WISCREPORT.COM (12/22/2010) - The residents of the State of Wisconsin will continue to have eight seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, according to the latest Census figures released this week. Some states have gains in population and some have losses, however, most states will have the same number of representatives as before. Texas and Florida are the big gainers. Texas will add 4 seats in the House, while Florida only gets 2. Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Louisiana and Pennsylvania are among those losing one seat each. The big losers are Ohio and New York, each losing two. See more inside WisconsinReport.com. (read more)...
WISCREPORT.COM (12/17/2010) - A recent poll indicates that some people who voted the way they did in the November 2010 election were likely doing so due to misinformation or lack of understanding of the details presented them by news organizations. The poll, conducted by WorldPublicOpinion.org, based at the University of Maryland, and Knowledge Networks, shows that many voters were misinformed on key issues regarding the stimulus, health reform, the economy, climate change, taxes, the GM bailout, and other issues. See inside WisconsinReport.com for more. (read more)...
WISCREPORT.COM (08/23/2010) - Things are looking up in the state of Wisconsin, according to information by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue. The quarterly report shows that more jobs have been added than originally anticipated by economists. However, the bad news is that it will likely take two to three years before the Wisconsin employed level will again reach the figures that were prevalent before the slow down. Click on the headline above to read the full story with more details at WisconsinReport.com. (read more)...
WISCREPORT.COM (07/15/2010) - Initiatives important to Wisconsin agriculture, rural development and nutrition are part of the Agriculture Appropriations bill set to go before the United States Senate for approval. Click on the headline above to learn more at WisconsinReport.com. (read more)...
WISCREPORT.COM (06/21/2010) - U.S. Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) are leading a bipartisan group of senators in urging the House of Representatives to take up legislation to end the automatic pay raise system for members of Congress. In a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, 20 senators asked that the House vote on a bill passed by the Senate last year requiring members of Congress to pass legislation if they want to give themselves a pay raise. Currently, members of Congress receive an automatic pay increase UNLESS they pass legislation to block it. Click on headline above to read more at WisconsinReport.com. (read more)...
WISCREPORT.COM (04/12/2010) - The Wisconsin Business Council is lauding a new report by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue that showed the state and local tax burden at its lowest level since 1961 in a ranking of all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Wisconsin ranked 15th in state and local taxes per $1,000 of personal income and 21st per capita, the lowest ranking for Wisconsin since its general sales tax was adopted nearly 50 years ago. For more information about this story and more see WisconsinReport.com on the internet. (read more)...
WISCREPORT.COM (03/31/2010) - Communities nationwide are urging their residents to take 10 minutes on Thursday, April 1, Census Day, to fill out and mail back their 2010 Census forms if they haven't already done so. As the official reference date for the once-a-decade civic ceremony, Census Day will serve as the point-in-time benchmark for the nation's population count for the next 10 years. Residents still have time to fill out and mail back their ten question census form, saving the government about 57 dollars for each household that does not have to be visited by an enumerator. WisconsinReport.com has more. (read more)...
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (02/19/2010) - Wisconsin State Senate Leader Russ Decker (D-Weston) is upset with accusations leveled at Democrats by Republican State Senator Scott Fitzgerald (Juneau). Fitzgerald says Democrats are raiding millions of dollars from the State Transportation Fund to use on what he calls Pet Projects, including fish fries. Senator Decker suggests that Fitzgerald should start using real facts, backed up with proof, if he can. The hub bub seems to be over a recent report on a Madison television station. Read more at WisconsinReport.com. (read more)...
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (11/18/2009) - The Wisconsin Supreme Court has voted to accept seven new cases. Among the cases is a case involving who should pay the taxes on a multi-million dollar inheritance after a young girl was named to receive the large sum when her godfather died. The estate said the inheritor should pay, but the young girl and her parents said the estate should pay. The estate paid, then sued the girl and her parents for reimbursement. The Supreme Court will decide who should pay. WisconsinReport.com has more. (read more)...
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (10/28/2009) - Expressing concern that state government is hampering job creation and failing to protect seniors in a down economy, Ed Thompson (R-Tomah) has announced he will run as a Republican against incumbent Kathleen Vinehout for the 31st State Senate district. Vinehout (D-Alma) says she welcomes Thompson into the race to represent Trempeauleau, Buffalo, Jackson and Pepin counties and parts of Monroe, Pierce, Dunn, Eau Claire, and Clark Counties. Read more at WisconsinReport.com. (read more)...
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (06/29/2009) - Joined by local officials, business and education leaders and Wisconsin citizens, Governor Jim Doyle signed into law today a state budget that builds upon the commitment to expand access to affordable health care coverage, invests in Wisconsin businesses that will create jobs and lead to future growth, and continues to protect priorities like education and police and fire protection, in the face of unprecedented national economic challenges. For the first time since 1977, the budget is being enacted before the start of the new biennium. More at WisconsinReport.com. (read more)...
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (06/18/2009) - The Wisconsin State Senate has passed a biennial budget bill for 2009-2011. As usual, there are misgivings by Republicans that majority party Senate Democrats were able to get the budget passed. However, Majority Leader Russ Decker says the version passed has no general sales or payroll tax increases, yet, it still protects working families, schools, and police and fire services from cuts. Another provision invests in highways, airports, bridges and harbors, and is expected to create about 10,000 jobs. Read more at WisconsinReport.com. (read more)...
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (04/20/2009) - Governor Jim Doyle has approved proposals for transit projects in 14 small urban areas and 32 non-urbanized areas around Wisconsin. Approval is a major step in securing the portion of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding that has been appropriated for the state. The projects total nearly $34.5 million. Read more about this story at WisconsinReport.com. (read more)...
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (04/15/2009) - A Wisconsin State Senator is saying today is a great day to be a citizen of Wisconsin. Senator Neal Kedzie says what is being called the Taxpayer Tea Party taking place in Madison and elsewhere is more than a demonstration against high taxes. However, Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chairman Joe Wineke says the Republican tea bag party is being bankrolled by special interest groups fighting to protect the Bush tax cuts for multi-millionaires and big corporations. Read more at WisconsinReport.com. (read more)...
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (04/02/2009) - House Budget Committee Ranking Republican Paul Ryan (WI-01) yesterday introduced a comprehensive alternative to the fiscal year 2010 budget proposed by the President and Democratic Majority. Republicans say their plan will get spending and deficits under control, without raising taxes, but some Democrats don't think it's right for the country, at this point in history. Read more at WisconsinReport.com. (read more)...
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (02/26/2009) - United States Representative Ron Kind (D-WI) is commending President Barack Obama for presenting a budget to Congress that represents an honest assessment of the current financial situation. Wisconsin's United States Senator Russ Feingold, a member of the Senate Budget Committee agrees. WisconsinReport.com has more. (read more)...
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (02/19/2009) - The Institute for Wisconsin’s Future (IWF) is applauding Governor Jim Doyle and the Legislature for the tax reform ideas contained in both the budget-repair bill, which passed the Legislature February 18th, and the governor’s budget proposal for the 2009-2011 biennium, released February 17th. More at WisconsinReport.com. (read more)...
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (02/11/2009) - United States Congressmen Steve Kagen and Ron Kind are fighting for tax breaks for small businesses. The Wisconsin Representatives led 12 of their colleagues in a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer to include a provision that would provide built-in gains (BIG) tax relief in the final version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. 60 to 80 percent of net new jobs annually over the last decade have been created by small businesses according to the Small Business Administration. Read more at WisconsinReport.com. (read more)...
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (10/08/08) - Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Joe Wineke is calling last night's Presidential Debate Barack Obama’s second straight debate victory. Wineke says John McCain was unable to articulate a new direction for the country beyond what Wineke calls the failed, recycled policies of George Bush. Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and former Lieutenant Governor Margaret Farrow are spinning the second Presidential Debate from the Republican point of view. Farrow and Walker saw McCain making several points and coming out ahead of Obama in the Nashville debate. Read more at WisconsinReport.com. (read more)...
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (09/30/08) - The Wisconsin Bankers Association (WBA) CEO is weighing in on the failure by the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, and one of Wisconsin's U.S. Senators has some suggestions on how to make the Bailout Better. Wisconsin Bankers Association President Kurt Bauer warns the crisis won't get better by doing nothing. Senator Russ Feingold expects the so-called Bailout to see another round of voting by Congress, which creates another opportunity to address what he calls major flaws in the proposal. Read more at WisconsinReport.com. (read more)...
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (09/29/08) - The United States Congress failed to pass the 700 Billion Dollar Solution they have been working on over the weekend and debating today. Despite the apparent urgency of the financial crisis, H.R 3997, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, failed on the House floor by a vote of 205 - 228. Several Wisconsin members of the House of Representatives voiced dissapproval of the so-called Bailout. Some others were dismayed that the attempt to find a solution that the majority could agree on just wasn't possible. The Stock Market reacted in dissappointment. WisconsinReport.com has more. (read more)...
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (09/27/08) - There are mixed reactions to last night's first United States Presidential Debate between the two major party candidates running to be the next Commander In Chief of the Economy as well as Commander In Chief of the Military. McCain supporters say Arizona Senator John McCain won, while Illinois Senator Barack Obama supporters say Obama came out on top. And, Depending on which tv/radio talker you listen to after the debates, you have your choice of, it was a draw, or, Obama proved he was ready to take control of the military and the economy, or, McCain's strategy seemed to be to try his best to look stern and to not look at his opponent, and so on. Read more at WisconsinReport.com. (read more)...
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (09/25/08) - The Republican and Democrat running against each other for President of the United States have decided to lend their input and guidance in the current national economy emergency Congress is wrestling with. Yesterday, U.S. Senators John McCain (R) and Barack Obama (D) issued a joint statement that pointed out that it's important for both parties to come together to solve the problem. Obama and McCain will both be meeting with President George W. Bush and leaders of Congress today in hopes of making a difference in the so-called 700 Billion Dollar Solution to save homes, jobs, and the ecomomy proponents say are at stake. More at WisconsinReport.com. (read more)...
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (09/23/08) - Probable voters in four Battleground States are looking at the Barack Obama - Joe Biden ticket as the one that is more likely to bring about Change. By 19 - 24 point margins, voters in Wisconsin, Colorado, Michigan, and Minnesota say Democrat Barack Obama, not Republican John McCain, is the candidate of change. That poll result lifts Senator Obama into the lead in these battleground states, according to four simultaneous Quinnipiac University polls of likely voters, conducted in partnership with The Wall Street Journal and WashingtonPost.com More at WisconsinReport.com. (read more)...
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (09/01/08) - The 2008 Report of the Democratic Platform Committee suggests that Democrats want to make the United States Government and the country less partisan than it has been for decades. The Preamble to the Platform, states that it's time to reach out to Republicans, Independents, and all Americans who hunger for a new direction, and a reason to hope. The Platform indicates Democrats not only want to undo the damage they perceive that the Bush Administration has done, they want to find and enact the ideas that are right for the country and it's citizens. Read the Preamble at WisconsinReport.com. (read more)...
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (08/27/08) - Last night the candidate who came in second in the long primary campaign to determine who would be the Democrats presidential candidate on the November 2008 ballot urged her 18 Million primary voters to switch their allegience to Barack Obama. Hillary Clinton told delegates at the Democrats National Convention in Denver, Colorado that her delegates and supporters and Obama's delegates and supporters must unite as a single party with a single purpose. Hillary said it's time to take back the country and no one should sit by the sidelines, because it will take everyone and every vote to make sure it happens. WisconsinReport.com has more. (read more)...
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (03/19/08) - Today, March 19, 2008, marks the five-year anniversary of President Bush deploying American soldiers to Iraq. United States Congressional Representative Ron Kind from LaCrosse, Wisconsin (D-WI) remembers that the Bush Administration had predicted the war could be undertaken at a far less cost than it has turned out to be. Instead of Billions of Dollars, the cost has evolved into many Hundreds of Billions of Dollars. Dollars that critics point out, will have to be paid back to financial institutions and foreign countries by our children, grandchildren, and babies yet to be born. WisconsinReport.com has more. (read more)...
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (03/14/08) - US Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) applauded the final version of the FY09 Budget Resolution, which the Senate passed late last night, for including major boosts in federal funds for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program and the Child Care Development Block Grant program – increases that would directly benefit Wisconsin if the plan is enacted into law. In addition, an ammendment supported by Kohl creates a new standard deduction for homeowners that will provide relief to more than 641-thousand Wisconsin taxpayers. WisconsinReport.com has more. (read more)...
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (02/25/08) - U.S. Senator Russ Feingold is continuing his fight to ensure family farmers and the self-employed remain eligible for the protections they deserve. Feingold is urging members of the Farm Bill conference committee to maintain in the final bill a provision similar to one he proposed to update the tax code so farmers and other self-employed individuals can remain eligible for Social Security and disability benefits. Feingold says this will help farmers who experience bad weather affecting farm income. WisconsinReport.com has more. (read more)...
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (02/16/08) - Democratic U.S. Congressional Representative Ron Kind of LaCrosse, Wisconsin, says the farm bill being discussed in committee needs more work to make it work for family farmers and taxpayers. Kind says, among other things, what he calls, the proposal’s budget gimmick, phases out direct payments in the ninth year, only to see them reappear again in the tenth. He calls that a sham. Kind also says he's looking forward to working with his Ways and Means colleagues to prevent new taxes for farm programs. WisconsinReport.com has more. (read more)...
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (02/13/08) - The man who says he defeated the Clintons several times while running for office in Arkansas wants to repeat the string of victories by becoming the Republican presidential candidate and defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton in the November election. But, first, Huckabee must get past Senator John McCain in the Republican primary process. Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee brings his campaign against Republican primary leader John McCain to Wisconsin this week, hoping to do well in the Wisconsin Primary next Tuesday, February 19th. WisconsinReport.com has more. (read more)...
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (02/05/08) - Republican State Representative Steve Wieckert of Appleton is introducing legislation that will help to stimulate the Wisconsin housing industry. The bill would allow individuals who have capital assets to sell that asset and use 100 percent of the funds to purchase a primary residence, without a tax consequence at that original point of sale. Taxes would be deferred. The portion of the home sale financed by the tax deferred sale of the original capital asset, would be payable when the home is sold. WisconsinReport.com has more. (read more)...
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (12/17/07) - The Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) has announced that 27 field offices around the state will be closed as part of a consolidation into seven regional offices. When the restructuring of the operations of the agency is finished there will be regional offices located in Appleton-Green Bay, Eau Claire, Madison, Milwaukee, Wausau and Chicago. These regional offices are expected to continue providing comprehensive services to taxpayers. The regional system will rely heavily on new technology. The plan is designed to slim down the agency budget. WisconsinReport.com has more. (read more)...
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (12/5/07) - Members attending the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation’s 88th Annual Meeting in Middleton established a number of policy directives for the organization. Key resolutions that were adopted included making changes to the state’s Producer Security Program, saving farmland through increased housing densities, increasing the level of funding for town roads, following the lead of the federal government on animal identification, and continued strong support of the use value taxation program. WisconsinReport.com has more. (read more)...
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (11/30/07) - While corporate income tax collections jumped 14.1 percent last year and individual income taxes were up 7.0 percent, Wisconsin sales taxes rose 0.8 percent, according to a new report from the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance (WISTAX). Celebrating its 75th anniversary, the nonprofit WISTAX keeps Wisconsin citizens informed through nonpartisan research. WISTAX researchers cited several reasons for the lagging sales tax collections. The organization says rising internet sales are likely one major factor. WisconsinReport.com has more. (read more)...
WISCREPORT.COM (10/26/07) - Joined by students, local officials, business leaders and other Wisconsin citizens at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Governor Jim Doyle signed into law a budget that invests in the University System and puts Wisconsin on the path to permanent fiscal stability. In addition to cutting state operations by more than $200 million, the budget cuts advance commitments and one time spending nearly in half, and will have $120 million in reserves at the end of this biennium. (read more)...
WISCREPORT.COM (10/18/07) - Wisconsin First District Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Janesville) together with other House Budget Committee Republicans have unveiled the “Budget Boondoggle Award” to help identify and draw attention to waste, fraud and abuse in government spending. The award was inspired by the efforts of the late Wisconsin Senator E. William Proxmire, who launched the “Golden Fleece Award” in the 1970s to highlight some of the most outrageous examples of wasteful spending by the federal government. (read more)...
WISCREPORT.COM (10/4/07) - The Wisconsin Petroleum Council says the proposed tiered oil tax creates unintended consequences for the state's transportation funding. The Council claims the proposal might result in higher consumer prices because provisions to the contrary may be unconstitutional. The Council also warns that oil companies could choose to not deliver product to Wisconsin if the tiered oil tax becomes fact. (read more)...
WISCREPORT.COM (10/2/07) - The Wisconsin Counties Association (WCA) is urging members of the state budget conference committee and legislative leaders to not leave property taxpayers in the cold in light of a proposal to remove an increase in the real estate transfer fee. The doubling of the fee, as originally proposed, would have provided funding for critical county programs. (read more)...
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