David Cay Johnston has given us another great book full of fascinating accounts of how corporations profit not by delivering a better product or being a more efficient producer but by gaming the system. This is not a pretty picture.

Once upon a time, a new Republican governor arrived in Madison, Wisconsin. The state was in debt, and their cash on hand was poor. The answer? For Robert La Follette in 1900, it was simple: raise taxes.

Fast forward about 100 years, and you get a very different answer from a very different Republican governor.

La Follette’s policies solved the budget crisis of his day and vastly improved the state and the lives of its citizen. But I’m not going to hold my breath waiting for Walker to learn that lesson and follow his example.