State’s New Top Policy Wonk
One Wisconsin Now created “WISTAX Watch,” which came complete with a quiz where you got to guess if certain comments were made by the state GOP or by WISTAX. [Urban Milwaukee]
WISTAX
Corporate WISTAX Attacks Wages with Industry-Paid Junk Science Report
The conservative, pro-corporate Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance has joined the fight to reduce wages for hard-working Wisconsinites by authoring "junk science" propaganda.
Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance Blames Gov. Walker’s Epic Jobs Failure on Wisconsin Citizens’ Age and Demeanor
"There is no disputing that this is a politically conservative organization."
Act 10 Has Mixed Results for Whitnall, Greenfield Districts
"Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance is even more Republican than Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, so this is hardly a surprise." [Greenfield Patch]
Corporate WISTAX Predictably Offers Propaganda for Coming Walker Regressive Tax Cut Scheme
WISTAX has sent out a new round of propaganda to help Walker make his case for putting children and public schools further in the hole by shifting resources to a planned tax cut for the rich and corporations.
Big biz finally ADMITS use of extreme tax-avoidance techniques
From the Institute for Wisconsin’s Future “Who Does Not Pay Taxes”: It took awhile, but SC Johnson (SCJ) eventually fessed up to its tax-avoidance schemes. It started when the last issue of this publication disclosed that SCJ paid no state income tax in 2000-2008. This prompted an SCJ insider to release a secret tax-avoidance report […]
WISTAX Says $1B Education Cut, 70K Off BadgerCare Is ‘Fiscally Mature’
It’s the same old story with Todd Berry and the conservative, pro-corporate Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance. Their biased view says there’s only money available in the treasury for corporate tax cuts - everything else is second-tier.
GOP Legislative Committees Revealed
The interwebs reports that income state Senate Republican Leader Scott Fitzgerald is circulating memos to his fellow Republicans to solicit their ideas on senate committees for the upcoming legislative session. Given the promises about job creation made by Republicans across the state as they campaign, Fitzgerald’s announcement that the Jim Crow-inspired Voter ID/Voter Suppression bill […]
Will MJS give Conservative WPRI, WISTAX Same Treatment as Public Citizen?
Today’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel “Politifact,” in its analysis of a unfair trade deals cited by U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, makes this note about the sourcing by Feingold’s campaign of Public Citizen: “Public Citizen is a leading critical voice on trade deals, so it comes to the issues from that perspective.” Fair enough. Unless you consider […]
Conservative prof: Walker’s tax cuts would abandon fiscal responsibility
Hey, wouldya know: the minute a newspaper publishes a story with insight from someone other than conservative tax policy spokesperson Todd Berry, Scott Walker’s plan to cut taxes just for the richest 1 percent and big corporations doesn’t seem so appealing. From John Witte, professor of public affairs and political science at the UW-Madison, and […]
Walker to ruin funded, best-run pension system in the USA
Bruce Murphy, columnist for Milwaukee Magazine, had some great points in his column this week why Walker’s state pension gimmick is just a gimmick.
Tax bills down, WISTAX clams up
Thanks largely to the Recovery Act, the largest middle class tax cut in the history of the US, the overall tax bill for Americans’ is at its lowest level since 1950. Since the Great Bush Recession of 2007 and 2008, the average tax bill has dropped a whopping 26%. As tax bills shrunk for the […]
Tax Foundation’s Americans for Petroleum Ties Belies ‘Objective’ Tax Report
Once again the Tax Foundation is bringing its big business, low-tax agenda to Wisconsin and trying to convince us that businesses need their taxes lowered and the owners of those big businesses need their taxes lowered. As we have detailed at WISTAX Watch, the Tax Foundation is intimately tied to the Teabaggers’ favorite group, Americans […]
Economic-top 1% own 70% of wealth THX RIGHT WING!
Did you get a HUGE bonus this year? Or are you maybe one of the 218 new BILLIONAIRES?!?! Are you OPTIMISTIC about your financial future? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then perhaps you’re one of the economic-top 1%. And congratulations, you and your friends OWN 70 PERCENT of all financial assets […]
WISTAX Watch Exposes ‘Tax Freedom Day’ Fraud
One Wisconsin Now is urging the media to review its report showing both the flaws of the Tax Foundation numbers and the connections between WISTAX, Tax Foundation, and Americans for Prosperity.
Tax Foundation is AFP
Last year I wrote a blog about the fact that the Tax Foundation, the think tank behind “Tax Freedom Day,” was once owned and operated by Americans for Prosperity. And because today is today is Tax Freedom Day in Wisconsin, and because Americans for Prosperity will be using Tax Foundation talking points this Thursday at […]
Bailed out banksters hatched callous overdraft scheme
While millions of Americans are fighting for survival ‘ whether it’s to keep their homes or keep their jobs ‘ it appears financial industry banksters have been lining their pockets through a heartless scheme that capitalizes on financially struggling folks.A Vernon County, Wisconsin resident has filed suit against Green Bay-based Associated Bank for ‘rearrang[ing] the […]
WISTAX Watch Alert: Coincidence WISTAX Report Targets Cities, Not Counties?
One Wisconsin Now’s WISTAX Watch is asking the conservative Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance to explain why its latest report focusing on fee increases in cities and villages ignores county governments.
WISTAX Watch alert: Coincidence WISTAX report targets cities, not counties?
WISTAX Watch is asking the conservative Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance to explain why its latest report focusing on fee increases in cities and villages ignores county governments. The state is in the midst of a gubernatorial campaign between Milwaukee’s conservative county executive, Scott Walker and Milwaukee’s mayor, Tom Barrett. It defies logic that WISTAX focuses on […]
WISTAX more partisan than WMC?
We here at One Wisconsin Now have worked tirelessly for close to a year developing WISTAX Watch‘a comprehensive expose on the pro-corporate, conservative bias of Wisconsin’s most vocal and visible tax policy think tank, the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance (WISTAX). Among the most blatant examples of its bias is the overwhelming amount of contributions to Republican […]
One Wisconsin Now’s WISTAX Watch Site Tracks Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance Conservative Bias
One Wisconsin Now has launched a comprehensive website providing historical information, board donations, affiliations and extensive analysis of the conservative agenda of the allegedly non-ideological Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance.
What You’ll Find at WISTAX Watch
Gotta quiz for you…Which supposedly “independent” and “unbiased” organization in Wisconsin fits the following? Its president and leading voice is a former Republican administration official and local Republican party executive committee member. Members of its board of directors since 1994 have donated nearly $1.3 million to Republicans and conservative political candidates.Fifteen of these same 33 […]
With his hand out, Torinus criticizes Recovery
Readers of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel business section will know the name John Torinus. Torinus seems to be a busy man in the business community: he is the current chair and former CEO of Serigraph, Inc.; a current board member of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce—our state’s largest pro-corporate, anti-public investment lobby group; and a past […]
“Justice” Alito has his own Joe Wilson moment
One of the more rousing cheers during the State of the Union last night came after President Obama called out the ridiculous ruling from the Supreme Court last week that threw open the door to a new flood of corporate cash into campaigns. The Bush boys, Justices Roberts and Alito, swore up and down during […]
Oshkosh families: Raise taxes and protect our kids’ futures
From the Oshkosh Northwestern: “A crowd of about 150 parents, teachers and concerned Oshkosh residents packed into a commons room at West High School Tuesday night for a public forum on upcoming spending cuts as high as $5 million. About 30 people spoke out against budget cuts that would close schools and layoff teachers.”The article […]
If Berry Thinks Tax Code is Complicated, He Should Criticize His Board, Funders
Todd Berry, the head of the conservative Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance who must be on the speed dial of every reporter in Wisconsin, wound up in a story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about the IRS plan to begin regulation of paid tax preparers. Berry blamed the complexity of the tax code this way: “The reason […]
Health Insurance Reform Progress Activates Junk Science from Wisconsin’s Conservative, Corporate Network
The corporate, conservative machine has given its loyal subjects at WISTAX and WPRI marching orders... Blame everyone but the health insurance cartel for skyrocketing health insurance costs.
WPRI: ‘Let’s Cut Funds for Kids, Not Health Insurance Companies’
The corporate shills at the right wing Wisconsin Policy Research Institute has a typical corporate response to the skyrocketing health care costs.
Pieces of the Puzzle: Tax Foundation and Americans for Prosperity
Back in September, One Wisconsin Now called into serious question the Tax Foundation’s claim of being an objective research organization when it was revealed that it was a ‘Silver Sponsor’ of an Americans for Prosperity event. Everyone knows the research coming out of the Tax Foundation is fundamentally conservative, but this was a little much. […]
The Poor Pay More
New analysis sheds some intense light on the myths strewn throughout the news by WISTAX and WMC.
The rich shirk obligations, the rest of us pay for it
A new study out today shows that poor and middle class families are hit much harder by taxes in Wisconsin than the wealthiest taxpayers. In Wisconsin, its the working families that are asked to carry the burden. Individuals making between 20k and 88k all pay about 11% of their income in sales, property and income […]
MacIver Defense of Tax Foundation Just More Right Wing Backscratching
The right wing water cooler was abuzz this week over the effrontery of the Institute for Wisconsin’s Future. IWF, one of Wisconsin’s few think tanks that doesn’t hock regressive tax policy, was criticizing the Tax Foundation for a garbage tax plan that would stick it to the middle class in the name of more George […]
More Jobs Coming to Wisconsin: WMC scare tactics = #epicfail
Once again despite the efforts of the states most notorious corporate tax loophole lobby group, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, more jobs are coming to Wisconsin. Republic Airways to add up to 800 jobs in Milwaukee This isnt the first company to do so either ” as I pointed out earlier, there have been quite a […]
Are MacIver, WPRI and AFP Ready for the Right Wing Toga Party?
Two of Wisconsin’s leading right wing organizations are members the State Policy Network, a national group that helps organizations push out anti-public education information.
Businesses coming to Wisconsin, WMC must be furious
The states largest business lobby, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, isn't really interested in attracting businesses to our state or creating a positive business climate here.
Chicken Little WISTAX once again wrong about falling sky
Fear-monger extraordinaire Todd Berrys conservative talking points are once again proven wrong by, you know, reality. Berry claimed in September of this year the repeal of the Qualified Economic Offer (QEO) in the state budget could lead to disaster — teachers salaries could explode out of control[!!!] bankrupting school districts and leading to MASSIVE CUTS […]
Conservative Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance Echoes GOP Complaints about Recovery Act Success
In the past, the conservative Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance took some effort to mask its shilling for the arm-in-arm conservative tax ideology of corporate America and the Republican party. Now, Todd Berry and the conservative WISTAX aren’t even trying to hide it. In a lengthy write up of the current state of the stimulus in Sunday’s […]
Right wing disappointed in job creation, retention
Wisconsin in 2009 created or retained around 22,100 Wisconsin jobs, including 8,284 full-time public-sector jobs, and is on course to create 50,000 more. This thanks to the policies enacted though the Americans Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). And what do you know, the right wing evidently couldn’t be more disappointed.Joint Finance co-chairs Sen. Miller and […]
WISTAX bogus study one more example of conservative agenda
The latest study by the supposedly non-partisan Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance is another example of the groups conservative bent and its willingness to manipulate data and flat out make stuff up to support its agenda of lower corporate taxes, regressive taxation on working families and less public investment. In order to raise the alarm about high […]
IWF hammers at Tax Foundation
The Institute for Wisconsin’s Future (IWF) took a hammer to the outrageous Tax Foundation report that among other things proposed taxing groceries and gasoline, creating a flat tax, and cutting transportation, health care, and education investment by 15% each. IWF, a statewide research organization, issued their report, ‘The Tax Foundation’s Proposals Are Lose/Lose for Wisconsin’ […]
Tax Foundation, Like WISTAX, Pals Around with AFP
Much like the conservative Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, the DC-based Tax Foundation pushes out pro-conservative tax propaganda, but its rarely also identified by its conservative ideology. This fantasy of non-ideology is foisted on media consumers despite overwhelming evidence both groups are pushing an ideologically-conservative agenda ‘ that everyone is always paying too much in taxes. Rarely, […]
Corporate choke hold pays off for Mercury Marine
So that happened. Union workers at Mercury Marine voted to accept the stunning contract offer from management at Brunswick. Workers at the plant in Fond du Lac were given two basic choices ” as one union guy put it ” cut off your leg, and accept a seven-year pay freeze, or cut off your head, […]
WISTAX out to scare schools, public
The conservative Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance issued a release yesterday regarding their recent report titled, ‘State budget woes mean school, taxpayer problems’ that’ll probably scare the bejesus out of, well, schools and taxpayers.The guv and legislature had a difficult task of making over $3 billion of cuts in the budget in the midst of a nationwide […]
Robin Vos ‘War on Reality’ Ignores 77 Percent of Wisconsin Business Council Member Contributions Went to GOP, Conservatives
MADISON, Wis. — A One Wisconsin Now analysis of the political giving of the announced officials of the Wisconsin Business Council shows that conservatives and Republicans netted 77 percent of member giving, contradicting charges made by Rep. Robin Vos (R-Caledonia) the new organization is a liberal front group. “Robin Vos says an organization whose officials […]
WISTAX guess lands front page real estate, shows bias
Conservative go-to-guy Todd Berry of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance (WISTAX) landed front page real estate in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel today without digging up any facts in his perpetual Wisconsin mudslinging. His attacks were seconded as usual by WMC as well as John Gard.The article, ‘Business leaders decry tax increases in state budget,’ is all […]
WPRI’s Cadre, John Torinus and the Myth of Liberal Media
Bopping through the Wisopinion.com list of blogs of the day, I was amused to see not one, but two posts from the conservative and oft-error-plagued Wisconsin Policy Research Institute featuring former members of the so-called liberal media. Right there from Charlie Sykes’ yap tank, a post from Ken Lamke, former reporter with the Milwaukee Journal […]
WISTAX breaks silence to promote pro-corporate agenda
A year ago the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance tried to convince the media and its audience that there was no looming budget deficit in Wisconsin and thus no need to close corporate loopholes or raise taxes on the top one percent. And since May of this year’after official reports pegged the deficit at $6.6 billion’WISTAX has […]
Conservative Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance Silent on $6.6 Billion Budget Deficit
MADISON, Wis. — After months of insisting the state budget crisis was smaller than official estimates, the conservative Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance has turned silent in light of decreased revenue collections putting the budget deficit at $6.6 billion. “Todd Berry and the conservative Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance tried to convince us there was no looming budget deficit […]
Righty Wish List: “New Minority Group”
Cory Leibmann had some particularly insightful comments on the “news” this weekend about a fake grassroots effort the right is trying fund. A couple of guys looking for a paycheck on the state’s right wing want to create another 14 organizations to go with their dozens of current organizations, such as the Wisconsin Policy Research […]
Non-ideological Taxpayers Alliance Echoes GOP Budget Talking Points
The non non-ideological conservative Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance is once again showing its stripes — this time shooting out the same talking points being argued by the Republican members of the state’s budget writing committee. As reported on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s politics blog, WTA head Todd Berry shipped out a newsletter complaining about what is […]