed to have political impact. The can only be described as selective prosecution. leaks have usually been directed to the The Milwaukee DA’s office has consistently Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel, Milwaukee Mayor ignored calls for investigations into public Tom Barrett and his staff, and Democratic polit- employees when it involves Democratic opera- ical operatives. tives. The case of Jeff Fleming consulting for the But a bombshell was released last week, Mayor’s Office and then being hired “temporari- when Media Trackers staff released the names of ly” during Barrett’s final campaign push is a 43 current Milwaukee County DA staff that had great example of the DA’s “nothing there” signed recall petitions against Governor Walker. mantra. Though DA John Chisholm quickly responded The Milwaukee media conveniently forgets that no actual prosecutor working on the Walker that County Executive Walker asked for the John Doe had signed petitions, there were 19 investigation in the first place, to determine the Assistant DA’s and one of Chisholm’s five whereabouts of funds missing from a County Deputy DA’s among the signers. According to related account. But John Doe investigations can Bucher’s letter, one of the signers was “the per- take on a life of their own, as prosecutors have sonal secretary to the chief investigator himself – great leeway in determining the direction and a person with unrestricted access to all informa- eventual targets of an original inquiry. They also tion and correspondence pertaining to the John determine the length of time that is necessary, Doe”. and can continue the query until they find some- And perhaps most damning of all was that a thing they can prosecute. DA staff member circulated a recall petition that The leaks coming from the John Doe team contained ten different DA staff members, all of are more egregious, when one considers that the them signing on either Friday November 18th, or confidential nature prevents those interviewed or Monday November 21st. If these petitions were potentially targeted from speaking a word. By circulated at the DA’s office–it would be the even being interviewed, Governor Walker was same type of offense that the John Doe is inves- skewered by the Milwaukee press. And John Doe tigating and attempting to prosecute. Media rules prohibit him from saying anything about Trackers also reported on a number of DA staff the investigation or the potential targets. The members who had posted disparaging comments leaks allow the rumors to swirl and damage to be about Walker or joined anti-Walker groups on done without anyone being able to offer a various social media sites. defense. And that is one of Paul Bucher’s biggest One more thing was uncovered in the Media concerns. Trackers investigation. They reported that an In his DOJ request, he argues that the integri- analysis of Milwaukee County DA employee ty of the judicial system and the rights of indi- campaign contributions revealed a 4:1 ratio of viduals is at stake. By taking over the investiga- support for Democratic candidates. Wisconsin tion, the Justice Department can “de-politicize Democracy Campaign figures also showed the investigation, whose objectivity and fairness exclusive support for Democratic and liberal has clearly been called into question”. candidates by District Attorney John Chisholm. Hopefully, as the DOJ did years ago when they And Asst. DA David Feiss, a member of the took over the Caucus scandal investigation, they Public Integrity Unit which is conducting the can bring some justice back into the two year John Doe, donated twice to Sandy Pasch’s cam- inquest. paign in the recall election against Sen. Alberta Page 11 Conservative Digest May 2012 A bright future for Wisconsin By Rep. Jim Ott Concealed Carry, the Castle Doctrine and Photo I.D. (R-23rd District) for voting. The Photo I.D. law is currently tied up in court, but we are hopeful of prevailing when the case The last several months have been stressful for is finally heard. Republicans in Wisconsin, with an unprecedented We even passed a bill that will change the way level of hostility from Democrats and liberals, and the Milwaukee Area Technical College Board is cho- now some very important recall elections looming in sen, ensuring that the Board members will be more in the immediate future. Many are questioning why touch with the needs of businesses who look to they should have their elected representatives facing MATC graduates as a source of employees. unjustified recalls for simply doing the job they were All of this progress was only possible because of elected to do. the leadership of Governor Walker and the willing- Such reactions are understandable and can lead to ness of the Republican majorities in the Assembly election fatigue and pessimism just when we need the and Senate to take the necessary steps to head opposite attitude. My opinion is this is a time to be Wisconsin in the right direction. The fact that energized and optimistic. The progress we've made Democrats resorted to importing out of control in the last 16 months in getting Wisconsin back on demonstrators into the state while the Democrat track to fiscal solvency and common sense policies Senators fled to Illinois illustrates how opposed they has been nothing short of remarkable. are to our common sense agenda and clearly shows First there was the budget deficit of $3.6 billion. what kind of a state they envision for our future. Under Governor Walker's leadership Republicans in Is there more to accomplish? You bet there is. the Legislature passed a budget that eliminated the That's why it's so important that Republicans put deficit without raising taxes or raiding other state every ounce of energy into winning the recall elec- funds. And the State did not have to lay off any pub- tions and keeping Governor Walker and Lieutenant lic sector workers, and neither did school districts Governor Kleefisch in office. It's also critical to that took advantage of the tools provided in the budg- maintain our majorities in the State Assembly and et. Senate, which means winning the Senate recall elec- Then there is the major tort reform included in a tions and then turning our focus to the November number of bills passed into law. It is now more dif- elections. ficult to commence frivolous lawsuits in our state, Wisconsin is in a much better place now than we and the law passed by the Democrats in 2010 that were just 16 months ago because of Republican lead- allowed excessive punitive damages in employment ership and hard work. There were some hard-fought discrimination cases was repealed. battles but we won, and it was well worth it. I'm opti- Other measures were passed into law that had mistic that we will keep on winning and in the been on our Republican “to do” list for years, such as process will ensure a very bright future for our state. Education improving Part 2: Competition of health insurance From Gov. Scott Walker’s office providers and design changes. The savings being realized throughout Wisconsin Madison–Last month Gov. Walker’s office mirror estimates made by the Governor prior to pas- released a breakdown of the school districts that saved sage of 2011 Wisconsin Act 10. Those estimates were money by changing or restructuring their health insur- made by research organizations, one of which claimed ance plan. $100 million could be saved annually due to competi- “Fundamental fiscal reform was needed to free the tion in school health providers and another estimating next generation from mountains of economically crip- between $68 and $143 million in savings due to health pling debt,” said Governor Walker. “Competition provider competition. among health insurance providers helped save millions Not only do these savings bode well for taxpayers, of dollars all across Wisconsin. Now that we have put but these positive reforms free up more dollars for the power back in the hands of the taxpayers, the deals teacher wages and classroom development. Prior to struck in the past by big government union bosses are 2011 Wisconsin Act 10 health insurance costs were being revisited. As a result taxpayers are saving mil- increasingly absorbing school budgets. From 2002 to lions.” 2011, average school district family plan health premi- The school districts that decided to utilize the cost- ums had risen by 65% to a level $6,700 higher than the savings of the free-market system and take competitive average health insurance plan in Wisconsin. bids on their health insurance provider and modify their “For years taxpayers across the state were getting a health insurance program, saved on average $220 per raw deal. Collective bargaining stymied competition pupil. Statewide, if all school districts used similar for benefits in the health insurance market, and instead approaches and had similar results, savings would directed property tax revenue to those affiliated with exceed $190 million. big government union bosses,” said Gov. Walker. Data from 52 school districts show roughly $30 These savings are above and beyond changes to million in savings due to competition in health employee health insurance contributions. Page 12 Conservative Digest May 2012 The GOP budget and America's future By Congressman Paul Ryan tions. Wall Street Journal Our budget's Medicare reforms make no changes for those in or near retirement. For Less than a year ago, the House of those who will retire a decade from now, our Representatives passed a budget that took plan provides guaranteed coverage options on our generation's greatest domestic chal- financed by a premium-support payment. lenge: reforming and modernizing govern- And this year, our budget adds even more ment to prevent an explosion of debt from choices for seniors, including a traditional crippling our nation and robbing our chil- fee-for-service Medicare option. dren of their future. We also introduce a competitive-bidding Absent reform, government programs process to determine the growth of govern- designed in the middle of the 20th century ment's financial contribution to Medicare. cannot fulfill their promises in the 21st cen- Forcing health plans to compete against tury. It is a mathematical and demographic each other is the best way to achieve high- impossibility. And we said so. quality coverage at the lowest cost, and We assumed there would be some who implementing these reforms in Medicare can would distort for political gain our efforts to have the effect of lowering health-care costs preserve programs like Medicare. Having for everyone. This is the key to increasing been featured in an attack ad literally throw- access and affordability while preventing ing an elderly woman off a cliff, I can con- government debt from threatening the health firm that those assumptions were on the security of seniors and the economic securi- mark. ty of all Americans. But one year later, we can say with some Our budget also spurs economic growth confidence that the attacks have failed. with bold tax reform—eliminating complex- Courageous Democrats have joined our ity for individuals and families and boosting efforts. And bipartisan opposition to the competitiveness for American job creators. path of broken promises is growing. Led by House Ways and Means Committee And so Tuesday, House Republicans are Chairman Dave Camp, our budget consoli- introducing a new Path to Prosperity budget dates the current six individual income tax that builds on what we've achieved. brackets into just two brackets of 10% and Like last year, our budget delivers real 25%. spending discipline. It does this not through We propose to reduce the corporate tax indiscriminate cuts that endanger our mili- rate of 35%, which will soon be the highest tary, but by ending the epidemic of crony rate in the developed world, to a much more politics and government overreach that has competitive 25%. Our budget also shifts to a weakened confidence in the nation's institu- "territorial" tax system to end the practice of tions and its economy. And it strengthens hitting businesses with extra taxes when the safety net by returning power to the they invest profits earned abroad in jobs and states, which are in the best position to tai- factories here at home. lor assistance to their specific populations. We reject calls to raise taxes, but revenue More important, it tackles the drivers of nevertheless remains steady under our budg- our debt and averts the fiscal crisis ahead. et because we close special-interest loop- This year, our nation's publicly held debt is holes. More important, our reforms will projected to reach 73% of the economy—a grow the economy—and the faster the econ- dangerously high level that, according to omy grows, the more revenue the govern- leading economists, puts the nation at risk ment will have to meet its priorities and of a panicked run on its finances. start paying down the debt. As shown in the nearby chart, our budg- These patient-centered Medicare reforms et tackles this crisis head-on by cutting debt and pro-growth tax reforms have a long his- as a share of the economy by roughly 15% tory of bipartisan support. Medicare reforms over the next decade, putting the nation's based on choice and competition have their finances on a path to balance, and paying off roots in the Clinton administration's biparti- the debt. By contrast, the president's budget san Commission on the Future of Medicare. pushes debt as a share of the economy even And in recent years, I've worked with higher. In his budget's own words, it allows Democrats to advance these reforms. the government's fiscal position to "gradual- Tax reforms based on lowering tax rates ly deteriorate" after 2022. and closing loopholes go back to the Reagan On the critical issues of health security administration, when Democrats served as and tax reform, our budget draws a clear the congressional co-sponsors of the land- distinction between serious reformers and mark 1986 tax reform law. More recently, those who stand in the way of the growing bipartisan consensus for principled solu- Continued to Next Page May 2012 Conservative Digest Page 13 Act 10: We have only just begun By Rep. Dan Knodl Brown Deer Superintendent of Schools (R-24th District) Deborah Kerr and Richfield Village Administrator Joshua Schoemann have proven Last month, we learned that the budget especially adept managers. They are part of a reforms enacted over the past year have saved new generation of administrators who under- Wisconsin taxpayers more than $1 billion. stand that real leadership requires imagina- School districts have saved hundreds of dol- tion, the ability to improvise, and the willing- lars per pupil as health insurers competed for ness to make tough choices. contracts. State agencies have saved millions Act 10 was a watershed moment in by ending overtime abuse. The savings Wisconsin’s political history, and my hope is enjoyed by Wisconsin taxpayers are real, and that it is only the beginning of a series of for the first time in more than a decade, prop- reforms that will save the taxpayers money erty taxes for the typical homeowner have and improve the quality of our public work- gone down. force. Taxpayers deserve a system where man- Reformers across Greater Milwaukee are agers, not union bosses, determine the staffing taking advantage of the budget tools we have needs of their department. Public employees made available. School districts in the 24th deserve a workplace where merit, not longevi- Assembly District alone have saved more than ty, determines compensation. $7 million. And they have done so while pro- Voters expect a government where public tecting essential services. The Department of employees serve the public, and not the other Public Instruction recently reported that three way around. Wisconsin deserves a lean, high- of the four school districts in the 24th quality government that is built for the 21st Assembly District actually added staff, as pub- century. lic managers finally have the flexibility they Act 10 was a big first step, but I can assure need to deliver cost-effective, high-quality you—we have only just begun. service. ...the GOP budget raising rates and adding complexity to the From Previous Page tax code—precisely at odds with the biparti- the chairmen of President Obama's biparti- san consensus for tax reform. san fiscal commission put forward a plan for It is rare in American politics to arrive at lower rates and a broader base. a moment in which the debate revolves It makes sense that these ideas have around the fundamental nature of American attracted leaders in both parties. The premi- democracy and the social contract. But that um support model offers the only guarantee is where we are. And no two documents that Medicare can keep its promise to sen- illustrate this choice of two futures better iors for generations to come. And pro- than the president's budget and the one put growth tax reform, by lowering rates for all forward by House Republicans. Americans while closing loopholes that pri- The president's budget gives more power marily benefit the well off, can eliminate to unelected bureaucrats, takes more from unfairness in the tax code and ensure a level hard-working taxpayers to fuel the expan- playing field for all. sion of government, and commits our nation While these ideas have enjoyed growing to a future of debt and decline. bipartisan support, President Obama has The contrast with our budget couldn't be doubled down on policies that have drawn clearer: We put our trust in citizens, not growing bipartisan opposition. government. Our budget returns power to With regard to Medicare, his latest budg- individuals, families and communities. It et calls for giving "additional tools" to the draws inspiration from the Founders' belief Independent Payment Advisory Board, an that all people are born with an unalienable unaccountable board of 15 unelected right to the pursuit of happiness. Protecting bureaucrats empowered by the new health- this right means trusting citizens, not name- care law to cut Medicare in ways that will less government officials, to decide what is lead to denied care for seniors. Just this in their best interests and make the right month, Democrats and Republicans alike choice about our nation's future. voted for a measure to repeal this board. Ryan serves as chairman of the House And with regard to tax reform, the presi- Budget Committee. dent's latest budget calls for taking more from American families and businesses by Page 14 Conservative Digest May 2012 Act 10, one year later MacIver News Service the average per-employee cost for taxpayers in the five states analyzed Even after the labor reforms ushered in by • Wisconsin taxpayers will also pay $3,762 Act 10, Wisconsin taxpayers pay more than more per employee than large private-sector surrounding states to provide insurance to companies with union workforces and $5,565 state employees, according to a new study more than large non-union employers released today. • In Michigan, the employee contribution The analysis by HCTrends found that even also depends on the length of time the employ- after increasing the state employee premium ee has worked for the state. Employees hired contribution and making plan changes to before April 2010 contribute 7.2 percent of reduce costs, Wisconsin taxpayers also contin- premium, while employees hired after April 1, ue to pay significantly more to provide these 2010 pay 15.4 percent. The newer hires also benefits than most private-sector employers in have slightly less generous health benefits the greater Milwaukee area. • In Illinois, premium contribution is based The study did find that increasing state on both the employee’s income and the plan employee premium contributions and out-of- selected. An employee earning $30,200 per pocket costs did reduce Wisconsin’s health year pays $564 per year for single coverage plan costs, which made the state more compet- for the state’s primary plan, while an employ- itive with surrounding states. ee earning $75,901 pays $714. State employ- However, state employees here have far ees pay an additional $110 to $226 per month, more coverage options than their peers in the depending on the plan they select, for family Midwest. coverage “Wisconsin offers its state employees more • State employees in Minnesota pay a fixed health plan options than any of the other states rate ($0 single/$1,562 family), but their cost- analyzed,” the report states.“Employees sharing is determined by the provider group choose among 26 insurance plans that provide they select. Deductibles vary by as much as coverage based on a statewide uniform bene- $550 for single coverage and $1,100 for fami- fits plan.” ly coverage depending on the provider group HCTrends analyzed 2012 state employee selected health plan benefits in four neighboring states • Iowa has both the least expensive and the (Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa and Michigan) and most generous health plan among the five compared them with the benefits offered to states analyzed. The plan, which costs the state state employees in Wisconsin. The analysis an estimated $9,686 per employee per year, is also compared Wisconsin state employee ben- offered to state employees free of charge. The efits to those offered to private-sector employ- plan does have an out-of-pocket maximum for ees in southeastern Wisconsin. state employee plans ($750 single/$1,500 fam- The study’s findings: ily), but it is unlikely that many employees • Wisconsin taxpayers will pay $13,972 to reach the threshold given the plan’s minimal provide health insurance to a state employee, co-insurance rate and low copays which is 9 percent ($1,207) more than taxpay- The complete report including a compari- ers will pay in Michigan, the next most expen- son of benefit design and health plan costs is sive state, and 21 percent more ($2,433) than available at HCTrends.com Kids? Forget the kids! It’s all about the union members By David Blaska interest in Wisconsin, the statewide teachers Wisconsin In Business blogger union, aka the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC). Someday, when I update JFK’s book Picturing a young girl student, the big Profiles in Courage, I’ll add these names: poster quotes iconic national teachers union Tommy Thompson, Paul Ryan, Scott Walker, boss Albert Shanker. “When schoolchildren and Jeff Waksman. start paying union dues, I’ll start representing Jeff who? schoolchildren.” Jeff Waksman. This young man is the brave This strong dose of reality goes up just in mastermind behind the unveiling of a new bill- time for Tuesday’s Madison School Board board tomorrow (Friday) on the Beltline election in which insurgents Mary Burke and Highway on the south side of Madison at Nichelle Nichols are hoping to unseat the Rimrock Road. teachers union’s handpicked candidates. But Its message is a hard slap of Mennen’s After Shave against the most powerful special Continued to Next Page May 2012 Conservative Digest Page 15 Obamacare’s costs are soaring

By Sen. Ron Johnson $2,500 before the end of his first term as presi- Wall Street Journal dent. But the Kaiser Family Foundation recently reported that the average family premium has One year after the passage of ObamaCare, increased $2,200 since the start of this adminis- this paper published an op-ed I wrote tration. ("ObamaCare and Carey's Heart") about how Then there is the higher cost to taxpayers. The America's health-care system saved my daugh- CBO's initial estimate in March 2010 of ter's life, and describing how implementing this ObamaCare's budget impact showed it saving law will limit innovation, lead to rationing, and money, reducing the federal deficit by $143 bil- lower the quality of care. Now, two years out, I lion in the first 10 years. But that positive esti- would like to focus on the budgetary disaster. mate was largely the product of gimmicks insert- As a candidate, Barack Obama repeatedly ed into the bill by Democratic leaders to hide the claimed that his health-care plan would lower annual family health-insurance premiums by Turn To Page 18 ...all about the union with the result that “firing a public school From Previous Page teacher for non-performance is virtually the $3,500 billboard buy is independent of any impossible.” Just for props, Klein is no one’s candidate or political party. It is the work of an coat holder. In his previous life as a prosecu- organization called Reforming Education and tor, he sued Microsoft, Inc. Demanding Exceptional Results in Wisconsin Klein relates the familiar litany of failure: (READER-WI). our nation’s high schools graduate only seven Its website, recallweac.com recently went of every 10 students. We rank 48th among live. nations in math and science education, accord- I’m on the steering committee along with ing to the World Economic Forum, even economist Larry Kaufmann. But Jeff is presi- though the U.S. has doubled spending (in dent of the group and the real brains of the inflation-adjusted dollars) on K-12 public edu- outfit. His guts, his glory. cation in the last 30 years. Jeff attended the public schools back East. Klein is just one of a growing list of At Columbia University, he took a bachelor's Democrats and liberals who have embraced degree in applied physics, which he explained school reform. Others include the late Steve to me was something like interpretive dance. Jobs; Davis Guggenheim, producer of the He minored in economics. He came to UW- searing Waiting for Superman documentary Madison to pick up two master’s degrees, one film; Obama Education Secretary Arne in nuclear engineering, the other in physics. Duncan; educator Geoffrey Canada; Chicago He is finishing up his doctoral work in the lat- Mayor Rahm Emanuel; Madison Urban ter. League president Kaleem Caire; former Jeff says he came by his interest in educa- Milwaukee Schools Supt. Howard Fuller; and tion reform while experiencing the “perverse Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. incentives” of public high school. “Nobody All Jeff Waksman and his confederates are seemed too concerned with helping struggling doing is putting their message right where students catch up, or helping advanced stu- Madison can see it. Will we hear from the dents push their education further. It was a goon squads? one-size-fits-all system that treated students as interchangeable widgets on an assembly line. Public Sector unions ARE the Each year, education spending goes up, and Democrat(ic) Party... yet education results never improve...It's time If you don’t get Imprimus, the publication to try something new.” of libertarian Hillsdale College in Michigan, mailed to you free of charge, you can fix that Feckless politicians + recalcitrant unions here. In a recent Imprimus, William McGurn = failure... of the Wall Street Journal writes: The Shanker quote can be found in a cover “... public sector unions have become a story for the June 2011 edition of The Atlantic vanguard movement within liberalism. ... As magazine. Under the heading, “The Failure of public employees unionize, their dues–often American Schools,” Joel Klein, the eight-year collected for the unions by the chancellor of New York City Schools, berates government–fund a permanent interest con- “... feckless politicians, recalcitrant unions, stantly lobbying for bigger government. To mediocre teachers, and other enduring obsta- pay for this bigger and more expensive gov- cles to school reform.” ernment, they advocate for higher taxes on “Teachers unions consistently rank among those in the private sector.” the top spenders on politics,” Klein writes, Page 16 Conservative Digest May 2012 ‘The path to prosperity’ and defense spending By Christopher J. Schaefer, the framework of a plan to reduce outlays by $6.2 George Washington University trillion over the next decade, Mr. Ryan has found a way to replace $214 billion of the $487 billion Representative Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) seminal in military spending reductions that are found in fiscal year 2013 budget proposal, “The Path To President Obama’s budget.” The spending reduc- Prosperity: A Blueprint for American Renewal,” is tions, to which Feulner, Brooks and Kristol are best known for its proposed reforms to America’s referring, came about a result of sequestration— dilapidated entitlement programs. Scant atten- annual, automatic cuts agreed upon last summer tion, however, has been devoted its defense by House Republicans and President Obama— spending recommendations. The Path to that will eviscerate the United States military and Prosperity provides $554 billion for national bring an abrupt end to American global hegemo- defense spending for fiscal year 2013, and ny. eschews the titanic across-the-board cuts pro- In addition to providing $554 billion in posed by President Obama. In this article, the defense spending for fiscal year 2013, The Path to author analyzes the impact that Representative Prosperity restores half of the funding cut by Paul Ryan’s budget proposal has on defense President Obama’s budget proposal ensures that spending, and outlines the core precepts of a pro- the defense spending exponentially increases in posal he devised to ensure that America retains its the near-time; provides adequate funding to main- status as the world’s lone superpower. tain a robust end-strength; and supplies American military personnel with state-of-the-art of Sequestration and the current state of weapons. As the reader can discern, The Path to defense spending... Prosperity provides innumerable recommenda- Prior to inaugurating a discussion about tions for fiscal year 2013 defense spending. With Representative Ryan’s defense spending recom- that said, however, the author posits that the pro- mendations, and articulating the core precepts of posal does not go far enough in protecting his proposal, the author intends to provide an epi- American global hegemony. In the remainder of grammatic overview of the sequestration cuts to this article, the author delineates his proposal for defense spending. As a result of the Budget naval expansion and weapons modernization. Control Act of 2011, defense spending will be reduced by $56 billion in January 2013. Protecting American hegemony: Defense Additionally, President Obama’s budget propos- spending for the twenty-first century... al—which failed to receive a single vote in the With the world in tumult and American hege- senate—cuts $487 billion from the defense budg- mony on the decline, it is imperative that law- et in fiscal year 2013. While every other govern- makers put forward a defense budget that expo- ment agency enjoys generous net increases in nentially increases the size of America’s naval their spending allowances under President fleet, restores spending to Cold War levels (twen- Obama’s budget proposal, the Department of ty-five percent of federal expenditures), and sup- Defense is being forced to dramatically reduce its plies American military personnel with cutting- expenditures (Ryan, 2012). Drastic spending edge weapons. If America intends to remain the reductions during a time of global unrest and world’s solitary hegemon, it is imperative that tumult are calamitous and irresponsible. Rather lawmakers implement the myriad recommenda- than reducing defense spending, President Obama tions outlined in this proposal. The author proj- and Congressional leaders should work assiduous- ects that his defense spending proposal—the focus ly to ensure that is restored to Cold War levels of the second half of this article—will exceed (twenty-five percent of federal expenditures). If $750 billion for the upcoming fiscal year. The the United States intends to remain the global remainder of this article addresses the author’s hegemon, it is imperative that defense spending is proposal and the impact it will have on American exponentially increased; American military per- hegemony. sonnel are afforded with first-rate weapons and the abstemious spending reductions proposed by Bolstering the American Navy... President Obama and the Bowles-Simpson Deficit At this writing, the United States has the Reduction Commission are repudiated. largest Navy in the world, with 282 combat ships, eleven Aircraft Carriers, seventy-one submarines, ‘The Path to Prosperity,’ a conservative alter- 323,733 active duty personnel, and a battle-fleet native... tonnage that is greater than that of the next thir- Representative Paul Ryan’s budget proposal, teen largest navies combined. With that said, as aforementioned, provides $554 billion in however, American maritime hegemony is being defense spending for fiscal year 2013. Foreign threatened by the Chinese (China’s defense spend- Policy Initiative Directors Arthur Brooks, Edwin ing for fiscal year 2012 was $106.4 billion, an Feulner and William Kristol, in a recent Wall Street Journal Op-Ed, wrote of Representative Ryan’s defense spending proposal, “Even within Continued to Next Page May 2012 Conservative Digest Page 17 ...‘path to prosperity,’ defense spending

just twenty percent of federal expenditures. From Previous Page Despite consisting of just twenty percent of feder- eleven percent increase from 2011); and President al spending, national defense will bear fifty per- Obama has proposed drastic reductions to the cent of the spending cuts in fiscal year 2013, as a Navy’s budget for fiscal year 2013. The presi- result of sequestration (Ryan, 2012). What is dent’s budget slashes $1.4 billion from the Navy’s more, since President Obama assumed the presi- budget for fiscal year 2013. The Navy dency in January 2009, defense spending has Department requested a budget of just $155.9 bil- decreased from 7.5 to a paltry 4.5 percent of GDP. lion for fiscal year 2013, a marked decrease from The aforementioned spending reductions pose a 2012. The author’s proposal for bolstering the calamitous threat to American global hegemony. American Navy is as follows: Thus, the author proposes restoring defense • Increase the number of Aircraft Carries from spending as a share of GDP to 7.5 percent for fis- eleven to twenty within the next decade. China’s cal year 2013 and ten percent by the end of the increased spending on its naval fleet make this decade. Subsequently, this proposal restores national security imperative. Chinese recently defense spending to its Cold War level of twenty- launched its first Aircraft Carrier and has fifty-two five percent of federal expenditures, and increases attack submarines in its arsenal. Former the 2013 defense budget from $525 billion (as Secretary of Defense Bob Gates maintained that proposed by President Obama), to $750 billion. for the United States to remain the world’s most Cuts to American defense spending during a time powerful navy, it must increase the number of air- of global unrest are nonsensical and annihilatory. craft carriers in its arsenal. Thus, the author rec- Perhaps the most important question one must ommends that the United States Navy increases pose as it relates to this proposal is: where is the the number of Aircraft Carriers in its arsenal from additional two hundred billion coming from? eleven to twenty in the next decade. Rather than increasing the federal budget deficit, • Adhere to the Navy’s request to expand the or raising taxes—both of which would be fiscally total number of combat ships from 282 to 313. In irresponsible and undermine economic recov- a 2011 report, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus posited ery—the author recommends making drastic cuts that continued naval supremacy is incumbent on to agency budgets and nondefense discretionary the development of more combat ships. In fact, spending. In so doing, the federal government Mabus found that the United States Navy needs to will be able to begin paying off its colossal deficit, increase its combat ship arsenal from 282 to 313 while simultaneously increasing defense spend- if it intends to retain its maritime supremacy. The ing. While some conservatives will ultimately author asserts that lawmakers should make oppose this author’s recommendation to increase American naval fleet expansion a foremost priori- defense spending by two hundred billion dollars ty at the onset of the next legislative session. for fiscal year 2013, he assures them that this • Long-term active duty personnel expansion. spending is warranted, as the money comes from Currently, the United States Navy has 323,723 cuts to nondefense discretionary spending and active duty personnel. Conversely, the Chinese agency budgets, not “thin air.” Navy is comprised of more than 200,000 active duty soldiers. The author concurs with foreign Weapons modernization... policy scholar Dr. Andrew Krepinevich, Jr., that While navy expansion and increased defense within the next twenty years, the United States spending will have a profound impact on Navy should work assiduously to increase its American hegemony, they pale in comparison to active duty personnel to 500,000. weapons modernization. Great powers are In so doing, the navy can sustain its maritime unable to maintain their hegemony if they are supremacy, and expand play a pivotal role in devoid superior weapons systems. The author’s world affairs proposal advocates for increased spending on As the reader can discern, American naval weapons and equipment modernization for the expansion is a focal point of this author’s defense United States military. Currently, members of the budget proposal. If it intends to retain global American armed forces are fighting with innumer- naval supremacy, and prevent the Chinese from able outmoded, Cold War-era weapons (the V-22, controlling the Pacific Ocean, it is essential that F-18 aircraft, and the Navy’s Virginia-class sub- lawmakers make naval expansion a foremost pri- marine, to name a few). Rather than eliminating ority in the 2013 legislative session. these weapons systems, as many on the left and the Libertarian Cato Institute suggest, the Defense Restore American defense spending to Cold Department should work assiduously to modern- War levels... ize, update, and expand America’s weapons arse- Thirty years ago, at the onset of Ronald nal. The author recommends that Congress appro- Reagan’s presidency and the waning days of the priate $400 billion for military modernization in Cold War, American defense spending exceeded the 2013 defense budget. In so doing, the United twenty-five percent of federal expenditures. States can replace antiquated Cold War-era Today, under the auspices of President Obama and weapons with newfangled armaments that will liberal Democrats, national defense accounts for Turn To Page 18 Page 18 Conservative Digest May 2012 ...‘path to prosperity,’ defense spending

budget that increases the size of America’s navy, From Page 17 returns defense spending to pre-Cold War levels, revolutionize warfare. Military modernization, and modernizes American weapons systems. as the reader can discern, is of paramount impor- Akin to “The Path to Prosperity,” the author’s tance in the decades ahead. proposal cuts money for nondefense discretionary spending in order to provide ample funding for Concluding remarks... national defense. With the economy dwindling “The Path to Prosperity: A Blueprint for on the precipice of collapse, it is imperative that American Renewal,” Representative Paul Ryan’s Congress and President Obama drastically reduce budget proposal, replaces $214 billion of the $487 nondefense discretionary spending so as to billion in military spending reductions proposed increase defense spending. National defense is by President Obama, without increasing taxes. the federal government’s chief responsibility. As Paul Ryan’s defense spending proposal, despite such, national defense and the military must take saving taxpayers billions of dollars, and ensuring precedent over discretionary spending, health that the United States remains the world’s lone care, Alaskan Caribou, and the motley assortment superpower, is devoid of specifics. As such, the of programs and projects found in the federal author outlined a three pronged national defense budget. ...Obamacare’s costs soaring they pay the $2,000 penalty to the government? From Page 15 It is not as if dropping health coverage will law's true cost. expose their employees to financial risk. They Sure enough, the administration last October will thereby make employees eligible for huge announced it would not implement one of those subsidies in the health-care exchanges—$10,000 gimmicks, a long-term care program called the if their household income is $64,000 per year. In Class Act, because it was financially unworkable. a competitive environment, ObamaCare provides The loss of the premiums that would be collected the incentive for employers to drop coverage. to finance the Class Act wiped out $70 billion of According to the CBO, 154 million the supposed deficit reduction projected by CBO. Americans are covered under employer-spon- And last month the administration's proposed fis- sored plans. What would be the cost to taxpayers cal 2013 budget included $111 billion in addi- if 50% of those individuals lost their coverage tional spending for the premium subsidies in the and became eligible for subsidies? The answer is health law's insurance exchanges—further erod- difficult to calculate, but CBO's answer is basi- ing any confidence in the original ObamaCare cally: Don't worry, revenues will increase auto- projections. matically to cover those costs (for example, This would not be the first time a government employees' taxable incomes will increase when program exceeded its projected cost. When they lose employer-provided coverage). Medicare was passed in 1965, for example, the In reality, as government assumes a greater federal government estimated it would cost $12 share of health-care costs, pressure to cut pay- billion in 1990. Medicare actually cost $110 bil- ments to providers will be enormous. Reduced lion in 1990. government reimbursements to providers will In the case of ObamaCare, one of the princi- cause massive cost-shifting to those remaining in pal sources of the lowball estimate used to justi- the private health-insurance market. More fy the law is related to the insurance exchanges. employees will lose coverage. Before long, we The CBO originally estimated that one million will have what the left has long sought—a single Americans would lose their employer-sponsored payer health-care system modeled after care and be forced into the exchanges. Medicaid. But a McKinsey & Co. study in June 2011 In recent testimony before the Senate showed that 30%-50% of employers plan to stop Appropriations Committee, Health and Human offering health insurance to their employees once Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told me that the health law is implemented in 2014. Last week America's health insurance system is in a "death the CBO breezily dismissed this and other studies spiral." She failed to acknowledge that imple- on the ground that "it is doubtful that any survey mentation of ObamaCare will be the cause of that conducted today could provide very accurate pre- death spiral, and American taxpayers will be left dictions of employers' future decisions." to pick up the tab. As someone who purchased group health In a June 2009 speech to the American insurance for over 31 years, I fully understand Medical Association, Mr. Obama promised: "If why the McKinsey study is more credible than you like your health-care plan, you'll be able to the CBO. keep your health-care plan. Period. No one will Why? Because the decision employers face take it away, no matter what." I'm not sure what under ObamaCare is straightforward: Do they you would call that statement, but whatever you pay $20,000 per year for family coverage, or do call it, it was a doozy. May 2012 Conservative Digest Page 19 Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett embraces failed Illinois policies From Gov. Scott Walker’s Office deficit without raising taxes; cut taxes on businesses that invest in Wisconsin; Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett hosted budget called “credit positive” by a campaign fundraiser with Chicago Moody’s; public employee retirement Mayor Rahm Emanuel in March. In system fully funded; unemployment response to the joint appearance, the rate at 3-year low of 6.9%. Friends of Scott Walker campaign is Illinois–$8.5 billion in unpaid bills highlighting the stark differences and raised income taxes by 66%; between Wisconsin's and Illinois’ increased corporate tax rate by 46%; economies. bond rating downgraded to lowest in “By inviting the mayor of Illinois’ nation by Moody’s; $83 billion shortfall largest city to Wisconsin, Milwaukee for public employee retirement system; Mayor Tom Barrett is illustrating exact- unemployment rate higher than the ly the path he would take the Badger national average of 9.1%. State down if elected governor,” said “These horrifying numbers are a Ciara Matthews, Walker campaign com- result of the failed liberal policies that munications director. “Under the lead- got Wisconsin into trouble in the first ership of Gov. Walker, Wisconsin's place and the Mayor Tom Barrett is economy has seen drastic improvement embracing by bringing Illinois politi- over the last year. In Illinois, the story cians to Milwaukee to help him raise could not be any different.” money,” Matthews explained. Among other things, Matthews points Mayor Barrett remains undecided on to differences in each state's budget, tax whether he will run for governor in the rates, unemployment rate and pension coming recall election, but Matthews systems as evidence that the decisions says that should he get in, he will face Gov. Walker has made have created the same fate he did in 2010. economic growth in Wisconsin, while “We are confident that a majority of the decisions of Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn voters will reaffirm the decision they are having a disastrous effect on that made in November 2010 and stand with state’s economy. Gov. Walker against this baseless Wisconsin–Eliminated $3.6 billion recall.” Property taxes go down for first time in 12 years statewide From Gov. Scott Walker’s Office administrations,” said Gov. Walker. “For the first time in over ten years, the Last month, Gov. Walker announced average property taxpayer will have that statewide property taxes for the more money in his or her pocket than typical homeowner have gone down the year before.” for the first time in 12 years. The tax Since 1998, property taxes paid by bill for the median value home is $39 homeowners have risen 43 percent. per homeowner lower than originally This year property taxes paid by the estimated by the Legislative Fiscal typical homeowner went down 4 per- Bureau when the 2011-2013 budget cent. Without the Governor’s reforms was passed. the average homeowner would have “Our reforms have reversed a decade paid an additional $700 over the bien- of property tax increases from previous nium. Page 20 Conservative Digest May 2012 Obama’s oil flimflam By Charles Krauthammer with Obama. Washington Post “The American people aren’t stupid,” Obama said (Feb. 23), mocking “Drill, Yes, of course, presidents have no baby, drill.” The “only solution,” he direct control over gas prices. But the averred in yet another major energy American people know something about speech last week, is that “we start using this president and his disdain for oil. The less—that lowers the demand, prices “fuel of the past,” he contemptuously come down.” Yet five paragraphs later he calls it. To the American worker who claimed that regardless of “how much oil doesn’t commute by government motor- we produce at home . . . that’s not going cade and is getting fleeced every week at to set the price of gas worldwide.” the pump, oil seems very much a fuel of So: Decreasing U.S. demand will the present—and of the foreseeable lower oil prices, but increasing U.S. sup- future. ply will not? This is ridiculous. Either President Obama incessantly claims both do or neither does. Does Obama read energy open-mindedness, insisting that his own speeches? his policy is “all of the above.” Except, of Obama says of drilling: “That’s not a course, for drilling: plan.” Of course it’s a plan. We import • off the Mid-Atlantic coast (as nearly half of our oil, thereby exporting Virginia, for example, wants); enormous amounts of U.S. wealth. Almost • off the Florida Gulf Coast (instead, 60 percent of our trade deficit — $332 the Castro brothers will drill near there billion out of $560 billion — is shipped • in the broader Gulf of Mexico (where overseas to buy crude. drilling in 2012 is expected to drop 30 Drill here and you stanch the hemor- percent below pre-moratorium forecasts); rhage. You keep those dollars within the • in the Arctic National Wildlife U.S. economy, repatriating not just wealth Refuge (more than half the size of but jobs and denying them to foreign England, the drilling footprint being the unfriendlies. Drilling is the single most size of Dulles International Airport); important thing we can do to spur growth • on federal lands in the Rockies at home while strengthening our hand (where leases are down 70 percent since abroad. Obama took office). Instead, Obama offers what he fancies But the event that drove home the to be the fuels of the future. You would extent of Obama’s antipathy to nearby, think that he’d be a tad more modest abundant, available oil was his veto of the today about his powers of divination after Keystone pipeline, after the most exten- the Solyndra bankruptcy, the collapse of sive environmental vetting of any government-subsidized Ener1 (past mak- pipeline in U.S. history. It gave the game ers of the batteries of the future) and away because the case for Keystone is so GM’s suspension of production — for obvious and overwhelming. Vetoing it lack of demand — of another federally gratuitously prolongs our dependence on dictated confection, the flammable Chevy outside powers, kills thousands of shovel- Volt. ready jobs, forfeits a major strategic Deterred? Hardly. Our undaunted seer resource to China, damages relations with of the energy future has come up with his our closest ally, and sends billions of oil own miracle fuel: algae. dollars to Hugo Chavez, Vladimir Putin Why, explained Obama, “we can grow and already obscenely wealthy sheiks. it right here in the United States.” Obama boasts that, on his watch, pro- (Sounds like a miraculous local find — duction is up and imports down. True, but except that it grows just about everywhere truly deceptive. These increases have on earth.) Accordingly, yet another $14 occurred in spite of his restrictive poli- million of taxpayer money will be sprin- cies. They are the result of Clinton- and kled on algae research by Steven Chu’s Bush-era permitting. This has been Energy Department. accompanied by a gold rush of natural gas This is the very same Dr. Chu who production resulting from new fracking technology that has nothing at all to do Turn To Page 24 May 2012 Conservative Digest Page 21 The moral core of capitalism By John Stossel Pizza. We had no clue that those compa- nies were about to produce cool new Now that Mitt Romney is likely to be things, thousands of jobs and billions of the Republican nominee, we can expect dollars in value. Staples and Domino's, by new attacks on his "vulture capitalism." the way, were funded by Bain Capital. That's how Rick Perry characterized his Not all bankers and private equity private equity work. Newt Gingrich's sup- firms create wealth, because some make porters ran an ad about Romney's firm, bad decisions. But if government does not Bain Capital, that said, "Their greed was bestow privileges, those that don't create only matched by their willingness to do wealth go out of business, and those that anything to make millions in profits." fund good ideas grow. Give me a break. Some may call that "vulture capital- "Greed" means you want more for ism" and sneer at "hostile" takeovers, but yourself. Fine. If you obtain it legally, if the takeover is not enabled by govern- without force or privilege — say, by buy- ment force, it is likely to be a good thing. ing a business and making it more effi- It makes America more prosperous. cient, or shifting resources to where con- Michael Moore says, "Capitalism has sumers prefer them — that is a good thing. no moral core." "Creative destruction" makes America Is that right? Since the word "capital- richer. ism" is ambiguous, the answer depends on Shifting resources does mean some what we mean. If it's crony people lose their jobs. That is sad for capitalism–well, yeah. It stinks. Handouts those who are fired. to Solyndra and special deals for Goldman But on balance, it's a good thing. Sachs and GM are not capitalism. That's Intuition tells us that it would be better if "crapitalism." no one ever lost a job and that capitalists Many people hate banks, private-equi- who close businesses are evil. But ty firms, and mortgage brokers. In light of America would not be better off today if the last few years, this isn't totally unjus- elevator operators and factory workers tified. I resent the bankers who got rich by who made typewriters had their jobs pre- taking foolish risks and then, when they served by a "compassionate" government. failed, got bailed out with our tax money. America is richer today because those I guess I shouldn't blame bankers. I workers lost their jobs, because money should blame the politicians. They gave once paid them is put to better use. In our tax money away. If someone offered addition, most of those workers found new me money to cover my losses, I'd take it, jobs where their skills better served con- too. sumers. Some even say they were glad The real evil bankers are the govern- that they were fired, because now they are ment cronies, like those at Fannie Mae more productive, and being productive and Freddie Mac. They took our money by makes people happy. force, our taxes, then paid themselves fat But we in the media almost never tell salaries and promised us that none of our that story. That's because we only report money was at risk. And then they squan- what we see. dered more than $100 billion, betting that We can see, and interview, the sad peo- housing prices would always rise and few ple who get fired. We take pictures as they people would default. leave their jobs on that last day when the I resent them and their backers in gov- factory closes. We interview them about ernment. the hardship to their families. It's a sad But in a real free market—no govern- and moving story. We tell it well. ment privileges or barriers to competi- But we never tell the flip side, the cre- tion—capitalism is great. It's the only sys- ative part of creative destruction. That's tem with a moral core because it's based because we don't see it. We don't see the on freedom, not force. better things that are done with capital John Stossel is host of "Stossel" on the that once went into the factory. We don't Fox Business Network. He's the author of see what many of the workers do next. "Give Me a Break" and of "Myth, Lies, None of us covered the first few weeks and Downright Stupidity." of Apple or Google or Staples or Domino's Page 22 Conservative Digest May 2012 The problem with wind turbines

By Sen. Frank Lasee ple always need consistent electricity. (R-1st District) Power plants are a lot like your car, they operate most efficiently when they are able In today’s world, we are always looking to run at a constant speed or generate at a for new, innovative ways to solve problems constant rate. Wind turbines only generate because that is what Americans do. We see a power 1 out of 5 hours, when the wind blows, problem and we start working on a solution. coal and natural gas plants slow down pro- It’s not always an easy process; Thomas duction, this burns more fossil fuel than if Edison had to try over 1400 times before they ran at a steady rate. Then when the wind inventing a workable light bulb. stops, the plants have to speed back up, burn- As a society we need great ideas and peo- ing more fossil fuels and creating more CO2. ple who can turn them into great inventions It’s like the difference between driving on and often be richly rewarded for their efforts. the highway on cruise control or driving in Some ideas sound really great but don’t pan town. out in reality. Wind energy for generating IWT’s wouldn’t even be so bad if it was regular electricity falls into this category. just about money, but they have caused seri- Industrial Wind Turbines (IWT’s) are ous health problems for people in my district, towering 500 foot structures, nearly twice as and people’s health, and their children’s tall as the State Capitol. IWT’s have been a health is something you can’t put a price on. hotly contested issue in my district. Here’s Have you ever had trouble sleeping? why. Maybe there was loud traffic going past your Wind energy is a solution to a nonexistent house that night, or maybe your neighbors problem. Wisconsin is capable of generating were throwing a party. These things usually 35% more electricity than we use. only happen once in a while. What if you had In Wisconsin 63% of all our power is gen- a noise keeping you awake every single erated from coal, 21% from nuclear, 9.4 from night? natural gas, 2.4% from hydropower, .9% Wind turbines make low frequency sound from “other” and just 2.9% from renewables, waves which cause a pulsating that cause wind energy accounts for just 1.5% of our headaches, ear pain, nausea, blurred vision, total energy production. anxiety, memory loss, and an overall unset- How can so many windmills generate so tledness in some people. Long term expo- little electricity? Because windmills are sure to this very low frequency noise can extremely inefficient and costly. thicken arteries and cause organ damage. Some people claim these 500 foot wind- As a result, multiple families in my dis- mills claim to generate 1.5 megawatts per trict have abandoned the homes where they hour. That is assuming that the wind blows raised their children, looking for relief, some all day and night. That’s just silly, in fact are now paying mortgagees on two homes. they only make electricity about 5 hours out These are not isolated incidences, in fact of 24 on good days. It takes nearly four in just the last 18 months, we’ve gathered a windmills to make the power that is supposed one-foot thick stack of comprehensive peer to be generated by one turbine. reviewed studies that positively link the pol- How can these even be profitable? They lution of IWTs (low frequency noise and aren’t. Without electric users supporting stray voltage) to adverse health effects in them with higher rates and higher electric people. Something must be done. bills, direct tax subsidies, huge tax write offs The rest of the world is rejecting these and mandates requiring them, they wouldn’t turbines, as our elected officials refused to exist. They are a very costly way to make take action to help people by supporting an electricity. economically unsustainable source of energy, The Shirley Wind Farm, one of the wind costing everyone more and driving people farms in my district has 8 turbines. Those from their homes. turbines cost $3million each, taxpayers The Netherlands, a nation known for its payed $1.6 million for each turbine, about windmills, has decided to call it quits and are $13 million in total. ending the large scale subsidies that were the Wind power even manages to make other only reason the industry could stay afloat in forms of electricity generation less efficient, the first place. Denmark and Spain are fol- more environmentally damaging and more lowing suit. costly! Wind energy may seem like a great idea Wind systems require backup energy in theory, because the wind is free! The prob- sources (which are run by fossil fuels) lem is, wind energy isn’t. because they only make electricity part time. The wind doesn’t blow all the time, but peo- May 2012 Conservative Digest Page 23 Abortion stops a beating heart, violates the U.S. Constitution By Dr. Waldo Werning right for life of an unborn human being in her uterus. The mother had a “repro- An aborted baby was on a thirty-six ductive choice” before there was con- week internal journey from embryo to ception. They fail and refuse to tell that fetus, and then designed for an expected all systems in that body are stopped that external 80 to 100 years of personhood causes death to “something,” that is not and livelihood on planet earth. “Baby” a part or appendage of the woman’s doctors do not have a pregnant woman body. with an appendage or vestigial organ to The abortionists fail to inform preg- be discarded by her, but he has two nant women that the choice is between patients–the second one being a devel- the life or the death of a living body with oping fetus with a beating heart. a beating heart other than that of the After conception, the embryo, mean- mother. The Declaration of ing “growing within,” has a DNA that Independence gives protection to a instructs the development to be a fetus in baby’s body systems and life is a self- three weeks, and then to begin building evident truth: “That all men are created all of the body systems of a human being equal, that they are endowed by their in thirty-six inner weeks, ready to be Creator with certain inalienable Rights, born for an external life. So the doctor that among them are Life, Liberty and does not face a woman and a “choice,” the pursuit of Happiness.” The Courts but two human patients–the mother and have shown that the growing body, the developing baby. This is science, not “fetus,” has rights when a pregnant a personal or political opinion. woman is killed in a car wreck. The “Fetus” is from the Latin, “off- guilty person has destroyed two lives. spring...bringing forth...hatching of the The Supreme Court simply disregards young...come into being...developing these court decisions when it allows mammal.” The beating heart, which abortions. begins in the embryo already at the end There is much that is wrong, irra- of the third week, beats 55 million times tional, ugly and evil about the 1973 Roe before birth. The body, encased in the vs. Wade decision by the Supreme Court. placenta which is an organ with DNA Few people know and understand the with the umbilical cord that connects the legal and arbitrary abstractions and developing fetus to the uterus wall for dialectics in the bickering and squab- feeding and survival. The placenta is an bling arguments of the January 22, 1973, organ, not of the mother, but for the Supreme Court decision in which the developing fetus. It is not a tumor or government treated abortion only as a vestigial organ to be surgically excised, medical and surgical decision for the but a living being capable of feeling with protection of a pregnant woman–using the adaptability for external life. This is the medical excuse of “protecting the not only a scientific fact, but also the health of the mother.” The court's deci- decision between a “choice” and a devel- sion was totally subjective without oping fetus–a baby that presents ethical, objective facts in defining the basic moral and spiritual values. questions about when life begins and the Naming and treating this developing “viability” of survival outside and sepa- body that awaits an expected entrance rate from the mother. The Court's “via- into the external world is called a bility” argument can be used as easily “choice” by abortionists, and is arbitrar- and strongly in the case of the aged or ily named a “viability” by the U.S. those patients with terminal cancer and Supreme Court. When those who stop arterial conditions or are on life support. beating hearts call this a “reproductive The Supreme Court’s precedent in legal- choice” with “reproductive rights and izing “viability,” which is strictly a reproductive health,” apply it to the guess for the medical decision by a choice of the mother with the doctor’s approval, this takes away the inalienable Turn To Page 24 Page 24 Conservative Digest May 2012 ...abortion violates Constitution

From Page 23 of White’s points, and asserted that the Court's analysis and decision was flawed physician that is open to arguments by and unconstitutional. ambitious attorneys. Think of this: While mothers with The Court asserted that the govern- unborn babies are legally responsible ment has two competing interests–pro- and liable for the life and health of the tecting the mother’s health and protect- baby after birth, they can stop the beat- ing the “potentiality of human life.” The ing heart of that baby anytime during its Court never described the constitutional 36-week internal life. It’s time for citi- legality of a fetus having a “potentiality zens to request the Supreme Court to of human life,” and presented no consti- explain their 1973 decision how legally tutional reasons, but declared that it was they give the decision of complete own- an “arbitrary” decision. ership to a pregnant woman, which is a The Court explicitly rejected the special form of slavery, to treat this fetus “right to life” argument for the develop- as the woman wants, including death for ing body, “fetus” to continue living or to the baby. The mother with a doctor can survive. Judge Blackmun wrote the decide that her pregnancy and the living majority decision and stated, “You will “something” in her uterus is a virus or observe that I have concluded that the disease that needs to be treated and end of the first trimester is critical. This needs to be exposed of. is arbitrary, (emphasis ours), and per- It is time for citizens to act on the haps any other selected point, such as Declaration's assertion, “That when any quickening or viability, is equally arbi- Form of government becomes destruc- trary?” Recognize that the 1973 tive of these ends, it is the Right of the Supreme Court decision is declared people to alter or abolish it, and to insti- “arbitrary” by the court majority–which tute a new government...” The govern- makes this an arbitrary law! The Court’s ment to be changed includes the legisla- decision actually asks whether selecting tors or the judges who make unconstitu- any other point of time is equally arbi- tional decisions. In this case, it would trary. Citizens must recognize that the be for the legislators in the Congress and Court’s decision was not constitutional, the Senate to right the wrong and to but arbitrary, which the Court admits overrule the Supreme Court if it does not that it does not know when meaningful change its 1973 decision ñ or to have a and actual life begins. national vote to abolish all abortion. Justices White and Rehnquist offered Werning, an author, is the director of emphatic and rational dissenting opin- the Discipling/Stewardship Center, ions that show that the majority decision Healthy Church Initiative of Waukesha. has no relation to our Constitution. William Rehnquist elaborated on several ...Obama’s oil flimflam a president so ideologically antipathetic From Page 20 to fossil fuels — which we possess in famously said in 2008 that he wanted U.S. staggering abundance — that he is utterly gas prices to rise to European levels of unserious about the real world of oil in $8-$10 a gallon — and who on Tuesday, which the rest of us live. eight months before Election Day, pub- High gasoline prices are a major polit- licly recanted before Congress, Galileo- ical problem for Obama. They are not just style. a pain at the pump, however. They are a Who do they think they’re fooling? An constant reminder of three years of a oil crisis looms, prices are spiking — and rigid, fatuous, fantasy-driven energy poli- our president is extolling algae. After cy that has rendered us scandalously Solyndra, Keystone and promises of sea- dependent and excessively vulnerable. weed in their gas tanks, Americans sense