Hamilton's blog

The latest general fund condition statement generated by the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau projects Wisconsin will be $143.2 million in the hole at the end of the current budget biennium. This is $215.9 million below the LFB’s October 2011 projection.

By Andrew Cook and Pat Osborne

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has issued a decision that is likely to negatively affect not just the aggregate industry, but other related industries. The Court’s decision broadens Wisconsin towns’ authority to regulate certain types of land uses under the guise of its police powers, rather than through a zoning ordinance, which requires county board approval.

Citing data from the state of Illinois, the EPA has announced it intends to revise its proposed designation for Kenosha County, and recommend it be designated nonattainment for the 2008 8-hour ozone standard. This decision by the EPA is unwelcome, as nonattainment designations carry with them substantial regulatory and related economic burdens.

The Wisconsin Scorecard is a unique new publication from the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau that provides data on how Wisconsin compares to the other 49 states on a variety of measures. The Scorecard includes 44 rankings organized into four umbrella sections: Demographic and Social, Health and Education, Government Finance and Economic, and Environment and Energy Rankings.

The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed today written by Theodore Olson, former Solicitor General from 2001 to 2004, which addresses the relentless attacks on Koch Industries and its shareholders throughout the past several years. The op-ed notes that Koch Industries and its shareholders have been singled out because of Koch’s longstanding and firm commitment to economic freedom. The op-ed further notes that the tactics being employed demonizing those with whom you disagree with politically – whether on the right or the left – is setting dangerous precedent.