303 results for author: Phil Anderson

Socialism in the U.S. Military

Calling your opponent a socialist is a favorite American political slur. The public has been programed to equate socialism, or any deviation from pure free market capitalism, with being un-American. The Constitution, however, does not say much about organizing the economy. Capitalism is not synonymous with freedom or democracy. It is entirely possible to have a socialistic, or even communistic, economy and a representative democracy. Bernie Sanders is unique in openly claiming to be a democratic socialist. He does not intend, however, to change the structure of the economy. Rather he simply advocates making the economy work better by being more ...

Selective Memories

The good old days are the memories of things that never were. We remember what we want to and disregard the rest. Every Memorial Day, in our zeal to honor those who have served, we have a national picnic feast of selective memory about war. Our government is engaged in selectively remembering the Vietnam War. The Department of Defense is spending $65 million in a project to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the war. It is all about “honoring” the troops. As President Obama stated, “As we observe the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, we reflect with solemn reverence upon the valor of a generation that served with honor. We pay tribute ...

The Game is Rigged: Fighting the CAFO

The Bayfield County Board passed two local ordinances to regulate large factory farming. Some of the provisions exceed state requirements. But citizens opposing the proposed Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) still have the cards stacked against them. The new ordinances may be challenged in court. State law does not allow local governments to prohibit CAFOs. Local regulatory power through local ordinances is limited by state law. Citizen's ability to sue for damages is also limited. The state regulatory system is largely skewed in favor of the industry. The “right to farm” laws and the state permitting laws do little to to protect the ...

CAFO Alternatives and Solutions

Huge factory farm operations called Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) are growing in number. The advocates for CAFOs claim they are a necessary, more efficient way to produce cheap food. But is this true? Are there economical alternatives to industrial agriculture? Opponents to CAFOs, backed up by a growing body of research, say there are better ways to economically raise meat. CAFOs are not the inevitable result of market forces. Alternative production methods can be economically efficient and technologically sophisticated, and can deliver abundant animal products while avoiding most of the problems caused by CAFOs Are Factory ...

How Would You Spend $1 Trillion Dollars?

How Would You Spend $1 Trillion Dollars?   It is tax time again. Where do your taxes go? Would you rather see your tax dollars spent better? If you could be in charge, how would you spend $1 trillion? Budgets are about choices. It is about choosing what you can do, or not do, with limited resources. Congress sets spending priorities each year in the Federal “discretionary” budget. They decide whether to spend more on education or tax breaks, cancer research or food stamps, space exploration or housing assistance, diplomacy or bombs. The Federal budget is huge and complicated. The budget can be confusing because people are not ...

HOW WOULD YOU SPEND $1 TRILLION?

If you could set the priorities, how would you spend the money? Look at current Federal budget priorities and vote for how you would prioritize funds.

CREATING A SUPERIOR ECONOMY

Superior has two major chain retail stores closing. Both K-Mart and Target are leaving Superior. Businesses closing in Superior are nothing new. There are empty store fronts and facilities all over town. Superior has never been a hot bed of economic vitality. But losing two long established businesses at once is unusual. Why is this happening? One might speculate that Walmart has been successful in the big-box competition for customers. This is not hard to imagine when you look at the mostly empty parking lots of K-Mart and Target on your way to the well-stocked lot at Walmart. But all three retailers have existed side-by-side for many years in ...

SUPREME INDEPENDENCE

Wisconsin needs an independent Supreme Court. In recent years the allegedly non-partisan judges on the Court have become increasingly political. This is not good for anyone, conservative or liberal. Neither is it good for fair and impartial justice. Having checks on the power of public officials is engrained in the Constitution and in the structure of Wisconsin government. To guard against the misuse of power there are multiple branches of government. Concentrating power in one person, group, or political party allows corruption and abuse of power. Currently the Senate, Assembly, and governor's office are controlled by one party. With Governor ...

UWS OUTSOURCING: WAS IT WORTH IT?

In the first article on University of Wisconsin-Superior outsourcing of their custodians and groundskeepers we looked at what happened to the laid-off workers and the situation for the incoming new workers. It is obvious that any “savings” for the taxpayers came from the reduced wages and benefits of workers. In the second article, we asked if taxpayers actually save money from outsourcing. For many reasons, taxpayers often do not benefit. This final article looks at the difficulty of finding real numbers, puts the projected savings in perspective and asks, “Was it worth it?” FINDING ACTUAL COSTS Getting the real numbers is a ...

DOES OUTSOURCING SAVE TAXPAYERS’ MONEY? (A CLOSER LOOK AT UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-SUPERIOR)

Did outsourcing the custodians and groundskeepers at University of Wisconsin-Superior save the university money? Are the taxpayers better off? As discussed in a prior article, say savings most likely came from the contractor paying less in wages and benefits. Cost reduction came on the backs of the workers and the local Superior economy. Was it worth it? Does contracting-out save money? Critics of outsourcing government activities say often there are no actual cost savings to taxpayers. Many studies have shown that contracting-out ultimately costs more. Additional costs come from bait-and-switch low initial bids that escalate, costs of ...