...at least they should...
h/t to Lou Kaye at Rock Netroots via LeftyBlogs, Wisconsin
Go figure... The Republican Governor of Wisconsin is lying through his teeth when he says that he inherited a state in crisis. The truth is... it had a surplus!!
In its Jan. 31 memo to legislators on the condition of the state’s budget, the Fiscal Bureau determined that the state will end the year with a balance of $121.4 million.
To the extent that there is an imbalance -- Walker claims there is a $137 million deficit -- it is not because of a drop in revenues or increases in the cost of state employee contracts, benefits or pensions. It is because Walker and his allies pushed through $140 million in new spending for special-interest groups in January. If the Legislature were simply to rescind Walker’s new spending schemes -- or delay their implementation until they are offset by fresh revenues -- the “crisis” would not exist.
The Fiscal Bureau memo -- which readers can access HERE (pdf) makes it clear that Walker did not inherit a budget
that required a repair bill. Source: Capital Times
Of course this shouldn't surprise anyone in the least considering Walker has a long history of distorting the truth. For instance, Walker claims that as Milwaukee County Executive he “introduced eight consecutive budgets without an increase to the property tax levy from the previous year.”
Walker’s proposed budgets from 2003 to 2010 raised property taxes about 17%, while he’s increased spending 35%, more than Gov. Jim Doyle did during the same period. What’s more, fees on licenses, permits, fines and forfeitures have increased a whopping 129% during Walker’s tenure. -- Source
James Rowen at The Political Environment points out that:
Scott Walker is apparently one of those Wisconsinites who has an intense dislike for the City of Madison.
Unfortunately, he's in a position to do something with partisan, punitive outlook. (snip)
I'll paraphrase the bulk of the article for you here... Killing high speed rail hurt Madison THE MOST. Gutting the state employees union hurts Madison THE MOST. Taking the University of Wisconsin Madison out of the UW system will hurt Madison THE MOST.
He concludes:
(snip) That puts the operation of the campus into the hands of Walker's partisan and private-sector backers - - and what a meddling opportunity that is to turn admissions, teaching, curriculum, research and other activities to the corporate and political Right.
And use the newly-reconfigured UW-Walker to water down the city's liberal identity and Democratic base.
EVERYTHING that Scott Walker has done, is doing, and plans to do as Governor of Wisconsin is partisan political bullshit designed to decimate the Democratic Party in Wisconsin.