When he was Milwaukee Mayor, John Norquist used to wryly observe that there were only two stages to WisDOT's highway planning before the orange barrels went up. "It's too soon to know," followed by "It's too late to do anything about it."
When it comes to Foxconn, Walker and his allies, with their 2018 campaign schedules driving the process, just skipped to the last step and sent in the bulldozers, the route paved politically by over-promising, fast-tracked subsidies, gaudy propagandizing photo-ops, environmental exemptions and, if they were to need it, seizures or productive land and finely-maintained homes under a twisted definition of blight removal. (see photo of what can be called blighted, and seized).
Cabbage fields on the 'blighted' Foxconn site, 2017
Enter a court filing and related actions aimed at putting the cart behind the horse where it belongs.
As I've said on this blog many times, it's wrong that so much private money has to be spent Wisconsin these days to battle with taxpayer-funded agencies and officials to get public policies serving the public interest, but until there are ballot-box wins, this will remain the case.
So props to the activists trying to restore sanity, fairness and fiscal health into a corrupted and polluted political environment.
When it comes to Foxconn, Walker and his allies, with their 2018 campaign schedules driving the process, just skipped to the last step and sent in the bulldozers, the route paved politically by over-promising, fast-tracked subsidies, gaudy propagandizing photo-ops, environmental exemptions and, if they were to need it, seizures or productive land and finely-maintained homes under a twisted definition of blight removal. (see photo of what can be called blighted, and seized).
Cabbage fields on the 'blighted' Foxconn site, 2017Enter a court filing and related actions aimed at putting the cart behind the horse where it belongs.
The filings ask a court to put a hold on the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ diversion approval during the ongoing legal challenge.
Additionally, the groups requested that the city of Racine hold off on beginning any construction work on new water infrastructure related to the proposed diversion of water from Lake Michigan.You can access a full year's postings about Foxconn, here.
As I've said on this blog many times, it's wrong that so much private money has to be spent Wisconsin these days to battle with taxpayer-funded agencies and officials to get public policies serving the public interest, but until there are ballot-box wins, this will remain the case.
So props to the activists trying to restore sanity, fairness and fiscal health into a corrupted and polluted political environment.
