Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012
Scott Walker v. Reality
Governor's 'State of the State' speech fails the truth test
Gov. Scott Walker gave his “State of the State” speech in front of a full crowd in the state Assembly chambers last Wednesday. But Walker's speech was so disconnected from reality that he could have been phoning it in from Mars. Just days after a million signatures were filed with the hopes of ousting him from office, Walker asserted that the state was headed in the right direction with thousands of new jobs, a fully funded public education system and absolutely no political division. That doesn't seem to mesh with what's actually happening in the state. Here are some of Walker's biggest whoppers:
Walker: “During the past year, we added thousands of new jobs.”
Reality: Wisconsin added jobs in the first half of 2011. Then, when Walker's budget went into effect on July 1, 2011, we lost 35,600 jobs over the next six months. Jobs have been lost in each month since Walker's budget has been in effect. Essentially, the job gains in the first half of 2011 have been wiped out by the loss of jobs during the time of Walker's budget.
Even worse, Walker's Wisconsin is moving in the opposite direction as the rest of the country. While the United States as a whole has been adding jobs for 22 months as part of the broader national recovery, Wisconsin is the only state to have shed jobs in each of the past six months.
If Walker's Wisconsin had kept pace with the rest of the nation, we'd have added an additional 53,700 jobs by the end of 2011, according to an analysis by the Institute for Wisconsin's Future.
Walker: “Our unemployment rate is not only lower than the national average, but much better than our neighbors to the south in Illinois.”
Reality: Wisconsin's unemployment rate was consistently lower than the national average—and Illinois' unemployment rate—throughout the entire recent recession. Walker is trying to take credit for Wisconsin's comparatively lower unemployment rate during the Doyle administration.
Walker: “We balanced the state budget.”
Reality: First of all, the state constitution requires a balanced budget, so every governor's budget in Wisconsin has been balanced. As always, however, the devil is in the details. Walker's “balanced” budget depends on which accounting process is used. When cash accounting is used, the state's budget is balanced. But when Generally Accepted Accounting Principles' (GAAP) accrual accounting is used (as it is for publicly traded and privately held companies), Walker's 2011-2013 budget ends with a $3 billion deficit (worse than Doyle's last budget deficit, by the way).
Walker likes to highlight his so-called balanced budget when pitching his skills to the media and the deep-pocketed donors who are underwriting his recall defense, yet at other times he claims the opposite. In a letter to the federal government, the Walker administration claimed that the state would have a budget deficit through 2013, the end of his current biennial budget. If the Obama administration buys Walker's claim, Walker could then kick tens of thousands of people off of BadgerCare.
Walker is trying to have it both ways to suit his political needs: bragging about balancing the budget to appear fiscally responsible, but saying the budget is not balanced so that he can destroy Wisconsin's safety net.
Walker: “We balanced [the budget] without raising taxes, without massive layoffs, and without budget tricks, all of which allowed us to put more than $1.2 billion of new state money into Medicaid programs like BadgerCare and Family Care.”
Reality: In reality, at the same time Walker has cut $140 million in taxes for corporations, he has raised taxes on low-income families who use the Earned Income Tax Credit ($28 million per year) and the Homestead Tax Credit ($7 million annually). In addition, Walker has cut public employees' pay by an average of $3,000 annually, and will make newly jobless people wait an extra week before receiving unemployment benefits to save an additional $48 million.
And that $1.2 billion of additional Medicaid money? The reality is that the state's Medicaid programs needed an additional $1.8 billion at the time to be fully funded. But Walker and Republican legislators deliberately underfunded the program so that they could ask the federal government for permission to kick people off of BadgerCare.
Walker's support for Family Care is paper-thin. He capped the program's enrollment, did an about-face and lifted the cap, and then took credit for lifting the cap. What the governor didn't tell the public is that the federal government ordered him to lift the cap so that disabled Wisconsinites wouldn't be shut out of this essential program.
Walker: “Today, 94% of our job creators believe Wisconsin is headed in the right direction.”
Reality: Walker is citing a recent survey conducted by the conservative Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC), the anti-government, big-business lobby that consistently props up Republican politicians—not exactly an objective measure. There are many small-business owners who disagree.
Walker: “We heard many business owners say that they have jobs but that they cannot find enough skilled workers to fill them. This is a problem that must be solved.”
Reality: Virtually everyone agrees that it must be solved, but Walker's budget went in the opposite direction. Walker cut funding for the Wisconsin Technical College System (WCTS) by $72 million over the next two years.
Walker: “Employers also told us that they need a 21st-century infrastructure system to drive economic development … We know that a strong transportation system helps manufacturers and farmers get product to and from market and it keeps good people on the job building that infrastructure.”
Reality: Walker might say he cares about a modern transportation system for moving products, but he certainly doesn't care about getting people from Point A to Point B. He rejected $810 million in federal funds for high-speed rail, which would have connected Wisconsin with the rest of the Midwest—and created jobs. Now officials are considering having the high-speed rail go through Iowa to Minneapolis, rather than through Wisconsin. The rejection of funds also jeopardized federal money for upgrading the Amtrak line between Milwaukee and Chicago, so now Wisconsinites will have to foot that bill. Walker and his Republican allies killed off the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee (KRM) commuter rail line and regional transit authorities (RTAs) throughout the state. His budget also slashed public transit by 10%, and he has done nothing to help local bus systems create dedicated funding sources.
Walker: “Many of us believe that the $3 billion tax increase imposed a few years ago actually led to the massive job losses through 2010.”
Reality: Walker can believe whatever he wants, but virtually all unbiased economists believe the fact is that Wisconsin lost jobs as part of a global economic downturn created by irresponsible Wall Street firms. Taxes were not the issue.
Walker: “Last year, I appointed the bipartisan Commission on Waste, Fraud and Abuse. The members turned in their final report earlier this month. In it, they identified over $400 million in savings for the taxpayers.”
Reality: The report was never voted on by the members of the committee and can't be taken seriously. According to the Democratic committee members—state Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) and state Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Madison)—the report includes savings found in federal programs rather than state programs. They also said the commission recommended that the state Department of Revenue go after tax cheats, but Walker cut $2 million from the state's tax collection efforts.
Walker: “I want to improve our schools and ensure that every kid—no matter what ZIP code they live in—has access to a great education.”
Reality: Walker has cut an unprecedented $800 million from K-12 education while limiting the amount of levy a school district can raise. Taken together, that's a $1.7 billion hit over the next two years.
As a result of public schools' tight budgets, an estimated 3,400 educators—about half of them teachers—lost their jobs across the state. Class sizes are increasing and specialty courses—especially classes that teach technical skills—are being dropped.
The cuts will get worse in the coming years, since school districts have used one-time federal stimulus funds to patch holes in their budgets.
And despite Walker's feel-good rhetoric, his cuts have hit the poorest kids the hardest.
“Districts with more than 60% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch had their general aid from the state reduced by $558 per student, while those with the most well-off families had state aid cut by only $294 per student,” concluded the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families' Wisconsin Budget Project.
Walker: “During the past year, we added thousands of new jobs.”
Reality: Wisconsin added jobs in the first half of 2011. Then, when Walker's budget went into effect on July 1, 2011, we lost 35,600 jobs over the next six months. Jobs have been lost in each month since Walker's budget has been in effect. Essentially, the job gains in the first half of 2011 have been wiped out by the loss of jobs during the time of Walker's budget.
Even worse, Walker's Wisconsin is moving in the opposite direction as the rest of the country. While the United States as a whole has been adding jobs for 22 months as part of the broader national recovery, Wisconsin is the only state to have shed jobs in each of the past six months.
If Walker's Wisconsin had kept pace with the rest of the nation, we'd have added an additional 53,700 jobs by the end of 2011, according to an analysis by the Institute for Wisconsin's Future.
Walker: “Our unemployment rate is not only lower than the national average, but much better than our neighbors to the south in Illinois.”
Reality: Wisconsin's unemployment rate was consistently lower than the national average—and Illinois' unemployment rate—throughout the entire recent recession. Walker is trying to take credit for Wisconsin's comparatively lower unemployment rate during the Doyle administration.
Walker: “We balanced the state budget.”
Reality: First of all, the state constitution requires a balanced budget, so every governor's budget in Wisconsin has been balanced. As always, however, the devil is in the details. Walker's “balanced” budget depends on which accounting process is used. When cash accounting is used, the state's budget is balanced. But when Generally Accepted Accounting Principles' (GAAP) accrual accounting is used (as it is for publicly traded and privately held companies), Walker's 2011-2013 budget ends with a $3 billion deficit (worse than Doyle's last budget deficit, by the way).
Walker likes to highlight his so-called balanced budget when pitching his skills to the media and the deep-pocketed donors who are underwriting his recall defense, yet at other times he claims the opposite. In a letter to the federal government, the Walker administration claimed that the state would have a budget deficit through 2013, the end of his current biennial budget. If the Obama administration buys Walker's claim, Walker could then kick tens of thousands of people off of BadgerCare.
Walker is trying to have it both ways to suit his political needs: bragging about balancing the budget to appear fiscally responsible, but saying the budget is not balanced so that he can destroy Wisconsin's safety net.
Walker: “We balanced [the budget] without raising taxes, without massive layoffs, and without budget tricks, all of which allowed us to put more than $1.2 billion of new state money into Medicaid programs like BadgerCare and Family Care.”
Reality: In reality, at the same time Walker has cut $140 million in taxes for corporations, he has raised taxes on low-income families who use the Earned Income Tax Credit ($28 million per year) and the Homestead Tax Credit ($7 million annually). In addition, Walker has cut public employees' pay by an average of $3,000 annually, and will make newly jobless people wait an extra week before receiving unemployment benefits to save an additional $48 million.
And that $1.2 billion of additional Medicaid money? The reality is that the state's Medicaid programs needed an additional $1.8 billion at the time to be fully funded. But Walker and Republican legislators deliberately underfunded the program so that they could ask the federal government for permission to kick people off of BadgerCare.
Walker's support for Family Care is paper-thin. He capped the program's enrollment, did an about-face and lifted the cap, and then took credit for lifting the cap. What the governor didn't tell the public is that the federal government ordered him to lift the cap so that disabled Wisconsinites wouldn't be shut out of this essential program.
Walker: “Today, 94% of our job creators believe Wisconsin is headed in the right direction.”
Reality: Walker is citing a recent survey conducted by the conservative Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC), the anti-government, big-business lobby that consistently props up Republican politicians—not exactly an objective measure. There are many small-business owners who disagree.
Walker: “We heard many business owners say that they have jobs but that they cannot find enough skilled workers to fill them. This is a problem that must be solved.”
Reality: Virtually everyone agrees that it must be solved, but Walker's budget went in the opposite direction. Walker cut funding for the Wisconsin Technical College System (WCTS) by $72 million over the next two years.
Walker: “Employers also told us that they need a 21st-century infrastructure system to drive economic development … We know that a strong transportation system helps manufacturers and farmers get product to and from market and it keeps good people on the job building that infrastructure.”
Reality: Walker might say he cares about a modern transportation system for moving products, but he certainly doesn't care about getting people from Point A to Point B. He rejected $810 million in federal funds for high-speed rail, which would have connected Wisconsin with the rest of the Midwest—and created jobs. Now officials are considering having the high-speed rail go through Iowa to Minneapolis, rather than through Wisconsin. The rejection of funds also jeopardized federal money for upgrading the Amtrak line between Milwaukee and Chicago, so now Wisconsinites will have to foot that bill. Walker and his Republican allies killed off the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee (KRM) commuter rail line and regional transit authorities (RTAs) throughout the state. His budget also slashed public transit by 10%, and he has done nothing to help local bus systems create dedicated funding sources.
Walker: “Many of us believe that the $3 billion tax increase imposed a few years ago actually led to the massive job losses through 2010.”
Reality: Walker can believe whatever he wants, but virtually all unbiased economists believe the fact is that Wisconsin lost jobs as part of a global economic downturn created by irresponsible Wall Street firms. Taxes were not the issue.
Walker: “Last year, I appointed the bipartisan Commission on Waste, Fraud and Abuse. The members turned in their final report earlier this month. In it, they identified over $400 million in savings for the taxpayers.”
Reality: The report was never voted on by the members of the committee and can't be taken seriously. According to the Democratic committee members—state Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) and state Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Madison)—the report includes savings found in federal programs rather than state programs. They also said the commission recommended that the state Department of Revenue go after tax cheats, but Walker cut $2 million from the state's tax collection efforts.
Walker: “I want to improve our schools and ensure that every kid—no matter what ZIP code they live in—has access to a great education.”
Reality: Walker has cut an unprecedented $800 million from K-12 education while limiting the amount of levy a school district can raise. Taken together, that's a $1.7 billion hit over the next two years.
As a result of public schools' tight budgets, an estimated 3,400 educators—about half of them teachers—lost their jobs across the state. Class sizes are increasing and specialty courses—especially classes that teach technical skills—are being dropped.
The cuts will get worse in the coming years, since school districts have used one-time federal stimulus funds to patch holes in their budgets.
And despite Walker's feel-good rhetoric, his cuts have hit the poorest kids the hardest.
“Districts with more than 60% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch had their general aid from the state reduced by $558 per student, while those with the most well-off families had state aid cut by only $294 per student,” concluded the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families' Wisconsin Budget Project.
A job loss is a job loss no matter how it happens. The govener promised more jobs and has not kept his part of the bargan so far. Most jobs he has created are short term jobs that in 5 years will not be here.
Who's fault is it that wisconsin lost jobs?
Yours
and mine
Welcome to democracy buddy, its a tough one but we ALL have to take credit for this..thatys the magic of a free voting system! But dont worry...when the wall st cronies and their lobbyists finish dismantling our democratic system, you can live in your dirt hut worry free!
anonymous your an idiot! Don't call me buddy because I'm not. How did Democracy do this? Should we go Communism, dictatorship? I'm sure your next comment will be "thats what Walker is".
Your as bad as the person who wrote this article. 1st you say that what democracy is and it's yours and my fault. Then you say it's wall street cronies and lobbyists. Which is it moron?
The parts you are talking about are actually from 2 different time periods. The job losses right away are referring to walkers budget and beyond. The job losses much later in the article are referring to ones that happened in 2007-8 when the economy was crashing. That is why taxes were not the issue. Also, as the article points out, Walker's budget creates a larger deficit then Doyle's did. You seem very angry, but I hope you look at the information in front of you and change your mind.
SE You said... "The job losses much later in the article are referring to ones that happened in 2007-8 when the economy was crashing." and "That is why taxes were not the issue."
While Scott Walker was talking about 2010 job losses not 07-08' like you misspoke of. Walker qoute “Many of us believe that the $3 billion tax increase imposed a few years ago actually led to the massive job losses through 2010.”
SE you said... " The job losses right away are referring to walkers budget and beyond." You can believe what you want but if you think because a bill ruled effective in June of 2011( 7 months ago) is the reason for job losses IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR you have alot to learn.
SE you said... " I hope you look at the information in front of you and change your mind." Hope you do the same.
You sound young with alot to learn SE, good luck in life.
@anonoymous
How do you make a dirt hut? I mean, I've heard of mud huts and the use of adobe bricks but dirt without a binding agent, well, is just dirt. They have them in Minecraft but that's a video game. So by proxy, will I be living in a video game after the lobbyists are done?
What more should anyone expect, without a teleprompter Walker has no idea what to say, Scott is incapable of making any smart or rational statements without first contacting his billion Yamaka wearing friends the KOCH BROTHERS!
Anonymous you are most definitely brainwashed by that moron Scott's idiotic lies and schemes, why don't you get in that box car and take Scott with you! Republicans are brainless, guess it says something about UUUUUUU!
Nice responses, Koch brothers and Republican idiots. Do you guys have anything constructive to say or do you just foam at the mouth?
This article is hardly news worhty. Is this what they teach in Journalism these days, cut and paste tidbits and call it news? Try not to be so bias next time and maybe find out why Walker made the cuts you speak of. Without an answer from the "otherside" is hardly objective.
Lisa, what would you expect Milwaukee Express to do to your salary and benefits if they were in the red like Wisconsin?
"I have no clue where the Shepherd comes up with all the negative stuff."
The same place they found all the dumb pictures of Walker with his mouth open probably.
Hey buddy, post your name and address!!!
So....people choose to be poor??Really Where's your reality....
"people choose to be poor"
"Hand-outs to losers"
Holy. Shit. Do you even pay attention to the things you say?
"round up flunkies and boxcar them somewhere else" OK Hitler.
Just for one moment, try to take your mind back to younger days, when you werent so bitter, prejudiced, morally bankrupt. When your mind was more open to people's freedoms and wellbeing. I know this may be tough for you since, in order to justify your hostile and jaded attitude towards your brother Man, you MUST believe the things Walker and his puppet masters tell you out the sides of their mouths, but really, there are many many facets to these problems, and sticking to one sides rhetoric isnt going to help you any more. How long has it been since you really LEARNED anything?
I think it's important for you to realize that life doesn't take place in a vacuum, there are many other factors as to why people are poor. Many people work very hard, and with multiple jobs, just to make ends meet, and are still considered poor. Next, the US government was going to fund that Amtrak line as part of the high speed rail plan, but walker denied the funds. So you have no one to blame but walker for that one. To your next point, education is something that needs funding, and people who need help paying for education tend to just get loans or small grants that aren't paying the whole bill. I'm still paying my student loans, and I grew up in a poor family. Of course without this help, I might have had to stay poor, but with it I am able to move up and make more money, that is the point of education. It's an investment in our future, and one that usually has a good payout, I now pay higher taxes and make more money. But i find it important to point out, that without these safety nets that you claim are only for losers, i would have never been able to move on in my life and move up in society. These safety nets are there for a reason, to be able to get out of bad situations that arise
How is anything in education a waste? Sorry, ma'am or sir, but not everyone had enough money to go to a private school where there were many opportunities to experience the arts, sport teams, and other after school activities. Some of us didn't have parents who could pay massive amounts of money for such luxuries such as safe places for their children to go.
I would rather have smaller class sizes as well as a wider view for children to experience. I would rather have enough teachers for chldren so the children don't get 'lost' in the class. If someone does not have an adequate educational start in life, then the rest of their life will be a harder hill to walk up.
Poverty isn't a choice. Poverty is the result of the classist system, the corporate system, that we all support and live through. It is not a choice to stay in poverty when you don't have that education to climb your way out.
Don't speak of something that you know nothing of, ma'am or sir.
And a very special thanks to Mr. Walker, who supports the money but not the people.
People choose to be poor when they walk around with their pants down to the knees have have their teeth capped Jack-O-Lanturn style. Whe kids skip school to smoke drugs, they are choosing to be poor. The US government blackmailed Walker saying if he didn't build a boogdoggle to Madison they would not fund the popular Chicago-Milwaukee line
Many dollars in education is a waste. Schools could be run as a for profit business. When I was in Texas our school has oil wells on the property and we made money. I was in another country and local schools ran their own lottery. Another school had their cafeteria do catering. Schools need to think of ways to make money not spend money.
And look where that got them. What is the rank of texas in education? 49th? There may be reasons for that, like not being able to focus on education. Like i said, its an investment, so you dont directly profit, but you will profit in the future.
Sorry SE going to have to disagree a bit here... though I don't quite like the concept of oil rigs in a school. Texas is a vast state with many different school systems. When I moved from there to Wisconsin's suposedly superiour school system. I ended up being greatly dissapointed in how backwards it was. Some of the schools down in Texas are great.... others, unfortunately the majority, not so much.
To the "person" who obviously trolls and spews nothing but prejudicial FAUX NEWS rhetoric, I defy you to go over each and every case of people on assistance and tell me they ALL wear their pants below their rear ends and cap their teeth. These statement show that you do NO independent thinking, but just swallow the gross generalizations that people in power want you to swallow. You are no sheep because they have eyes that see in front of them. You, sir or madam, are a blind, deaf and dumb person.
"Hay one thinking Wisconsin is moving forward is in fairy tail land."
AMEN!!!!!!!!!
Wait, what???????????????
Good for choy Chad.