Monday, June 29, 2015

Walker's WI fiscal mess on full, unpresidential view

[updated from 9:32 p.m. Monday] This blog reported Saturday that Wisconsin Governor and preposterous presidential hopeful Scott Walker weakly said "a framework' for a budget deal was just a few days away.

Not a deal. Some kind of framework. In other words, just words, while Walker headed off to campaign in Colorado and tout economic progress in Wisconsin that is a myth.

Talk about evading reality and responsibility while campaigning nationally day-after-day-after-day. Here's the sad state of affairs i- - the numbers do not lie - - n our state's sad economy under Walker's failed 'leadership':

The state's fiscal year ends tomorrow at midnight, Scott Walker's proposed 2015-'17 budget remains stalled in committee though both legislative houses are run by GOP majorities, and he's already skipped one debt payment as Wisconsin cash flow slowed after reckless, ideologically-motivated tax cuts.

Job growth has dragged for years, and a higher proportion of the state citizens have fallen out of the middle than in any other state.

That percentage is sure to rise if and when the legislature passes a budget that either ends the so-called prevailing wage level for workers on large road and other construction projects - - wages generally at the top of blue-collar pay scale - - or vastly reduces prevailing wage opportunities statewide.

How far Big Government Republicans will take the cut to prevailing wage - - full or partial repeal - - is one of the issues holding up the budget because Republicans cannot agree on how broadly the reduction should apply.

And this probable cut is on top of take home pay reductions for all public employees through Act 10 and the recently-approved 'right-to-work' law which Walker signed completing his pledged 'divide-and-conquer' after hinting he was not signing a 'right-to-work' law.

Walker is so extreme that he does not even believe in equal pay for women. Too divisive, he's said.

And remember - - all these cuts to union wages hurt organizing and generally reduce donations to Democratic or candidates less extreme than Walker and the Republicans running the legislature on his behalf.

Hardly an audition for the White House as the Chicago Tribune is highlighting, though it does sound like a Sam Brownback/ Kansas imitation.

4 comments:

Yvette9b said...

Is Wisconsin modeling Greece now, skipping debt payments and bad fiscal management to benefit the few?

my5cents said...

I just got this from the League of Conservation Voters:
In a last minute move, legislators recently snuck language into the budget to shutdown local communities' ability to protect their water. This attack on shoreland zoning would affect over 30 Wisconsin counties' ability to protect the lakes and rivers where you swim, fish, and boat.

This is totally unacceptable. The one great thing Wisconsin has always had going for it is pristine lakes and rivers for fishing and recreation. Shame on whoever is trying to do this. If they do not love this state, then they should leave.

Anonymous said...

I cannot stand another day of hearing Walker's spokesperson use "big, bold reforms". Walker has been a big,bold failure and created a big, bold divide amongst citizens and led a big, bold economic decline due to his big, bold inept economic policy. Maybe Walker should do something really big and bold and get off taxpayer paid payroll because he isn't working!

MadCityVoter said...

Anon 1:27p, I find that adding a third word to the sequence does wonders for that deceitful slogan and my sanity: big, bold, bad. Try mentally inserting it the next time you are exposed to Walkerganda. Like magic, lies become truth and dissonance becomes clarity :-)