November 24, 2007
Listen up!
Former Maine AG Jim Tierney wrote a pamphlet titled "Rust Never Sleeps." He was right, and had he written a sequel it should have been titled, "Big Money Never Sleeps." Certainly not in Wisconsin. An innocent news release, picked up by the JS, gives us good news: "Group forms plan to plug brain drain."
Oh, good. I was worried that members of the Legislature or those who lobby them might be leaving our state, but no, this group is new wine poured into old bottles to fool the public.
Ah, "Competitive Wisconsin, Inc." is the "group" and it is headed not by Frank Boyle, COWS, or other progressives. You won't find Ellen Bravo at the coffee machine. The executive director is none other than one of our state's wealthiest lobbyists, Bill McCoshen, former campaign manager for Tommy Thompson who was rewarded by Tommy when he was appointed secretary of Commerce at a very early age. CWI was created in the time of Lee Drefus and today they brag that they cut the "progressive" income tax from 11.4 percent to 6.9 percent. Inevitably, the tax burden shifted to property and sales taxes, paid by the little guy, but, hey, someone has to pay!
The goal of CWI is to, and I'm not making this up, "make Wisconsin a haven and hot bed for high income people." Again, I'm not kidding you.
"Where o, where o, where o," where will they ever find support? To the rescue--the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, dominated by bankers, is supporting CWI and, surprise, surprise, the recently created Americans for Prosperity, has locked arms with McCoshen.
Consistent with the "haven for millionaires" goal is one of CWI's legislative goals: elimination of the estate tax. You know it by the new name, "the death tax."
Goodness progressives are behind the 8 ball! CWI, Bradley Foundation, WTMJ TV and radio, Americans for Prosperity, Taxpayer's Alliance, and, so it goes. Tomorrow I'll comment on WMC's request to the governor. This would be funny if it was fiction. It ain't.
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