While You Were Gone

It’s been a while since I last updated this blog and a lot has happened in Wisconsin and around the world. To start, the recall petitions for Gov. Walker were submitted to the Government Accountability Board on January 17th. You can watch verification of signatures here. There are claims that close to 1 million signatures were collected for the recall. The signatures will now be verified and if there are enough signatures a recall election will be scheduled in the coming months.

In national news, the Republican primaries are in full swing with four candidates remaining: Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum. Romney currently has the lead in delegates. Also, President Obama is set to give his annual State of the Union speech Tuesday night (1/24).

Internationally, attention has focused on the fallout from the Arab Spring as nations such as Egypt struggle to set up the democratic institutions they so vigorously protested for, while Syria is mired in a bloody civil conflict that borders on all out war. This comes after some intervention by the Arab League. Recently, Iran has become the central focus of international attention as it threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz as a response to impending sanctions. Just today the EU said it was banning its imports on Iranian oil

 

Recall Begins

For those of you not around the state of Wisconsin, the effort to recall Governor Walker is in full swing. Whether you are for or against the recall, signs of it are hard to miss. Petitioners canvass the streets asking if people will support the recall effort, debates about the rationality and feasibility of the recall permeate throughout all passing discussions, and parties on both sides have taken to the airwaves to promote their respective positions. The recall effort began on Nov. 15, and according to some organizations over 50,000 signatures have already been collected. According to state law, in order for a recall  to be triggered, the petitioners need to collect an equivalent amount of signatures equaling 1/4 of all the ballots cast in the previous election. That comes out to 540,206 signatures by the Jan. 3rd 2012 deadline. Should the requisite number of signatures be collected and verified by the Government Accountability Board (GAB) then the recall election will take place, which many speculate will be sometime in May. The recall fervor that what was evident in the late summer months is culminating in the winter of political discord. The federal “super-committee” tasked with finding a path of action on the national debt situation has resoundingly failed, presidential pandering by both parties is in full effect, and some are looking at Wisconsin’s recalls as a referendum on more than just the governor, but the state of the nation. If nothing else is certain it should be interesting times.

LINKS:

Madison Recall Rally Draws Thousands

Walker, Outside Groups Preparing for Recall Vote

Walker Ad

Walker on CNN

Democrat Recall Ad

United Wisconsin

Summer Intern Experience

Adding to the Bob in the Summer Intern series, here is a summary of Nate’s experience over the summer with the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.  Nate is an MPA / JD dual-degree student and spent this past summer working on civil rights policy, especially healthcare disparities. The summer included plenty of legal research and analysis, but also a healthy mix of public policy concepts such as community development and program evaluation.  Below is a short summary of the internship:

This past summer I worked with the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (CLC), one of eight lawyers’ committees that use law to promote civil rights.  Their mission is to maintain “a focus in a broad range of civil rights and economic justice matters.”  I found that reading the mission and history of CLC was a useful example for how civil rights lawyers have advocated for equality in the past.  Established in 1969, the group provides needed legal assistance to reducing urban poverty and racial disparities.  The primary work is connecting pro bono (volunteer) attorneys from major law firms to low-income individuals and community organizations.  The focus of this assistance is around the main project areas of housing discrimination, employment opportunity, hate crimes, and community development.

I assisted on a few projects added to CLC’s program this year: a new health disparities project, a federal tax credit program application, and organizing a voting rights initiative.  The work required application of many of the policy principles La Follette teaches well: interpreting economic data, analyzing industry markets and structures, and planning at program implementation.

For example, the New Markets Tax Credit applications highlighted a government intervention program in the low-income community lending market.  The program gave tax benefits to lenders to offset the potential risk of investing in areas developing their capital infrastructure.  The program is one of the most successful at drawing in new private investment into these communities.  From my perspective, the strength of the initiative is the use of private markets to identify of high-impact projects that have thoughtful and well-planned implementation strategies.  With public tax credit’s leverage, private investment can enter these markets and catalyze growth.  The implementation principles that are required combine public and private interests in growing new markets and supporting community participation.

The health disparities research was, and continues to be, especially fascinating.  Developed from the strong history of CLC, the project seeks to use legal tools–such as civil rights laws–to press for reductions in health disparities.  Historically, CLC pursued this goal through litigation aimed at reducing lead paint use in city apartment buildings, reducing barriers to children with disabilities, and improving health management organizations.  These past projects provided a framework for a new project: addressing Chicago’s health disparities with advocating for patient rights, analyzing and pushing for structural reform, and providing assistance to community organizations and providers that work with under-served communities.

As a dual-degree student, I was very interested in how law and public policy can interact.  This summer I enjoyed the opportunity to brainstorm with great lawyers regarding new ways of using law and legal frameworks to pursue equality in Chicago’s healthcare system and also build sustainable community development.  By combining legal tools to policy analysis, I found the experience inspiring in pursing new ways to promote positive change.

Prof. Reschovsky Wins Steve Gold Award!!

La Follette and Applied Economics professor Andy Reschovsky has just won the prestigious Steve Gold Award! The Gold Award recognizes the efforts and contributions of fiscal policy professionals, and honors those “who have made significant contributions to state and local fiscal policy,” and is administered by the National Tax Association (NTA), National Conference for State Legislatures (NCSL), and the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM).  Congratulations Prof. Reschovsky!!

Phil Sletten Elected First-Year LSSA Rep

Congratulations to Phil Sletten for being elected this year’s LSSA representative for all first year students! Make your fellow Bobs proud!

The Lost Decades, Chinn releases new book

La Follette and Economics professor Menzie Chinn recently gave a talk on his soon to be released book titled The Lost Decades: The Making of America’s Debt Crisis and the Long Recovery, co-authored with Harvard professor Jeffry Frieden. The book comes out on Monday, September 19^th and promises to be one of the more analytical and critical looks at the Great Recession in a sea of works based on speculation and sensationalism. The Lost Decades looks at all of the possible scenarios for the recession and expounds upon the various factors that contributed to the $2.8 trillion loss in GDP the U.S. experienced in the recession. Explanations of the crisis include: the failure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Community Reinvestment Act, credit default swaps and obligations (CDS’s and CDO’s), the monetary policy of the Fed, the existence of a large global savings glut, alleged criminal activity, the expansion of deregulation across many industries, and tax cuts and fiscal profligacy. Chinn and Frieden make the claim that the Great Recession is an example of a classic capital flow cycle crisis that was compounded by financial innovations.

In The Lost Decades Chinn and Frieden address the Bush Administration’s interpretation of the crisis which blamed the recession on the global savings glut that depressed interest rates leading to a search for higher yields in bond markets. This coincided with a housing boom, the overleveraging of bad debts, and the collapse of various entities within the shadow-banking system, namely Bear Sterns and Lehmann Brothers. Chinn and Frieden also consider the impacts of the growing structural deficit of the United States that has resulted from the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts and the how the disappearance of higher premiums for “risky behavior” set the economy up for what was an inevitable collapse.

Chinn and Frieden point to several policy challenges that have resulted from the recession namely: reigning in the debt in an era of slow growth, regulatory reform, and the need for tax reform. They also point out several solutions that aim to pull the U.S. out of its economic malaise including: higher capital requirements, expanding regulations to the shadow-banking sector, requiring exchange trading of CDS’s, and consumer financial protections.

The Lost Decades promises to be one of the more insightful books that looks into the Great Recession and rather than focusing on the individual actors or dramatic stories that have accompanied it, The Lost Decades looks at the conditions present at the collapse and provides a means to avoid its replication.

LINKS

Econbrowser – Professor Chinn’s blog

Deepwater Horizon – Lessons Learned

Recently, Fran Ulmer, a member of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill gave a lecture at the UW Law School on the nature and impact of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

The spill is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry and stemmed from the April 20, 2010 explosion of Deepwater Horizon. The explosion killed 11 men working on the platform and injured 17 others. It also resulted in extensive damage to marine and wildlife habitats and to the Gulf’s fishing and tourism industries. Ulmer noted that drilling in the Gulf was taking place for three reasons: we were running out of oil, Congress encouraged it through financial and tax incentives, and there was oil in the deep water. She also emphasized that costs are not only financial but personal and there needs to be an inventory of the explosions’ impact on health insurance, the fishing industry, and the tourist industry.

According to the Commission “what went wrong” is a complex answer that involves issues concerning the processing of the rig, risk assessment, lack of communication, a chaotic management structure, and a questionable safety record. Ulmer drew comparisons to Norway, and their utilization of multiple contractors and subcontractors with varying levels of specification and expertise as an example of to how possibly avoid another such a catastrophe,

Ulmer went on to remark about the future of underwater drilling not only in the Gulf, but the Artic as well. The Gulf still has 45 billion barrels of oil yet to be developed and in the Artic we need to proceed with the utmost care. Ulmer also called for an embrace “best practices” international safety standards. With this in mind the aim of avoiding another disaster and tragedy like the Deepwater Horizon can be realized.

Thank you to Ingrid Aune for helping to provide content for this post

ATTENTION: 2011-2012 Graduate School Seminar Series Schedule

Intellectual Property Series

http://www.ohrd.wisc.edu/reg/catalog_series.aspx?serieskey=348

This series is intended for researchers, administrators, and others who 1) Work with all types of research agreements; 2) Use funding and other agreements to do research that has the potential to generate intellectual property; and 3) Are in the process of protecting or capitalizing on already created inventions

Research Administration Series

http://www.ohrd.wisc.edu/reg/catalog_series.aspx?serieskey=356

This series covers topics related to grant and contract administration, from applications through project close out. All UW faculty, staff and students are welcome.

Graduate Education Policy Series
Learn effective strategies to recruit diverse students to your graduate program.
http://www.ohrd.wisc.edu/reg/catalog_series.aspx?serieskey=357

Media and Public Relations
http://www.ohrd.wisc.edu/reg/catalog_series.aspx?serieskey=398
From finding help on campus to refining your message and devising strategies and tactics that can help you explain your work and share it with an interested public, the first seminar in this series will provide the basics that underpin successful research communication.

Data Management
http://www.ohrd.wisc.edu/reg/catalog_series.aspx?serieskey=397
Need help navigating the changing landscape of research sharing?  The first seminar in this series will provide a nuts and bolts overview of the process including what data to share, how to share it, and where to find the resources to make it happen

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The full 2011-2012 Graduate School Seminar Series schedule is posted at
https://www.ohrd.wisc.edu/Home/Default.aspx?TabId=293. Please bookmark this page to check schedules, seminar descriptions, registration information and to look for new seminars added to the schedule.

If you have suggestions for further programs, contact Kathi Matthews-Risley, in the Graduate School’s Office of Professional Development and Engagement at 262-1799 or at krisley@grad.wisc.edu.

Bonfire Wednesday Night!!

Hey Bobs,

Don’t forget, there is a bonfire out at Picnic Point on Lake Mendota at 7pm tomorrow night (Wednesday). I’m told there will be smores!

Bob’s at the Arboretum

Today, current and incoming La Follette students volunteered at the UW Arborteum where they helped to weed and clear some of the undesirable brush surrounding the plants and trees. This has become an annual event for La Follette and aims to build a sense of community between students and the broader UW system. Here are some photos from today’s event. Students that are in the photos  inlcude: Phil Sletten, Rachel Polster, Emily Brunjes, Kelsey Roets, Miriam Palmer,Ryan Eisner-Car, Kathleen Paff, Andrew Walsh, Dan Kleinmaier, Katherine Sydor, and Susanna Rasmussen.