Tuesday, August 4, 2015

About Walker's personal finances: yipes!

Update: Walker's financial statements show him with kids' college debt in six figures, plus a usurious, 27.4% credit card interest rate - - and while that's all interesting I'm also intrigued that he reported a book advance of only $45,000 - - while Marco Rubio's was $800,000.

And Rubio's deal appears to have more solid royalties; did he have a more intimidating agent that Walker?

In April, it was reported that Walker had a negative net worth of -$72,500.

No wonder Walker once waxed enviously about making some real money in the private sector.

Anytime...

Update: No reported gifts, reimbursements and travel expenses for himself and/or family?

All that campaign related-travel and lodging, say, to Israel recently, and across the US...to phase Koch soirees, for example, or to see Sheldon Adelson in Vegas, and nothing to report. Really?


11 comments:

Anonymous said...

No one should be surprised that Walker appears to seriously mismanage his finances. Our college-flunky koch bro gov also thinks that kohls make money on volume sales when it sells $1 shirts, each and every one of them at a loss!

This guy is a fool, but he is dangerous because there is nothing the koch's would love more than to have an idiot in the White House that will sign their bills into law while generally being a fool that provides a distraction for the media circus.

Anonymous said...

Nothing to report on travel expenses because WISCONSIN TAXPAYERS picked up the tab!

Anonymous said...

Excellent point. Why wasn't the travel reported? Oh, wait, much was at taxpayer expense.

Anonymous said...

Duh. That's because he GIVES IT ALL AWAY. Along with state-owned assets. To campaign contributors.

It all goes into the collection plate, as it passes up one pew and down the other. Just like any church where congregants don't look too close at the books, or at The Book, a pastor's personal finances can be destitute or worse . . . while the Church is awash with cash for any and all kinds of purposes, personal or professional.

That way, His Hands look clean, and no one sees His Works.

He probly learned it at 11yo at Dad's church in Iowa. While caucusing with the Lord.

http://www.examiner.com/article/joel-osteen-s-church-theft-opens-can-of-worms-jaws-drop-as-folks-do-the-math
"Joel Osteen recently reported the theft of $600,000 from the safe in his church, but the theft wasn’t the only information of interest revealed. After finding out that this large chunk of money was from just one weekend of Osteen’s collected church donations, jaws dropped around the nation. . . . ."

Threadbare pastor's son, ordinary guy, man of the people. What better way to reap votes of the rich than by appealing to the brainstem that rationalizing inequity as the one guy who's not about the money?

Sue said...

Oddly enough, the fact that he's not been finding ways to enrich himself through his political career is comforting to me. There is something that he won't do, apparently.
At least two of his associates of course are in prison now because they did find ways to help themselves to things that they had no business taking, and in one of the cases Governor Walker was the one who handed over the keys to the candy store.
He won't do it himself. I will give him that.

Unknown said...

27% interest? Why such a high rate?

Anonymous said...

"did he have a more intimidating agent that Walker?" - The released JohnDoe emails show Walker is a micromanager. An overly hands on guy. Wouldn't be surprised if he negotiated that crappy deal himself.

Sue said...

Dunstan, if your debt-to-credit ratio is out of whack you can't get a good rate, and/or your card company can jack up the rate anytime it wants.
What's surprising is that the card was issued just last year. Why does someone his age need a new credit card? Unless he's a card-hopper, and people do that to get lower interest rates, not higher ones. My guess is that college is killing them. My own financial situation took a hit when my kid went to college, and I'm still working two jobs to get back to normal.
That much money in debt for the parents' portion of college costs isn't surprising. He's got two kids and that 'expected parental contribution' amount that FAFSA tosses out at you every year is a heart-stopper. But it tells me he didn't have anything saved for the kids' college and is having to finance the whole thing or a huge part of it, just like a lot of parents. Might explain why he's aiming his misguided wrath at the UW system.

Anonymous said...

It helps others with large debts to identify with him. Also it fits his religious belief that god will provide. He seems to run the state the same way. He borrows without hesitation and then skips a few payments leading to a poorer credit rating for the state.

kjbe said...

Sue, don't you think he could have refinanced his home and told his kids to chip in for the tuition and expenses? Also, as a lifelong state employee, he's piss pour on the deferred compensation. A poor money manager all around.

Sue said...

mrs. e, I'm not necessarily defending him. When I was doing FAFSAs, the expected parental contribution was in addition to what my kid was expected to come up with. So my guess is his kids are carrying loans too. I'm just trying to figure this out.
You assume he would have been approved for a refi; maybe that's not possible if he's spread so thin that he has a negative net worth. If he just last year agreed to a 27% credit card, he might be getting denied more reasonable credit and he might be at some breaking point. That would surprise me though, and why in my first post I was willing to give him props on the possibility at least that he's not using his position to enrich himself.