Article overlooks best attraction of museum
It is true that there are a variety of interesting and moving displays at the Veteran's Museum that both lay bare the horrors of combat and celebrate the sacrifices of the fallen (""Museum puts heroism on display,"" Jan. 23). But in my mind the coolest draw of the museum is the huge working periscope, plucked from a submarine and placed unassumingly at the end of the museum route in a corner. I have brought several visiting friends there to check this out'admission is donation only. You can get a great telescoped view of the Capitol Square, and the focusing scope rotates 360 degrees allowing you to follow the action. Anyway, this is for all the students reluctant to enter a Veteran's Museum on the merits of history alone.
McCallum's budget reveals inexperience
In response to the letter to the editor (""McCallum's new budget benefits UW students,"" Jan. 23), I would like to say: Nice try. The author did a masterful job of draping a flattering veil over the face of the hideous billion-dollar monster deficit Gov. Scott McCallum shaped. Claiming that McCallum and his billion-dollar budget shortfall are good for students is like saying smoking cigarettes is healthy.
The trouble started with a tax refund from ex-Gov. Tommy Thompson a couple of years ago. In theory this sounds good, but most economic experts agree tax-refund checks are just a costly gimmick designed to boost political popularity. The state could surely use that money now in the ""rainy day"" fund that most states keep on hand for tough times like now.
The governor often hides behind the claim that our budget woes are the result of a ""terrorist economy."" This shield crumbles when you consider that grave warnings came from a myriad of state and federal agencies and federal lending institutions that the last gubernatorial budget was a gamble. Warnings against draining the ""rainy day"" fund and raiding the tobacco settlement fund fell on deaf ears.
The claim that the governor is benefiting students a few million dollars for tuition here and there assumes that students live in a bubble, only concerned with tuition. McCallum's plan to shrink shared revenue with cities to correct his mistakes will simply shift taxes to a local level, which means higher property taxes, in turn resulting in higher rents. Students who rely on their parents for rent, tuition and beer money will be quaffing less Bud Light because ""Parents S&L"" will be taxed more.
We may never know exactly how much money this budget crisis will cost. Simply correcting the McCallum budget will cost us in the form of wasted legislative time and resources. More importantly, Wisconsin's bond rating will suffer, resulting in higher loan interest payments to lending institutions. This means higher taxes later. In light of the fact that Wisconsin gives more budgetary discretion to its governor than any other state, I propose we elect an experienced individual this fall with a proven track record to serve as governor: Congressman Tom Barrett.
