Economy
No relief from Wisconsin’s 565 percent payday loan interest under new rules
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Payday lenders in Wisconsin charge an average of 565 percent interest for short-term loans. New proposed federal rules to protect consumers will not change that.
Frac Sand Rush
Controversy on Wisconsin-Iowa border as frac sand mine, No. 1 in violations, seeks to expand
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Pattison Sand Co., which recently opened a site in Wisconsin, is facing concerns over the growth of its Iowa mine, which has a worst-in-the-nation safety record.
Scott Walker's Wisconsin
State revokes tax credits after W.W. Grainger cuts, outsources jobs
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The Department of Revenue has revoked $50,000 worth of tax credits from W.W. Grainger, a distributor of industrial and maintenance supplies, after the company failed to create promised jobs, sold subsidiaries employing hundreds of its workers and sent some jobs overseas.
Economy
Wisconsin’s new debt law not in line with federal recommendations
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The FTC has recommended that states boost requirements for what documentation is needed at the beginning of a lawsuit. Wisconsin’s new law does not meet most of these recommendations.
Economy
Controversial debt buyers get a break under new Wisconsin law
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A new Wisconsin law standardized debt collection; advocates fear it could hurt consumers.
Precious Lives
After guns wound and kill, bills pile up for victims and society
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Gun violence costs Wisconsinites billions of dollars a year. Taxpayers pay for most of it in medical bills and incarceration costs. Victims suffer lost wages and trauma that can have long-lasting effects. Communities pay through lowered property values and higher police costs.
Jobs
Scott Walker’s untold story: Jobs lacking after big state subsidy of Kohl’s stores
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In its first 15 months of existence, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. awarded $126 million in incentives to 24 companies without a full financial review. Some deals turned out well, others have failed. The largest — up to $62.5 million in tax credits to Kohl’s Corp. — so far has not generated the number of jobs or amount of capital spending promised.
Jobs
8 tales from around Wisconsin: Some WEDC deals worked, others tanked
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Snapshots of some of the 24 companies that got a piece of the $126 million in state taxpayer subsidies without full financial review from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.
Jobs
Republican, Democratic board members of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. speak out
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Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, and Sen. Rick Gudex, R-Fond du Lac, address criticism of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. Both lawmakers are WEDC board members.
Jobs
Low pay leads to double subsidies for retail companies, group says
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Good Jobs First, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that advocates for accountability in economic development, generally recommends against taxpayer subsidies for retail companies such as Kohl’s Corp.
The group’s research director, Philip Mattera, said retail positions tend to be low-paid, part-time jobs.
Jobs
Two companies fail after getting $1.4 million from Gov. Scott Walker’s jobs agency
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Despite signs of trouble with the companies, Gov. Scott Walker’s jobs agency awarded about $1.4 million in taxpayer money to two northern Wisconsin firms that have now failed to repay the loans.
Economy
Most northern counties left behind by Gov. Scott Walker’s jobs agency
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While cities like Madison, Waukesha and Green Bay thrive economically, northern Wisconsin counties have been left behind in the state’s economic development efforts. Local economic development leaders share stories of being ineligible for economic development programs brought by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, a quasi-governmental agency created in 2011 by Republican Gov. Scott Walker. Northern counties are also receiving proportionally less help from the WEDC, with many local leaders saying they are ineligible or unable to meet basic requirements for certain programs or incentives.