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Eric Hovde: Inflation is crushing Wisconsin families. Blame federal spending, regulations.

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Eric Hovde: Inflation is crushing Wisconsin families. Blame federal spending, regulations.



Federal spending needs to be brought back to 2019 levels, and excessive deficit spending needs to be halted

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Editor’s Note: The Ideas Lab asked the Democrat and Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate to submit 1,000 word essays on how they would tackle inflation, the issue Wisconsinites surveyed as part of the Main Street Agenda project said is the most significant problem they face heading into the Nov. 5 election.

Inflation has crushed Wisconsin families, driving up prices and making it harder than ever to get by. To fix this problem, you have to elect folks who understand the root causes and how to address them in a lasting way.

Inflation is always a monetary event. It is caused by the excessive spending and printing of money. The definition of inflation is too much money chasing a fixed amount of goods and services. The spike in inflation was a result of the excessive spending by the federal government that began during the COVID-19 lockdowns. The government increased federal spending by 40% in 2020 as it was providing stimulus checks to individuals and businesses to keep the economy from collapsing. The contraction in economic activity that occurred by shutting down our economy was offset by the temporary spike in government spending and transfer payments. 

The problem of inflation began when the economy reopened at the end of 2020 and the Biden-Harris administration, which took over in January of 2021, continued to spend money at the same rate even though the economy was roaring back as businesses were reopening and employees were being rehired. Through a series of legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act, Biden, Harris, and Congress have added $4.1 trillion in federal spending on top of normal appropriations acts that were already causing deficit spending. They added more debt in the last 3.5 years than during our country’s first 230-year history. 

Tammy Baldwin: ‘Greedflation’ is driving prices higher. I wrote a bill to stop gouging.

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You heard from the candidates. We want to hear from you. Rate their inflation essays.

Due to this excessive spending, the Federal Reserve (the government’s bank) was required to absorb that spending by purchasing $5.7 Trillion in Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities through a process called Quantitative Easing. As a result, money supply increased significantly. The most important measurement of money supply is M2, which increased by over 39%. 

Because of this money printing, inflation was ignited, first in the price of assets (i.e. stocks, bonds, real estate), then to the price of goods, followed by the price of services. Inflation over the past three years increased by over 22%, and if we measured inflation like we did in the 1980’s prior to President Clinton’s changes in the measurement of CPI, inflation would have increased closer to 40%, almost equal to the increase in money supply. 

Impact of inflation on Wisconsin families has been horrible

The impact of inflation on Wisconsin families has been horrible. It has driven up the price of their groceries, gas and heating, housing, healthcare, and insurance. It has also caused real wages to actually decline over the last three years. We have rarely had American wages dip over a three year period. 

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Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Vice President Kamala Harris claim inflation is a result of corporate greed. However, if this were the case, why weren’t corporations being greedy for the 40 years prior? Further, why does inflation track with the federal increase in spending and money supply? Lastly, does Baldwin also claim that farmers were being greedy because they were passing on higher prices? Or small businesses that were passing on higher prices because their costs were rising? It is a silly argument and a deflection from their role in creating this horrible outcome for Wisconsin families. 

How do we tackle this problem? 

The Federal Reserve has already started that process by slowly contracting the money supply and increasing interest rates to slow the economy. However, because of our now $35 trillion in debt and the continued federal spending, exceeding 50% of the level prior to COVID, inflation will unfortunately resume unless difficult decisions are made immediately. 

The first thing that needs to happen is federal spending needs to be brought back to 2019 levels, and excessive deficit spending needs to be halted. To prevent an economic contraction as spending declines, pro-growth policies need to be implemented, like deregulation. President Reagan deregulated the economy in the 1980’s while he was addressing the inflation problem of the 1970’s, and this helped create the economic boom that followed. Unfortunately, the regulatory state has grown far more dramatically than it was even in 1980. Any business owner or farmer will tell you they are choking on excessive regulations. 

Further, mandates that the Biden administration has put on numerous industries need to be removed, such as on automakers for EV cars or energy companies with green energy initiatives that are not economically viable. All those mandates do is drive up the costs of cars and energy. What we need is to get the economy more in alignment, by reducing unnecessary costs of producing goods and services while creating strong economic growth to get wages increasing. This is what will improve financial outcomes for Wisconsinites.  

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Contrast my real world experience with that of career politician

I have spent my life in the real world and understand how our global and financialized economy works. I have a deep understanding of how the banking system, our capital markets, and the Federal Reserve function. Having spent my career building and turning around companies, primarily community banks, and having operated in multiple different industries, including my real estate development company in Madison, I have unique insights into all aspects of our economy. 

Unfortunately, today, we have career politicians like Baldwin who are making impactful decisions on our economy who simply do not understand how our economy functions, because they have never operated in it and have no experience. 

Disappearing farms: We feared for dad’s life after selling our cows. Finding hope while friends faced loss.

A primary reason I entered the race for the U.S. Senate is because I have watched these horrible economic policies being implemented that are hurting the middle- and working-class and having a devastating impact on the elderly that live on fixed incomes. We are also jeopardizing our children’s future by leaving them $35 trillion in debt, with another $1 trillion being added every 4.5 months. 

If we don’t address our debt and deficit spending, the U.S. economy will collapse into a debt crisis that is not too far off. Amongst all the problems our country is currently facing, it may be the biggest concern. It will require smart economic policy and cooperation by both parties to get this problem fixed! The people of Wisconsin should know I will do everything within my power to improve their wellbeing. 

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Eric Hovde is the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Wisconsin. He is the CEO of Hovde Properties, a Madison-based real estate development company.



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Wisconsin Weekend: Pride bar crawl, Father’s Day deals, and more

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Wisconsin Weekend: Pride bar crawl, Father’s Day deals, and more


MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee has no shortage of ways to celebrate this weekend, from a Pride bar crawl to Father’s Day deals around the city and Juneteenth celebrations.

Summerfest and Northcott Neighborhood House are hosting a Juneteenth celebration filled with music and culture at the Summerfest grounds.

Watch: Kidd O’Shea breaks down this weekend’s events:

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Wisconsin Weekend in a Minute: June 19-21

The event kicks off right after the traditional Juneteenth Day Festival wraps up.

Pride Bar Crawl

The 9th annual Pride Bar Crawl kicks off Saturday at 4 p.m. at Walker’s Pint.

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Tickets include drinks and access to exclusive specials at partner bars. Twenty percent of proceeds will benefit the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center.

The crawl wraps up with an after-party and drag show at La Cage Nightclub.

Father’s Day

On Sunday, The Motor Restaurant at the Harley-Davidson Museum is offering a free beer for dad when purchased with a meal, along with free admission to the museum. Reservations are highly encouraged.

Families can also take dad to the Milwaukee County Zoo, where all fathers receive free admission on Sunday.

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These Wisconsin swing voters say Trump’s war in Iran wasn’t worth it

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These Wisconsin swing voters say Trump’s war in Iran wasn’t worth it


Vessels are anchored along the Strait of Hormuz.

Amirhossein Khorgooei/ISNA/AFP via Getty Images


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Amirhossein Khorgooei/ISNA/AFP via Getty Images

The war in Iran was a costly blunder, according to swing voters in the battleground state of Wisconsin.

NPR observed two online focus groups on Tuesday featuring voters who supported Joe Biden in 2020 and then Donald Trump in 2024.

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President Trump had just announced a framework agreement to end the war, which he signed on Wednesday.

Yet among the focus groups’ 13 participants, no one said they thought the conflict with Iran was “worth it,” and nine said they felt that the U.S. is coming out of this conflict weaker than before.

Corey M., a 33-year-old independent voter, said he is concerned that the U.S. expended “so much financially and so much of our arsenal,” with little to show for it. (All participants agreed to be part of the focus groups on the condition that they be identified by their first name and last initial only.)

“We essentially got nothing out of it,” he said. “It’s hurt our economy and increased expenses for the everyday American, and it accomplished the square root of nothing.”

Focus groups are not scientifically significant like polling. But they provide insight into how Americans are thinking about what they see in the news.

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These focus groups — made up of 10 self-described independents, two Democrats and one Republican — were conducted by messaging and market research firms Engagious and Sago as part of the Swing Voter Project. NPR is a partner on the project.

Rich Thau, president of Engagious, moderated the focus groups. He has been asking voters in key states about this conflict since March. And he said voters have been consistent.

“They were never on board,” Thau said. “Not the beginning. Not in the middle. And as we just learned, not at the end either, judging from what we heard from Wisconsin swing voters.”

Sam M., a 30-year-old independent, said from what he read about the deal, it wasn’t leaving the U.S. in a better position than before the war. In fact, he said he thought the Iran nuclear deal brokered by the Obama administration — which Trump backed out of — was a better deal for the United States.



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President of Wisconsin’s largest mosque released from ICE custody

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President of Wisconsin’s largest mosque released from ICE custody


A federal judge has ordered the release of the president of Wisconsin’s largest mosque, after finding that immigration officials probably detained him in retaliation against his public advocacy for Palestinian rights, suppressing his first amendment rights in the process.

The US district judge James Patrick Hanlon’s order on Thursday marked a sharp rebuke against Trump officials, including the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who had tried to paint Salah Sarsour as a national security threat.

“Salah Sarsour, who has lived in this country for more than three decades and served as a core pillar in his community without any issues, should never have been detained in the first place,” his legal team wrote in a statement. “While we continue to fight these baseless claims in court, today is about celebrating a family being reunited. It is also a sober reminder that, if the government can target Mr Sarsour, everyone’s free speech rights are at risk.”

Sarsour describes himself as a stateless Palestinian, according to the order. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says that he is a Jordanian citizen. He has lived in the United States for more than three decades, becoming a legal permanent resident in 1998. Immigration officials approved Sarsour’s citizenship application decades ago, though he did not naturalize.

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Sarsour has garnered public attention as a champion for Palestinian rights, and serves as a board member of an advocacy group called American Muslims for Palestine.

But Rubio personally signed off on a memo to the DHS last year describing Sarsour as deportable despite his green card, because “his actions undermine US foreign policy to combat antisemitism around the world”. The memo, cited in Hanlon’s order, accuses Sarsour’s group of being “found to have been involved in activities providing funds to Hamas”.

A group of plainclothes ICE officers from at least 10 unmarked vehicles swarmed Sarsour on 30 March of this year, arresting him and putting him in deportation proceedings. ICE ultimately detained him in Clay county jail in Indiana.

Sarsour lost 30lb while detained, the order says. His lawyers told the court that he was “at constant risk of developing serious complications from diabetes given that the medical staff only checks his blood-sugar levels once a month”. Tightly controlling diabetes typically requires multiple glucose checks daily.

Hanlon’s order says that homeland security officials and Rubio probably trampled on Sarsour’s first amendment right to free speech and appeared to have arrested him in retaliation for his Palestinian rights advocacy.

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The order cited a New York Times story and the website for the Heritage Foundation, the conservative thinktank that dreamed up Project 2025,

The Heritage Foundation presented the White House with the idea to present prominent foreign-born Muslims and Palestinian rights leaders as terrorists in order to sue them, deport them or pressure employers to fire them, the order says, citing reporting from the Times and Heritage’s own website. Sarsour was probably among the targets of that campaign, the order says.

The federal government, through its lawyers, contended that Sarsour should be deported based on two convictions from more than three decades ago in Israel – one for throwing a molotov cocktail and the other for attempting to store weapons and ammunition.

Sarsour denies having committed those crimes.

But Hanlon viewed those crimes as a non-issue for justifying his incarceration, noting that the federal government knew about them since the 1990s and approved his legal permanent residency and his citizenship application anyway.

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Sarsour’s speech on Palestinian rights “is core political speech and squarely within the scope of the First Amendment”, the order says. “Mr Sarsour has submitted evidence allowing a reasonable inference that his protected speech was ‘at least a motivating factor’ in Respondents’ decision to detain him.”

A spokesperson for homeland security described Sarsour as a “terrorist”, citing the convictions from his youth in Israel.

Government lawyers had argued that Sarsour did not have the same first amendment rights as US citizens. If he were released, they said, he should have to pay a $25,000 bond, wear an ankle monitor, check in routinely with ICE and remain confined to his house.

Instead, Hanlon ordered his release on personal recognizance, meaning that Sarsour does not have to pay a cash bond to compel him to show up in court again. The order, however, requires him to remain in the state of Wisconsin.



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