Apparently, we don’t need taxes on tobacco products either! [And Republicans refuse to identify lawmaker behind measure restricting access to legislative records]
I guess William Cronon won’t have to worry any more about having his emails scoured by the Wisconsin GOP. From the Wisconsin State Journal:
Legislative Republicans on Thursday passed sweeping changes to the state’s open records law that would dramatically curtail the kind of information available to the public about the work that public officials do.
The proposal blocks the public from reviewing nearly all records created by lawmakers, state and local officials or their aides, including electronic communications and the drafting files of legislation. The language was included in the final version of the state’s 2015-17 budget, which passed the Legislature’s budget committee on a party-line vote late Thursday. The budget bill next goes to the full Assembly and Senate.
From Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
The Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee tucked the changes to the open records law into the version of the state budget proposal it passed Thursday night. The changes are sweeping, essentially allowing public officials to keep secret records that reveal how they do their jobs.
Like removing tenure from the state charter, this measure seems to have little to do with fiscal issues…If you are wondering who might have pushed this legislation, you can look back to this episode. (Or it could be the WEDC fiasco.)
Happy Fourth of July!
Update 7/4 8AM Pacific: “Catch 22, Wisconsin Edition”. From the Capital Times, Republicans refuse to identify lawmaker behind measure restricting access to legislative records:
The Capital Times has submitted an open records request for communications related to the changes. However, it’s unclear whether the request would be fulfilled under the new provisions.
(h/t Don Moynihan). You can’t make up this stuff. But it is entirely to be expected, in the Wisconsin of 2015.
Update 7/4 3:20PM Pacific: Thank goodness, though, that taxes on cigarettes etc. will be reduced by $1.1 million. For more on exactly what was stuffed into the motion at last minute, see Wisconsin Budget Blog. Here’s the partial list:
- sharply curtailing access to public records – particularly legislative communications, including drafting requests for bills (which are now open records once the bill is introduced);
- expanding the types of financial products and services a payday lending company may provide; eliminating the authority of the Dept. of Workforce Development to adopt rules setting a “living wage” (i.e., the minimum wage);
- changing the definition of lead-bearing paint;
- raising the bar for getting initial recognition to represent a collective bargaining unit;
- permitting employees to state in writing that they voluntarily choose not to have at least one day of rest each week;
- creating a process for resolving disputes over insurance coverage of chiropractic care;
- making various changes to the power of the Milwaukee County Board and the County Executive;
- and making it more difficult for a municipality that owns and operates a water or sewer utility to refuse to extend service to a neighboring locality.
Hillary and Sid Blumenthal active in WI?
Those damned WI citizens don’t know that a secret government is the government that governs best!!!
http://news.yahoo.com/walker-wants-open-records-restrictions-removed-budget-181003592–politics.html
Damn that Walker! He can’t do anything right.
Bruce Hall: And he wanted public authority for UW, and he wanted the Bucks arena to get $300 million public monies, and he wanted a bond issue for transportation for the next two years. We will see if his success in getting those open records restrictions removed equals those other provisions he forwarded…
Bruce- Walker was likely the one who asked for it, as it matches arguments he has made against releasing open records, and in blocking the public from finding out why certain policies were pursued.
http://urbanmilwaukee.com/2015/07/03/walker-vows-to-change-proposal-gutting-open-records/
He is now throwing others under the bus when things blow up, as the coward has done his entire career. I’m sure you can relate Bruce, being the excuse-filled, supply-side fool that you are.
Of course, this has taken some of the heat off of an intensely disliked austerity budget (which is already late and will also be debated in the coming days) but I’m starting to think this will lead to an even greater cost for Walker and the gutless GOPs that went along with this, but won’t own up to being the ones who tried to formally put it into law.
Why in the world consider something as sweeping as an open records law on a Thursday night before a holiday weekend in a omnibus budget bill? Also, why not at least let the motion be divided during the committee deliberations? Because it allows sweeping changes to occur with out a record of who voted for it, in this case, we have to assume, the 12 Republicans on the JFC.
This budget is terrible. It doubles down on the failed policies that have made our state the laggard among all its Midwestern peers.
Even in the matter of decent roads this budget is a failure: the Republican state lawmakers have approved a plan that would cut $450 million from the proposed road budget, but would still increased transportation debt to an all-time high. It borrows $850 million for roads and leaves us spending nearly 21 cents of every transportation dollar on debt service.
http://www.wpr.org/gop-lawmakers-slash-450m-transportation-budget
One item I found interesting: It cuts by $1.1 million over the next two years a tax that applies to cigarette manufacturers, marketers and distributors: http://www.wisconsinbudgetproject.org/budget-committee-approves-a-67-item-motion-stuffed-with-special-interest-measures#sthash.oPdzChsx.dpuf
Why? Maybe because at one time Wisconsin had substantial tobacco farming sector. Maybe it is to bring that back? Why in the world do we want to encourage tobacco sales?
This budget cuts funding for roads, education, and the number one research institution in the state.
This is not the Wisconsin I used to know.
Because it allows sweeping changes to occur with out a record of who voted for it…
There are days when I’m quite proud of some of the rules my state’s legislature operates by. No substantive legislation attached to the budget bills. Committee votes are either unanimous or there’s a recorded roll call.
Samuel- You are correct, this is not the Wisconsin you or I grew up with. And why did they try to jam in into the budget? BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT THEY COULD. With this paid-off, authoritarian crew, that’s the only excuse they need.
Seriously, name one thing in this budget that will attract anyone with talent or decency to an already awful-performing state over the last 4 years? It also tries to cut minimum wage for certain tipped professions, because the answer to a bad economy with low wages is….lower wages?
Gee whiz, maybe we need a new state motto: Backward.
In Michigan, there are two proposals going forward for consideration… one from the Senate and the other from the House. Both involve tax increases, but the Senate’s is a bit more direct and focused: about a 15-cent increase. Part of the issue is how to treat electric/hybrid cars that use the roads, but don’t pay much tax. They’ve already gotten favorable tax treatment at purchase, so it doesn’t seem reasonable they should get a pass on their use of the roads. Many states are struggling with decrease revenue for roads, but the public… at least in Michigan… doesn’t want a lot of “add-ons” to gas taxes.
“…taxes on tobacco products…”
Excessive taxes, along with legal costs, raises prices and reduces employment. Ultimately, consumers and workers pay.
However, social costs are reduced, although tobacco products used in moderation likely has little or no effect.
Some states legalized marijuana. When you legalize something, you get more of it, and when you tax something, you get less of it.
The scientific, medical, and economic evidence shows marijuana is far more dangerous and costly to society than tobacco.
Of course, when you legalize and tax, you end up with more users (e.g. alcohol and tobacco).
So, social costs increase.
“The scientific, medical, and economic evidence shows marijuana is far more dangerous and costly to society than tobacco.”
are you sure about this peak? my understanding is marijuana was strongly regulated/made illegal based on very little scientific and medical evidence. in no small part, it was pushed into the dark by the tobacco and alcohol industries, at least according to recent news articles. nicotine is much more addictive than marijuana. since marijuana was made illegal, very limited scientific and medical research has been conducted on it, at least without a significant funding bias, over the past decades.
Baffling, it seems, 99% of the articles on drugs, including marijuana, is pro-drug propaganda.
Some people use only marijuana and some only alcohol. However, marijuana and alcohol is a powerful combination.
And, you can’t get drunk on a glass of wine.
The “War on Drugs,” including on marijuana, has saved the U.S. trillions of dollars in social costs, which include lost productivity, traffic & work injuries & fatalities, health problems & drug treatment, mental illness, unemployment, crime, domestic violence, child abuse, and other social services.
****
“The Journal of the American Medical Association reported, based on a study of 300 sets of twins, that marijuana-using twins were four times more likely than their siblings to use cocaine and crack cocaine, and five times more likely to use hallucinogens such as LSD.”
****
American College of Pediatricians, June 2010
Marijuana Use: Legalization Not a Good Idea
“The negative physical and mental effects of marijuana use are well documented. It’s associated with lower educational accomplishment, lower work productivity, increased risks of motor vehicle accidents, and heart and lung disease. All forms of cannabis are mind-altering drugs due to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main active chemical in marijuana. THC affects nerve cells in the region of the brain where memories are formed. This makes it difficult for the user to recall recent events. Chronic exposure to THC may hasten the age related loss of nerve cells. Marijuana impairs a person’s judgment, coordination, balance, ability to pay attention and reaction time. Cannabis use in adolescence is a predictor of depression in later life. Cannabis induces psychotic symptoms and cognitive impairment in some individuals. Numerous mechanisms have been postulated for the link between cannabis use and attention deficits, psychotic symptoms, and neural desynchronization. Studies indicate that it impairs driving performance in the same way alcohol does, with users displaying the same lack of coordination on standard sobriety tests. Marijuana is second only to alcohol as a factor contributing to traffic accidents involving loss of life. Students who regularly use marijuana have lower grade and test scores and are less likely to achieve personal goals. Marijuana smokers often jeopardize their future by engaging in risky practices or committing criminal acts.”
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AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS
Marijuana: A Continuing Concern for Pediatricians
“The abuse of marijuana by adolescents is a major health problem with social, academic, developmental, and legal ramifications. Marijuana is an addictive, mind-altering drug capable of inducing dependency.
There is little doubt that marijuana intoxication contributes substantially to accidental deaths and injuries among adolescents, especially those associated with motor vehicle crashes, and is frequently involved in incidents related to driving while intoxicated.
Adolescents who use marijuana are 104 times as likely to use cocaine compared with peers who never smoked marijuana.”
****
Examining the Impact of Marijuana Legalization on Marijuana Consumption
Insights from the Economics Literature
“From this review it is clear that total consumption will rise in response to legalization due to increases in the number of new users, increases in the number of regular and heavy users, and probable increases in the duration in which marijuana is consumed for average users.”
****
Marijuana Use Can Threaten Teen’s Academic Success
Mar 15 2007
“Some factions of society still try to perpetrate the myth that marijuana is nothing more than a harmless and misunderstood drug no more dangerous than alcohol or cigarettes. The bottom line is that marijuana and other illegal drugs have real and proven negative effects on teen academic performance.
Marijuana and underage drinking are linked to higher dropout rates. Students who drink or use drugs frequently are up to five times more likely than their peers to drop out of high school. A teenage marijuana user’s odds of dropping out are more than twice that of a non-user.
“In fact, studies show that heavy marijuana use impairs a teen’s ability to concentrate and retain information. And this is especially problematic during these peak learning and testing years” said Larry S. Fields, M.D., F.A.A.F.P. and President of the American Academy of Family Physicians.””
****
Legalizing Marijuana Not Worth the Costs
CNBC
20 Apr 2010
“State governments are exploring convenient fixes for overcoming massive debts burdening their states… some legislators are proposing the legalization of marijuana to boost tax revenue.
…findings from a white paper by the California Police Chiefs Association’s Task Force on Marijuana Dispensaries: California legalized “medical” marijuana in 1996, and dispensaries where the drug is handed out – to pretty much whoever comes in with a doctor’s note – have become catalysts for serious crime.”
****
The Economics of Drug Legalization – 1995
“Proponents of legalization suggest that their policy will save society money…First, we will not have to pay police to enforce the present criminal-justice approach to drug usage. Second, we will be able to tax legal drugs, thereby raising revenue.
The FY 1994 federal budget allocates $7.51 billion for drug control (supply reduction) which includes criminal justice, interdiction, international programs and intelligence. State and local governments spend even more, $12.6 billion a year.
The total revenue collected from alcohol taxes at the federal, state, and local levels amounts to about $13.1 billion a year, a paltry sum compared to the social costs associated with alcohol consumption.
We spend approximately $20 billion a year on drug control activities. If drugs were legalized, we would see an increase in addiction rates.
Consequently we would have more crack babies (the kind that already will cost the system $90 billion), decreased productivity (at a cost of between $140 billion and $210 billion), more job-related accidents, and more dead people.
And given the potential black market effect, it is unlikely that we could raise even several billion dollars in tax revenue.
From a purely economic standpoint, legalization is not cost effective.”
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WhiteHouse.Gov:
“Most people whose only crime is marijuana possession do not go to prison. A survey by the Bureau of Justice Statistics showed that 0.7% of all state inmates were behind bars for marijuana possession only (with many of them pleading down from more serious crimes).”
****
Is Illinois winning the War on Drugs?
Chicago Tribune
July 24, 2011
“Jack Riley, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration in Chicago…noted that Chicago’s decreasing crime is an important indicator that the so-called War on Drugs is working.
About 70 percent of all crime can be traced to drugs, he said, and crime in the city is at its lowest in years.
“They (police, DEA, etc.) believe in what we’re doing because they see the devastation drugs are causing.””
****
“Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch described drug legalization as “the equivalent of extinguishing a fire with napalm.”
Joseph Califano, the author and a member of President Johnson’s cabinet, stated: “Drugs like marijuana and cocaine are not dangerous because they are illegal; they are illegal because they are dangerous.”
William J. Bennett, former director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy…”legalized alcohol, which is responsible for some 100,000 deaths a year, is hardly the model for drug policy.””
—-
peak,
““The Journal of the American Medical Association reported, based on a study of 300 sets of twins, that marijuana-using twins were four times more likely than their siblings to use cocaine and crack cocaine, and five times more likely to use hallucinogens such as LSD.”
is the marijuana itself causing the gateway to more dangerous drugs, such as cocaine? or is the fact that when you buy marijuana, you are already in the illegal underground market, and thus have direct access to the harder, illegal narcotics as well? risk takers tend to be on the other side of the law to begin with, and illegal drugs are a risky business.
you provide quite a few quotes, but you continue to propagate the flaws associated with past research. if marijuana is legal, and purchased in the store next to cigarettes and alcohol, is it still the same gateway to cocaine? i think this is a legitimate question which is basically overlooked in most of the studies you cite. alcohol is a drug, but it is legal. so is tobacco.
“The “War on Drugs,” including on marijuana, has saved the U.S. trillions of dollars in social costs, which include lost productivity, traffic & work injuries & fatalities, health problems & drug treatment, mental illness, unemployment, crime, domestic violence, child abuse, and other social services.”
what are the social costs of a young black male incarcerated for smoking pot?
peak, i am not a proponent of drug use, never have and hopefully never will use them. but with regard to marijuana in particular, past decisions on legality have not been made with strong scientific evidence. and since pot was illegal, controlled human studies on the effects of marijuana have been very limited. those that were conducted were funded by a government whose interest was not to show the drug safe. of course, if social costs should determine what we make legal/illegal, perhaps we should better regulate the financial industry, whose recent out of control actions created orders of magnitude larger social costs on our country than drug use such as marijuana.
Baffling, alcohol is legal. Yet, many people who drink also take drugs.
Will adding marijuana to liquor stores help “a young black male?”
There’s a positive correlation between drugs and crime, particularly violent and property crimes.
If the federal government’s data are wrong, then it would have no credibility and be worthless.
And, you continue to confuse a poor federal government policy with “the financial industry.”
“Baffling, alcohol is legal. Yet, many people who drink also take drugs.”
you still don’t get it. marijuana itself is not the reason many people take harder drugs. those folks are already predisposed to taking harder drugs. that is why when you repeat arguments that marijuana users are more likely to use other drugs, you are repeating a very biased argument. as you state, alcohol also leads to other drugs. is it the alcohol and marijuana, or is it simply the risk profile of the individual. the causality is dubious.
“Will adding marijuana to liquor stores help “a young black male?”
in 2013, nearly 609,000 arrests were made for marijuana possession only-no other charges. a disproportionate number of drug arrests are made on minority populations. so yes, adding marijuana to the legal trade will keep over a half a million arrests, many minorities, off of the books. the arrests make it more difficult to obtain and keep employment.
“And, you continue to confuse a poor federal government policy with “the financial industry.””
no. both can and should have a good government policy. we have failed on both fronts.
I’m sure, risky behavior is a component, like driving a car with marijuana.
I guess, you don’t mind people, particularly “minorities,” driving around high.
How do you know marijuana itself doesn’t cause irresponsible behavior or poor judgment?
So, you believe “a young black male” will better off legalizing marijuana, because he won’t be arrested.
“How do you know marijuana itself doesn’t cause irresponsible behavior or poor judgment?”
probably no more than alcohol. again you miss the point. we need to conduct some solid scientific and medical studies to support the criminalization of the drug. we made it illegal based on cultural bias and not good science. revisit the issue, and if the science says its bad, fine. the morality play is bogus.
“So, you believe “a young black male” will better off legalizing marijuana, because he won’t be arrested.
apparently you do not understand the stigma associated with an arrest record. it is not inconsequential.
Baffling, so, your point, that I missed, is “we made it illegal based on cultural bias and not good science.”
And, when you say “stigma associated with an arrest record,” you’re innocent until proven guilty.
If you’re constantly getting arrested, maybe you should ask yourself if you’re doing something wrong.
Aren’t we fortunate you know the medical community is wrong, the scientific studies are wrong, and the economics are wrong.
We can rely on the extensive propaganda by activists, who either want to sell marijuana, feel guilty about contributing to drug related crimes, e.g. in Mexico and other places, or who just don’t care, because getting high is what’s important.
Peak Trader: Things that happen, that maybe, perhaps, might temper your belief that the criminal justice systems works like a well-oiled machine: Rikers Island and the Death of Kalief Browder.
Menzie Chinn, I didn’t imply the U.S. criminal justice system is perfect, ideal, or fair. It may never be. There may always be exceptions.
However, on the other side, the U.S. criminal justice system may be the best in the world. It’s certainly the best at catching criminals.
That’s not the case in many countries around the world, where criminals run amok or actually control the countryside.
And, some countries are incompetent at catching criminals.
For example:
Sweden’s unsolved violent crime rate at 95 percent
15 November 2008
“Robberies and violent crimes made up 75 percent of all reported crimes in Sweden last year, which added up to around 900,000. Police managed to solve 5.8 percent of them. Bengt Svenson, the national police chief, defended his department saying: “There is often very little of value to work with. When it comes to theft, there are no witnesses, and victims often don’t know when the crime occurred. There’s really not much to go on and that obviously makes it hard to solve crimes.
”Justice Minister Beatrice Ask feels the figures are an unwelcome truth for a government that ran on a platform on crime reduction. When elected, the government promised to have 20,000 police on Sweden’s streets by 2010. Ask feels that part of the problem lies with Sweden’s culture. “I think it has to do with the culture, the idea that there is simply nothing that can be done.” At any rate, Ask says she feels the statistics are rather disturbing and that the Swedish police could do more to clear up these cases.”
Peak Trader: No doubt we may be very good at locking up people. Whether they are the culprits is a different issue. From the Innocence Project:
Given the ethnic composition of the overall United States population, I find these ratios striking.
peak
“Aren’t we fortunate you know the medical community is wrong, the scientific studies are wrong, and the economics are wrong.”
most studies on illegal drugs are not what one would consider unbiased and statistically solid studies. by the nature of the topic, it is very difficult to conduct solid scientific and medical studies in a controlled environment using drugs the government considers illegal. perhaps the existing studies outcomes are true. but from a scientific and medical research perspective, they are very flawed. all i ask is that we conduct some valid studies and base our policies on such results. marijuana can still be a controlled substance, but it can be legal instead of illegal. we have legal, controlled narcotic pain medication available by prescription which is far more dangerous than marijuana.
“And, when you say “stigma associated with an arrest record,” you’re innocent until proven guilty. If you’re constantly getting arrested, maybe you should ask yourself if you’re doing something wrong.”
i do not believe all laws are infallible. legislature’s make mistakes. if people are in jail from a poorly thought out law, that is a problem that should be rectified. there is ample evidence to suggest our policy is flawed. it should be revisited. why resist a reconsideration because the law is already on the books? you can repeal laws. see the prohibition era. see slavery.
but you have a drug policy which is flawed. you have cocaine, which carries different penalties based on its form as crack (used by minorities) or free base (used by middle and upper class whites to a large degree). free base cocaine use is not uncommonly used by those in the financial industry. perhaps if they had incarceration rates similar to minorities who used crack, the financial crisis may not have been so warped? this type of disparity was addressed by legislation in 2010-but existed for nearly 25 years prior. modern information indicated the rationale used in the original 1986 law was flawed.
peak,
You will believe as you will. But you cannot smoke yourself to death with marijuana.
You can drink yourself to death with alcohol.
So if alcohol is legal, then so should be marijuana.
You do believe in freedom and liberty? Don’t you?
Anon2,
You will believe as you will. But you cannot smoke a marijuana joint without getting high.
You can drink a beer without getting drunk.
So. If alcohol is legal, then so should marijuana be illegal.
I believe in freedom and liberty, but I also believe in laws.
I just can’t believe it. The Wisconsin legislature is almost as bad as the Obama administration . Next thing you know they will be saying they have to pass laws before anyone knows what is in them. Any state moving toward the methods of Washington DC is in real trouble. Menzie, I think you are making me a believer.
False comparison, better luck next time. The proposed budget item would shield almost every single piece of information or documentation that went into drafting the statute. I think you can get all of that and then some from the Obama Administration.
But, like I said, better luck with your next false comparison.
Dear Dr. Chinn,
Another interesting aspect of this budget is the constant attempts to single out Dane County for “special legislation” that seems at odds with the Republican rhetoric of “take government out of our lives.” Why single out Dane County which has the lowest unemployment rates in the state and is doing well economically?
http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/govt-and-politics/joe-parisi-wisconsin-legislature-is-picking-on-dane-county/article_649e5a50-03fc-5835-a599-0778dd5410da.html
Also sad that UW Milwaukee, a university that serves one of the most diverse student bodies in the state, will take a big hit from the reduction in UW funding. http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/uwm-takes-biggest-hit-as-campus-budget-numbers-released-b99532710z1-311777071.html
We can’t invest in our young people, but we can fund another sports arena?
By the way, thank you for your work in tracking the budget story and its economic impact in Wisconsin.
Uh, oh. After days of pretending he had nothing to do with with the changes to the open records laws, Walker’s spokesman Laurel Patrick admitted that the administration was involved in the proposal. Republican Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald also confirmed Walker’s involvement.
Dear Dr. Chinn,
So Gov. Walker moves on from the budget that he will use as talking points on the campaign trail (UW cuts, cuts to SeniorCare and the disabled. a 20-week abortion ban (why was that in the budget?), cuts to DNR, a crackdown on the Govt. Accountability Board (the open records law was too direct an assault on open government), cuts to K12 education with a bait and switch to school vouchers, etc, etc,) to his presidential run.
It is interesting to me, as I read Krugman’s latest column on Greece ( http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2015/07/paul-krugman-greeces-economy-is-a-lesson-for-republicans-in-the-us.html ) how in many ways, the budget over the last two cycles has created a Greece-like situation right here in Wisconsin. The parallels are fascinating to me. Austerity has reduced our economy and we have been saddled with a heavier debt load (look at the details for the transportation funding in which 21 cents of every transportation dollar is spent on debt service.
If it wasn’t for federal government, Wisconsin would be in real financial trouble.
Anyway, as the Governor moves on, I wonder how much notice the national media will take of his economic performance?
Well this is certainly welcome news!
http://dailycaller.com/2015/07/11/walker-wins-new-budget-will-repeal-university-tenure/
of course, as is typical in politics, walker implements changes, claims success in the policy, but leaves the office before the policy outcome can ever be evaluated. now he will conduct his presidential campaign on how his education policies have been a success in wisconsin-even before the metrics are evaluated.