I'll just say that while I realize that Wisconsin is extremely corrupt, in looking around the nation I've started to get the feeling that most of the other states are likely as corrupt as ourselves. The difference is that in Wisconsin we, at least, still have people that get mad about it, and occasionally we even have mass protests.
The main problem here, (and it's frustrating), but the main problem is that due to the way the system is structured, we can do nothing about all the corruption. I don't like always being on the national news because of the latest governmental thuggery, neither does anyone among my family and friends. (And I was born and raised in small town Wisconsin.) There's just so little the average person can do, so you just sit in Markesan, or Racine, or Independence, or LaCrosse or wherever and you just stew in your anger.
Then it even gets thrown in your face on Hacker News.
> I'll just say that while I realize that Wisconsin is extremely corrupt
Can you be more specific about what you mean by "corruption" in this instance? Repeatedly pointing to a faceless "corruption" de-focuses the conversation from the specific issues with this deal, including the magnitude of the subsidy, and what might be the lack of recourse for WI residents against Foxconn.
Is it to suggest that Gov. Walker had expected, or at least decided it was acceptable if Foxconn significantly altered their plan in a way that undermined the deal, in return for a short term political "win".
If not, then what is the "corruption" you are referring to in this situation? Weren't the terms of the deal, including the latitude it offered the parties, fully public?
> The difference is that in Wisconsin we ... have mass protests.
Wisconsin is not the only place that has protests over corruption and mismanagement. It's a common occurrence, especially at the local level, in many places.
Fight back by calling the governor a sucker as frequently as possible. Republicans are supposed to be good at business. When a governor gets taken to the cleaners like that, it means they're too gullible for the job.
If he was a sucker in this deal, then can he have been corrupt?
Or if he is corrupt (as in he knew that it was a raw deal for WI but carries forward for personal benefit), can he be a sucker?
In this instance, is it possible he was both corrupt and a sucker? Maybe so if he was playing WI residents while getting played by Foxconn? Not drawing conclusions here but trying to play out the implications of what others have stated here.
Fellow Wisconsinite here, what do you see as examples of corruption? All I see is Republican's dug in and using tactics such as voter suppression and corporate handouts. Is that what you mean?
But really there's so much out and out criminal behavior that goes on here that I really don't think something like a really bad Foxconn deal should be entirely unexpected.
If there's an opportunity to spend, 1 billion, 2 billion, 4 billion whatever in state tax dollars...
I mean, yeah, in a place like Wisconsin, you have to pretty much expect that there are going to be some irregularities. It's just how things are done here.
Could you expound on this structural corruption? I'm totally unaware of it. As an outsider but near neighbor, (MN/IL-based), I have to say the narrative I've heard about WI in recent years is not that of a corrupt government, but of a state that had the poor sense to start voting for Republicans.
(See also: most stadium deals.)