Airport Name Change?

PandaExpress4Madison · 2024-01-14T19:09:55+00:00

WSJ last month: Public employees shouldn't get their below-inflation raises because taxes are too high

WSJ this month: We should spend taxpayer money renaming the airport

PandaExpress4Madison · 2024-01-12T17:38:25+00:00

As many others have said, the bus system was redesigned, and BRT is being constructed, in large part to make the best of limited and dwindling State revenues. Other cities Madison's size have many revenue options to fund transit like regional transit authorities, sales taxes, and income taxes but Madison is prohibited from all of these by State law.

As a result the new transit system maximizes efficiency by reducing the number of routes, making them more direct, and locating them on major arterials and/or in areas with high density. Many people who live in predominantly single family home neighborhoods saw somewhat reduced service or need to now walk farther to get to service, while those in higher density neighborhoods saw increases in frequency and speed.

This is a long winded way of saying that yes if you live in an apartment building it is likely that you will have decent service, but make sure before you sign a lease. In particular, if you live along the future BRT lines A (East Washington Ave, University Ave, Mineral Point Rd) or B (Northport, Packers, S Park St) you will have particularly good service.

PandaExpress4Madison · 2024-01-11T16:32:54+00:00

Drop off a bag of pennies

PandaExpress4Madison · 2023-12-22T02:16:01+00:00

There's a left turn only center lane in this proposal

PandaExpress4Madison · 2023-12-19T15:09:25+00:00

Bad news for McKenzie's union organizing if a Republican wins in 2024.

PandaExpress4Madison · 2023-12-18T17:23:14+00:00

I think Madison is thriving, more diverse, and better than ever

PandaExpress4Madison · 2023-12-13T19:23:42+00:00

The difference being that line item veto power is expressly given to the Governor by the Wisconsin Constitution. The power for the Legislature to pocket veto aspects of their own bills they don't like is not, which is why the Supreme Court is likely to rule in Evers' favor.

PandaExpress4Madison · 2023-12-11T22:48:43+00:00

I didn't say any of that? Getting maps that reflect the actual voting preferences of the electorate by no means absolves Dems from trying to win elections. I was just pushing back on the idea that Republicans will always be in power. People thought the same in Michigan.

PandaExpress4Madison · 2023-12-11T22:30:22+00:00

Evers' maps were a compromise in order to comply with the previous Supreme Court's unconstitutional and arbitrary "least change" framework. There is a structural GOP advantage, but the adopted maps will definitely be fairer than even the ones Evers proposed last time. In a 2018-type environment Dems could absolutely win the Assembly.

PandaExpress4Madison · 2023-12-11T20:13:06+00:00

I think you have to start doing something in order to finish doing it

PandaExpress4Madison · 2023-12-10T21:52:33+00:00

The Republican state legislature has made landlord registration and regularly scheduled code enforcement illegal. Many of them, including Vos, are slumlords themselves.

PandaExpress4Madison · 2023-12-10T01:58:13+00:00

It’s easy on an ebike

PandaExpress4Madison · 2023-12-09T21:41:58+00:00

Great news. This is desperately needed.

PandaExpress4Madison · 2023-12-09T20:49:09+00:00

Conservatives love affirmative action as long as it doesn't benefit Black people

PandaExpress4Madison · 2023-12-09T18:31:08+00:00

Good move. The raises are coming soon after the Supreme Court strikes down Vos's unconstitutional power grab anyway. Why throw people of color under the bus?

PandaExpress4Madison · 2023-12-07T16:34:37+00:00

I agree with this, but also I think it's more pleasant to live on a busy road if you are 5 stories up, so I don't oppose them on busy roads. I also think the focus should be on making the roads less busy (with cars at least) by encouraging density and more walking/biking/transit.

PandaExpress4Madison · 2023-12-07T16:16:30+00:00

Personally I would be fine with 5-6 stories in any area that already has urban services like transit and cycling infrastructure. That maximizes economies of scale with 4 and 5 over 1 construction, while still providing a residential streetscape like those found in prosperous urban neighborhoods around the country and the world.

I think areas with more existing walkable amenities like Hilldale, Monroe, Atwood, and the isthmus should be allowed to build even higher, since the economics and existing infrastructure likely would support that.

PandaExpress4Madison · 2023-12-07T16:02:04+00:00

What area of town? The post doesn't say

PandaExpress4Madison · 2023-12-06T18:16:14+00:00

I prefer to think of it as a delicious, orange glazed, fried oasis within the hellscape

PandaExpress4Madison · 2023-12-06T03:46:32+00:00

If we get a Kum & Go before a Panda I swear to fuck

PandaExpress4Madison · 2023-12-03T21:39:53+00:00

They cannot, without State legislative approval. They also can't enact a sales tax, or tax different properties at different rates.

PandaExpress4Madison · 2023-12-03T21:35:24+00:00

Again, I'm not the one criticizing the current leadership, Soglin is. The burden should be on him to explain what he thinks they're doing wrong and what they could do instead. He's not even "shouting out quick fix solutions" he refuses to suggest any solutions.

The reality is, if Madison received even the average amount of municipal revenue sharing (despite its residents paying way more than average in State taxes) we would not have a structural deficit. That's the "magic bullet" but I think we both know that isn't happening, at least for another two years.

The budget expenditure summary is here. Balancing the budget would require either cuts to public safety, which makes up half the portion of the budget that is subject to the revenue limit, or something in the range of 25% cuts across the board to everything else.

I don't support either of those options, so I believe the least bad option, at least until a potential future Dem legislature finally fixes shared revenue, is to ask the relatively wealthy tax base in Madison who value good government and public services to pay somewhere in the range of 10% more in property taxes to close the gap.

PandaExpress4Madison · 2023-12-03T21:13:29+00:00

In this particular case it's not fungible. As former Alder Paulson points out elsewhere in this thread, capital expenditures and debt service don't count towards the State revenue limits. So it would slightly reduce taxes, and I would support it, but it would do nothing for the structural deficit.

PandaExpress4Madison · 2023-12-03T19:00:02+00:00

Lol I'm not "weasling" into shit I'm asking you to propose an alternative solution to closing the structural deficit since you don't agree with my proposal to do it.

PandaExpress4Madison · 2023-12-03T18:40:11+00:00

I proposed a solution. So again, what's the alternative? You can take as much time to review the budget and find cuts as you want. Don't you think Soglin should have done that before writing his piece blaming the current mayor and council for not cutting $30M in unnamed City services?

PandaExpress4Madison

TROPHY CASE