In an article posted earlier today, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel showed its leftist bias by criticizing Republican Gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany for having no income tax liability for several years while running his small business, Wilderness Cruises, in northern Wisconsin.
Much to the Journal Sentinel’s apparent surprise, Americans are not forced to pay taxes unless they turn a profit running their business. What this so- called analysis shows is that Tiffany, like millions of Wisconsinites before him, has experienced the ordinary struggles of being a small-business owner who has fought to make payroll and keep the doors open while providing a wanted service to his customers.
In contrast, and this was NOT included in the Journal Sentinel’s punch thrown at Tiffany, his Democratic opponent, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, has never held a private-sector job or run a private business. Ever. Crowley has worked as a paid activist and a legislative staffer, and he was elected to both the State Assembly and the Milwaukee County Executive. It is noteworthy, and should have been a part of an honest assessment of each candidate’s work history, that all of Crowley’s jobs were funded by taxpayers or nonprofit grants.
If Crowley had some experience running a private business, any experience running a business, maybe Crowley’s track record of hiring problematic government workers wouldn’t be so bad. Those controversies have been covered here and here.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story zeroed in on U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany’s past tax records while he and his wife operated Wilderness Cruises in Wisconsin’s Northwoods. The piece contrasts his campaign’s emphasis on business experience with periods in which he paid no personal state income taxes—chiefly 2006 through 2010—implying that modest success or temporary losses somehow disqualify him.
Starting and running any small business is challenging; starting a seasonal tourism business is extremely challenging. Sorry, Journal Sentinel, Tiffany’s small business experience is a badge of honor, not a scandal.
Also missing from the Journal Sentinel story on Tiffany’s tax liability is the tax liability of another candidate on the Gubernatorial ticket, Democrat Lt. Gov. candidate Sarah Godlewski. Godlewski, running with Crowley, paid no state income tax in 2017 and 2018. As millionaire investors, Godlewski and her husband reduced their tax bill to zero through write-offs and other strategies.
Yet this angle was missing from the story and thus the double standard: Tiffany’s Northwoods business history is cast as questionable, while Godlewski’s zero-tax years and Crowley’s exclusively public-sector résumé draw little equivalent outrage from the same outlet. Wisconsin voters will choose between Tiffany and the Crowley-Godlewski ticket on Nov. 3.
