Wisconsin News

We've been lucky enough lately that there hasn't been much wind, so even with winter temperatures here in Wisconsin I've been able to get outside for a walk a few times a week.

I've heard some interesting stories on WPR while driving around.  There's been a lot of debate about the Foxconn deal that Governor Walker set up here to lure the Taiwanese company to Wisconsin.  The Democratic candidates in our state even mentioned the "bad deal" for Wisconsin taxpayers in their campaigning.

And it turns out that the $3 billion tax breaks and incentives offered to the company were as exorbitant as they sounded.  It's hard to say with numbers that large without something to compare it to.  How does a middle class citizen compare 1 million to 1 billion or even more?  It all sounds crazy to us, right?

Everyone has heard about the recent Amazon announcement, which will provide twice jobs than the Foxconn deal did for less money.  And better paying jobs to boot.

Vitamin D!

The argument is that it is an attempt to attract a specific kind of job development to the state, and I get that, but at what cost?  Will the additional jobs that are secured at businesses that supply Foxconn make up the difference as they claim? If certain conditions aren't met by the technology giant they don't get all of the incentives, so at least there is that safety net.  Only time will tell, but the taxpayers will be paying for it for decades.  I'd rather pay for better schools and better roads, but we all have our priorities.

Plows in use in southeast Wisconsin already

Weather changes quickly in Wisconsin, one day sun, next day snow.  We don't get as much sun here as I would like in winter, and I'm sure Newfoundland won't be much different in that regard.  I'll find out in a few weeks when I go up for a visit!

where did all the birds go?

Speaking of sun, I also found out there is a federal solar tax credit available for 2018 so if you're looking for a Christmas home improvement idea that might be a good one!  Just make sure you get enough sun where you live to make the investment worth it, I guess. The state of Wisconsin is offering a solar rebate, check to see what your state might be offering.