Legislature asked to bail out Walker's underfunding of the vets

Budget hearings at the Wisconsin Joint Finance Committee continue tomorrow, and one of the items that'll come up is the Veterans Trust Fund. As the Legislative Fiscal Bureau's paper on the Vets Trust Fund and the Veteran Mortgage Loan Repayment Fund explains

The veterans trust fund (VTF) is a segregated fund for the support of programs benefiting Wisconsin veterans and their families, and for promoting interests of veterans. The fund receives revenues from various sources, including repayments of loans made under the personal loan program, federal grants, and receipts from sales at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum. In 2013-14, the VTF had total revenues of $4.0 million (excluding a $5.3 million transfer from the general fund) and total expenditures of $11.9 million.

The veterans mortgage loan repayment fund (VMLRF) is a segregated fund for the administrative expenses related to the veterans primary mortgage loan program and the home improvement loan program and for debt service payments on bonds issued for making loans under those programs. Revenues are derived from loan repayments. In 2013-14, the VMLRF had total revenues of $24.7 million and total expenditures of $29.7 million.

And those financial statements illustrate the problem- these programs are spending more money than they're taking in, so they need to get another source for those additional funds. Combined with other related programs that involve the Veterans Trust Fund, and the LFB says the state has to come up with $8 million in 2015-16 and $13.5 million in 2016-17 to keep these programs going.

So what was Governor Walker's solution in the state budget? LET THE LEGISLATURE FIGURE IT OUT. Here are a couple of the moves they could make to save some Veterans Fund money.

13. The veterans tuition reimbursement program provides grants to qualifying veterans whose education expenses are not covered under federal education programs or the state's University of Wisconsin and Wisconsin Technical College tuition remission programs for veterans. Expenditures under the program have declined significantly in recent years, likely as a result of more veterans receiving assistance through the federal Post-9/11 G.I. Bill. In 2011-12, the total amount expended for the tuition reimbursement program was $992,000, but that had declined to $468,100 in 2013-14, and spending is on pace to be less than $400,000 in 2014-15. Given this decline, the Committee may want to adjust the appropriation to more accurately reflect anticipated spending. Base funding for the program is $1,403,100. The bill would reduce funding by $750,000 in 2015-16, providing $653,100 in that year, but would retain base funding in 2016-17. Based on expenditure trends, an appropriation of $500,000 would likely provide sufficient funding to meet anticipated demand under the program. This adjustment would be an appropriation decrease of $153,100 SEG in 2015-16 and $903,100 SEG in 2016-17, relative to the bill [Alternative B1a].

14. The assistance to needy veterans program provides subsistence aid and assistance with the purchase of dentures, hearing aids, and eye glasses for eligible veterans and their families who have income below 180% of the federal poverty level. The program would be funded at the base level of $970,000 annually under the bill, but expenditures for grants under the program have averaged just $420,000 over the past three years. An annual reduction to this appropriation of $470,000 would provide $500,000 annually, which would likely provide sufficient budget authority to make grants during the 2015-17 biennium [Alternative B1b]. If insufficient funds are provided in this appropriation, the Department is authorized to make a request to the Committee for supplemental funding under a 14-day passive review process.

While this sounds bad on the surface ("You cut these programs for vets????"), it does seem that this is an appropriate place for savings, since the funds are unlikely to be spent anyway. That still leaves another $19.5 million that has to be filled in.

Among the options include using excess funds from the three State Veterans Homes to fill the hole (instead of adding services and/or staff at the homes, which sure was necessary 3 years ago when the vets' home at King was massively understaffed with elderly vets being forced to put up with a scandalously bad situation. You can see why Walker didn't want to put that into the budget and bring that mess back into the public's consciousness. Nor did he want to use General Fund money for the $21.5 million to make the Vets Trust Fund whole, because this budget is so tight it doesn't have the wiggle room. So instead, Scotty just laid the Vets Trust Fund and related information at the feet of the Legislature, and took off to galavant around the country bragging about all the "tough decisions" he's made here in Wisconsin.

So let's see what the Legislature does, and what types of transfers and tricks they have to pull to solve this underfunding of Vets' Fund issues that Scott Walker has allowed to go on for 5 years. And I bet no one else in the "legitimate" media will even mention it, which is just what warmongering Scotty wants.

Fitzwalkerstan tanks - in jobs as well as polls

In addition to the tanking approval ratings of our Governor and his policies, there was another bit of news that added to Scott Walker's dubious standing today. The March 2015 Wisconsin jobs report came out from the Department of Workforce Development, and the numbers were miserable.

Change in Wisconsin jobs
March 2015, all jobs -4,300
March 2015, private sector jobs -5,000

February 2015 revision, all jobs -1,900
February 2015 revision, private sector jobs -1,800

Total change in all jobs vs. last report -6,200
Total change in private sector jobs vs last report -6,800

Yes, the U.S. had a slowdown in job growth in March, with "only" 126,000 jobs added, but they sure didn't lose them like we did here in Fitzwalkerstan. So as a result, the Walker jobs gap is growing again, now back up past 81,000 private sector jobs, and 72,600 overall.





The DWD's (and too much of the state media's) propaganda about the state's unemployment rate being lowered to 4.6% isn't really a good sign, either. It reflects 8,300 people leaving the Wisconsin work force in March (on a seasonally-adjusted basis), and even that survey shows employment dropping by 3,200 jobs last month. The figures look even worse when you look West across the St. Croix, and you see this.

Minnesota employers added 7,800 jobs in March, a second straight month of strong growth thanks to big gains in education and health care.

The state added 49,400 jobs over the past 12 months, a growth rate of 1.9 percent, which is well below the national growth rate of 2.3 percent, according to figures released Thursday by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

But the state has added 18,300 jobs since the start of February, the labor force is growing as more workers who had been on the sidelines decided to look for a job and the unemployment rate held steady at 3.7 percent, compared to a U.S. rate of 5.5 percent.

Hmm, and those guys in Minnesota are using their surplus to add funding to early childhood education and related programs, while Scott Walker's budget is cutting $427 million from K-12 and higher education in Wisconsin (to the disapproval of more than 70% of Wisconsinites). I wonder if there's a relationship there...

The UBER wall of shame

While I was able to distract myself by taking advantage of a gorgeous Spring day by hanging with friends at the Wisconsin Union Terrace after work, this development still pisses me off.

A bill that would create a statewide license for rideshare companies such as Uber and Lyft passed the Assembly, 79-19.

Under the bill, a transportation network company can purchase a license to operate in the state. The state Department of Safety and Professional Services would oversee the licensing.

Drivers for the companies are not employees but instead pay the company a fee to be a part of the digital network. The state would not license the driver.

The companies are similar to taxis except drivers hail the rides through cellphone apps and cannot pay cash for the service. The drivers, under the bill, would not be classified in the same way as cab drivers.

Look, I expect Republicans to usurp local control and sell out for a big business without regard to the level of service or injury to the consumer, and not one of the 63 GOPs in the Assembly voted against this bill. But for half the Democrats' caucus to do the same thing? Not acceptable, and with that in mind, I will give you the list of Assembly Dems that voted for this garbage, as naming and shaming is an appropriate response.

Barnes
Bowen
Brostoff
Danou
Doyle
Genrich
Goyke
Kessler
Kolste
Mason
Milroy
Riemer
Sinicki
Stuck
Wachs
Young
Zamaparilla

There are a whole lot of Dems that are normally good progressives in that list, and it includes almost the entire Milwaukee contingent (only Josh Zepnick voted no out of that group). Maybe there are concerns over Milwaukee taxi medallions that led these legislators to vote this way, but it's still not acceptable in my mind. In fact, a lot of this vote seems to be related to "all politics is local", and it is very telling that NOT ONE DANE COUNTY DEM VOTED FOR THIS. We in Madison have been dealing with the Uber/Lyft issue longer than most of the rest of the state, and these companies have refused to follow the same rules that the several taxi companies in Madison have had to follow, which is why they haven't been able to operate consistently.

Alder Scott Resnick openly backed Uber's side in the mayoral election, while incumbent Mayor Paul Soglin stood up for the local cab companies. The result on Election Night? Soglin 72, Resnick 28. And I have little doubt the Uber issue played a large role in turning what could have been a close race into a massive blowout.

Sorry, but Uber's history shows that they are not to be trusted, and reps like Racine's Cory Mason need to know that if Uber thought it was worthwhile to be in their community, they would have been operating there by now. If the goal is to expand mobility options to people in need, then ask to expand the state's elderly/disabled transit program, or expand regular transit, or set up some similar Transportation-related programs. But to allow Uber to operate by different rules than other cab companies, putting them in a different category of business with protection from local regulation (and make no mistake, that's what this law does), that is bullshit. Any Dem that goes along with such bullshit is spineless and needs to be weeded out if this party wants to get back in control of the state any time soon.

NO MORE VICHY DEMS. Look at the list again, and remember it come primary season in August 2016. This is very bad form, and hopefully the Senate Dems will have the gumption to see through this crap, and not give cover to GOP for supporting such awful legislation.

Think Wisconsin doesn't rely on gambling? Think again

Wisconsin budget season starts to kick into high gear this week, as the Joint Finance Committee's budget hearings with several smaller departments and appropriations being discussed on Wednesday. Included in those departments are discussions of the state's two main gambling accounts- the Indian gaming funds and the state's lottery fund.

We'll start with the Lottery Fund, which is generating more sales than ever, and is a hidden reason behind Gov Walker's claims of higher property tax relief. Take a look at the Legislative Fiscal Bureau's informational paper of the Lottery Fund and other property tax credits, and you'll see that increasing amounts of money have become available to return to Wisconsin property taxpayers over the last 5 years.

Lottery Fund distributions for property tax relief, 2009-2014
2009 $113.2 million
2010 $129.2 million
2011 $134.8 million
2012 $141.5 million
2013 $168.8 million
2014 $166.6 million (+47.2% vs 2009)

In the City of Madison, for example, this has resulted in the lottery credit expanding from $82.46 to $131.39 for the average homeowner over those 5 years (your local savings may vary, given that the lottery credit is related to how much of a tax rate a local school district levies). This expansion of tax relief has next to nothing to do with initiatives from Gov Walker or the GOP Legislature, but is instead based on higher lottery sales in recent years and the related "earnings" (the difference between how much people shell out for Wisconsin lottery games vs. the winnings and expenses to put on a lottery). But you bet the Gov and the WisGOP leggies have taken credit for the lower property tax bills that have resulted from those lottery credits.

On Wednesday, the Joint Finance Committee will decide on the level of the Lottery Fund's credit for the next two years. The LFB just looked at the most recent figures for the Lottery Fund, and as a result, the next two years will also feature sizable paybacks to Wisconsin property taxpayers, if a bit smaller compared to the last 2 years - $162.95 million for next winter's property tax bills, and $161.7 million for 2016.

Indian gaming also will be on the docket for that JFC meeting, which is intriguing given Gov Walker's cave-in to fundie interests in Iowa earlier this year, where he refused to allow the Menominee to build a casino near Kenosha. Interestingly, Walker's 2015-17 relies on the current Indian casinos giving the state an increasing amount of money, to fill in the gaps in his deficit-ridden budget, as these numbers from the LFB's summary of Indian gaming provisions will show.

Indian gaming revenues to be deposited to General Fund
2015-16 $23.85 million
2016-17 $24.71 million

The Indian gaming provisions also play a role in the proposed cuts to the UW System, because Walker's proposal to turn the UW System into an independent authority and end the outreach mission of the Wisconsin Idea also removes the requirement of certain Native American-related programming at UW schools. And many of those programs were previously funded by Indian gaming revenue. The Fiscal Bureau goes over these reductions, as well as the additional staff that the Department of Administration are set to hire to regulate the Indian gaming, now that there's more money to play with.

(a) Administration UW-Green Bay and Oneida Tribe programs assistance grants [item #2, reduction of $247,500 in 2016-17 due to the creation of the UW System Authority]; (b) Tourism general tourism marketing [item #35, reduction of $475,000 annually to eliminate required transfers of specific amounts to specific organizations]; (c) Ashland full-scale aquaculture demonstration facility debt service payments [item #38, a reduction of $6,400 in 2015-16 and $62,900 in 2016-17 for debt service payment reestimates]; (d) Ashland full-scale aquaculture demonstration facility operational costs [item #39, a reduction of $417,500 in 2016-17 due to the creation of the UW System Authority]; (e) University of Wisconsin-Madison physician and health care provider loan assistance [item #40, a reduction of $488,700 in 2016-17 due to the creation of the UW System Authority]; and (f) Administration Indian gaming operations [item #45, increases of $43,500 in 2015-16 and $46,300 in 2016-17 for standard budget adjustments and increases of $33,900 in 2015-16 and $28,900 in 2016-17 for a reestimate of the cost to operate and maintain the gaming integrated regulatory information system].

(EDIT: There's been a late development! As part of a list of corrections sent this afternoon to "better reflect the Governor's intent," now the Walker Administration says that $325,000 of the tourism funding that is generated from Indian gaming should stay with the Department of Tourism. So drop that help to the General Fund by the same $325,000.)

Those lapses and refusal to provide Native American-related programming is how the state can take in nearly $280,000 LESS in gaming revenues for 2016-17 vs 2015-16, but still allow the General Fund to take in just over $535,000 MORE from those revenues in the second year of Walker's budget. Nice trick, eh?

In addition, the provisions that remove funding for the UW System is a double-whammy, because if the System chooses to continue to operate provisions such as the Oneida Assistance grants at UWGB or the Acquaculture facility or the physician/health care provider loan assistance, the UW has to fund that themselves. This is insult to injury at a time where five UW campuses are already offering buyouts to employees in the face of $300 million of other Walker cuts. Let's see if those lines get connected at Wednesday's hearing.

So as you can see, just because Scott Walker pandered to anti-gambling fundies in Iowa to turn down the proposed Menominee casino in Kenosha, it doesn't mean he isn't fond of using gambling money as part of the state budget. For both the increased property tax relief from the lottery fund, and in giving the General Fund a higher amount of Indian gaming revenues, Walker is all about using gambling proceeds if it helps him look good, and bragging about the improved budget and tax relief that results. He's just hoping you don't look back at the source.

Bucks project expands, but who'll pay the bill?

A huge bit of news from the week was the announcement that the Bucks arena project, has evolved into something much larger- a multi-block entertainment complex that could lead to development of more than $1 billion. Rich Kirchen of the Milwaukee Business Journal has been very good at covering this story, and here's his summary of what the project will entail, which will be located at the current Bradley Center site, and go north and west for a few blocks.

The arena and entertainment “live block” that would anchor the new development. The live block would front Fourth Street and connect with Old World Third Street;

• The arena design itself. The building would include glass and “transparency” that would provide views of Milwaukee’s skyline.

• The “live block,” which the Bucks said would be an “arena arrival experience” augmented by a transparent facade that marks the front door and a “monumental atrium.”

The live block would serve as both an “arena forecourt and community living room,” the Bucks said. The block would be designed as a year-round destination.

“We’re not just trying to build a new home for the Milwaukee Bucks, but create a 365-day attraction for Wisconsin residents that will help revitalize downtown Milwaukee,” said Bucks president Peter Feigin. “We’re excited to share this glimpse of our vision for the future as we continue to work with our local and state partners to arrive at a viable plan. This collective effort will create a ripple effect of growth, development and transformation for the entire community and region.”

And if you look at the architect's drawings of the proposed development, it's pretty badass. Here's a look the Milwaukee River, looking west across 3rd, 4th, and 6th Streets.



The site is certainly available, as this article from Sean Ryan of the Business Journal mentioned last week.

Milwaukee County on Monday received an offer from an unidentified party for the purchase of land in the Park East corridor that the Milwaukee Bucks' owners are targeting for some of the $500 million in developments surrounding their planned arena.

That offer likely came from the Bucks organization, although county officials declined to discuss details. Milwaukee Bucks officials have yet to respond to a request for comment.

The county and city of Milwaukee own 9.8 acres between West Juneau and West McKinley avenues where Bucks owners on Wednesday unveiled plans for development to surround a new arena.

That empty lot of land has always been a blight as you head into downtown on McKinley, and would be a great introduction to the city for folks coming off of Highway 43. This is definitely more of what I wanted to see out of this project, where the arena is a mere part of a much larger development, and I'm very much in favor from that part of the Bucks arena issue.

Of course, the tough part is to make sure the public and private financing is truly there. Gov Walker had a plan to borrow $220 million of state money to chip into the arena (with the Legislative Fiscal Bureau saying that lifetime costs would reach $488 million when you figure in the total debt that's also to be paid), but it clearly hasn't gone over well with many decison-makers and the public, and an alternative proposal from Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald has looked at reducing that initial borrowing number to $150 million. Much of the non-arena development seems to be ready to be financed by private investors, which would leave the state off the hook for that part. And there are signals from Assembly Speaker Robbin' Vos that some kind of Bucks-related package will ultimately go through the Legislature as part of state budget discussions.

But here's where things get tricky, because Robbin' and the anti-Milwaukee GOP legislators also are yapping about how the City and County of Milwaukee need to "step up their game and make more of an investment" in the [Bucks] project. This seems to indicate that they have no clue what the local Milwaukee governments are already offering up and giving up to the project, which is a lot. In addition to supplying and maintaining the streets, sewers, community law enforcement and related infrastructure for the proposed development, take a look at this provision that is part of the LFB's summary of the Governor's plan for the "Sports and Entertainment District" in Milwaukee.

District Income Tax Exemption. Specify that the income of a sports and entertainment district would be exempt from the state corporate income and franchise tax. (this seems to be related to income from investments that the district board makes, and not the profits of the team itself...I hope)

Property Tax Exemption. Current law [s. 70.11(36) of the statutes] provides a property tax exemption for property consisting of or contained in a sports and entertainment home stadium of a professional athletic team that is a member of a league that contains teams with home stadiums in other states. The exemption includes parking lots, garages, restaurants, parks, concession facilities, entertainment facilities, transportation facilities, and other functionally related or auxiliary facilities or structures.

Sure seems possible that a whole lot of this development could fall under this definition of a "Sports and Entertainment District", which would mean the City and County would not get any of the benefits of a higher tax base for it, while still being expected to install and provide the services for those buildings. That seems to be one hell of an in-kind contribution without getting the property value benefits from it, and it sounds similar to what Urban Milwaukee's Bruce Murphy described when he mentioned that the property tax exemption for Miller Park will allow the Brewers to avoid paying $156 million in property taxes over the course of 40+ years.

With that in mind, the Milwaukee contingent of the Legislature should write into any Bucks bill specific limitations on where this district is, to make sure the city and county taxpayers are not on the hook for making up the difference that would result from the write-off of hundreds of millions of dollars of tax base that would otherwise be added to the city and county totals. Combine that with the services that would be provided with this entertainment district, and it sure seems like the City and County are paying more than their fair share as it is, (especially if the Park East land is sold for below full market value). So the GOPs at the Capitol would be wise to shut their mouth about Milwaukee's contribution to this project if they want it to work, because it sure seems possible that like most things in this state, Milwaukee is putting a lot more than they get back with the Bucks arena and related development.

National media says what Wisconsin media will not

One thing I find quite frustrating over the last month is how our local media refuses to give proper context to the foolishness and dishonesty constantly being displayed by our Governor on the campaign trail. Instead, they are running numerous "Walker as celebrity" stories that try to make this sound like "local boy trying to make it on the big stage", despite the fact that Walker didn't live in the state until he was 16, never earned a college degree in the state, and has basically ignored the needs and desires of the majority of people in this state to satisfy his own selfish ambitions.

So instead, it falls to the national media to tell Wisconsinites that their emperor has no clothes. And no one has consistently done it better than Charles P. Pierce of Esquire.com. Pierce is a Marquette grad who knows the state's rich history, and just how mendacious Walker is when it comes to discussing his record, and the results of his policies, and he roasts Walker in his latest, must-read column.

First off, Pierce notes Walker's adversarial relationship with decency, consistency and facts when it comes to campaigning.

Consider, for example, today's piece in Tiger Beat On The Potomac [Politico] , in which is discussed the early days of the campaign of Scott Walker, the goggle-eyed homunculus hired by Koch Industries to manage their midwest subsidiary formerly known as the state of Wisconsin. Every campaign the man has run since he was a student at Marquette has been marked by, ahem, irregularities. The way you know this is that a number of his aides have been sent to jail. TBOTP looks at his record on many major issues and sees a similar corruption of mind. What he says on a number of important issues -- labor rights, women's rights, the environment -- while he is running for an office has little or nothing to do with what he actually does after being elected. The man is an unprincipled scoundrel.

True enough, but Charlie goes in for the money shot after ripping on the dopes at Politico for shrugging off Scotty's lies as merely something that could hurt his campaign. Pierce points out that the type of dingbats and weak-minded wack jobs that vote in GOP primaries don't care about things like Walker's dishonesty and flip-flops, as long as he's on their side, which makes the media's negligence all the more damning.

First of all, this "problem" is not going to mean fk-all to the Republican base, because the Republican base is filled with crazoids, Bible-bangers, and people with short-wave radios for brains. All they know is that Walker knuckled all the people of whom The Base is terrified. The only way Walker's bone-deep dishonesty can hurt him is if the people who stoke the plutocratic engine of the party believe that it might make him a loser. So far, they seem quite happy with the way he's done business for them.

But there's a deeper problem with how this piece says something without really saying it. What the story clearly illustrates is that Scott Walker cannot be trusted as far as you can throw Lambeau Field. He's a half-bright messianic fraud with the political instincts of a wolverine and the integrity of a gaboon viper. But, in this story, you can already see forming the notion that Walker's fundamental mendacity can be washed in the blood of the Lamb and repurposed as a clever campaign strategy. "If it takes hold"? There should be no "if" about it, because this is who this guy is. But the writer of the piece is very careful to leave himself an out if Scott Walker shows the ability to lie his way into the presidency. (So, I might add, are those chickenshit GOP operatives who wouldn't talk on the record.) I predict this writer will go far in his chosen profession, and the country can only hope Scott Walker doesn't.

It's been obvious that Scott Walker hsa been a coreless, cowardly slimeball for most if not all of his 22 years in public office, but the corporate Wisconsin media is simply too paid off to tell their readers and listeners this fact- There's too much ad money to pass up at Journal Communications, at least in the quarter that included the November 2014 elections.

Here's another example of how it takes national commentators to break through the noise and cover-ups that the locals pull here. Check out this part of an interview HBO's Bill Maher did with Buzzfeed, where he explains why he thinks Walker is a leading contender for the GOP nomination. It's not because Maher thinks Scotty is a visionary leader.

Regular viewers of Maher’s HBO show would not have been surprised by his wholesale dismissal of the Republican presidential field. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, he said, was most likely to clinch the GOP nomination because “he’s the worst, and the Republicans, you know, they are pretty good at nominating the ‘are you fucking kidding me?’ candidate. And to me, Mr. Walker is the ‘are you fucking kidding me?’ candidate.” Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has “honesty, integrity, and intelligence issues.” “What I call The Full Palin.” None of the GOP field is “of presidential timbre,” Maher said, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

Now ask yourself where would you hear this take about Walker from local radio and TV stations in Wisconsin, even though there's a whole lot of us that agree that Maher's take? And any coverage of Maher's take on Walker will come with a "oh, what does that Hollywood guy know" sneer, so they don't have to discuss the content of Maher's take- which is that Walker's a clown without substance and a bad guy on top of it.

I'm really having a hard time containing my anger at this point, because it's obvious to anyone that's not on the take that Scott Walker is lying, clueless, and is driving the state into a ditch. But because so much of our local media IS on the take (whether through ads or through their hopes of selling future Walker books), a sizable amount of Wisconsinites are still not getting the real story on this guy, and not understanding how bad it is making the state look to the rest of the nation. And it makes me wonder what kind of further action needs to be taken, because merely boycotting the J-S and related right-wing media along with waiting for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin to lay the lumber isn't getting the job done, with each day of delay leading to more damage being inflicted.

I got your uncertainty right here, Scotty!

Remember how Scott Walker and the Wisconsin GOP kept clinging to the claim that the Wisconsin Uprising and the recall movement led to major "uncertainties" that was holding job creation back in 2011 and 2012, and that's why Wisconsin's economic record sucked? This is despite that thing called numbers, which showed the "gold standard" jobs figures of the Quarterly Census on Employment and Wages said the rate of 12-month Wisconsin job growth was lower after the June 2012 recall election compared to the two years afterwards. But just because the Walker folks were lying about the effects of the recall movement, it doesn't mean that uncertainty can't be a factor in suppressing jobs. We know this, because the uncertainty resulting from Scott Walker's proposed budget is cutting jobs right now.

We've seen it regarding Walker's proposed $300 million cut to the UW System, as 4 of the 13 four-year UW campuses have already offered buyouts and early retirement to their workers as an alternative to layoffs that are a direct result of these budget reductions. In addition, UW-Oshkosh announced last week that they would cut two athletic sports and four other teams would be consolidated into two, and I don't doubt that similar moves with sorts programs are being debated at other non-Madison campuses, where the students already pay fees to help run these programs, and where general fund money assists in funding these programs. The budget situation also is hurting hiring and recruitment at the flagship UW campus, particularly when it comes to getting the best talent off the playing field.

UW-Madison’s first choices for director of the Carbone Cancer Center and a top-level faculty researcher in the nursing school turned down the jobs in early February because of concerns about declining funding and clout at the university, according to records obtained by the State Journal under the state’s open records law.

One candidate, Anne Sales, was chosen for a new endowed, tenured faculty chair in nursing and is said to have cited Gov. Scott Walker’s $300 million budget cut proposal to UW System.

“She has changed her mind about my offer and will accept a compelling counteroffer at Michigan,” Katharyn May, dean of the nursing school, wrote to chancellor Rebecca Blank on Feb. 5. “The candidate received the Michigan offer as the budget news was breaking on the national scene, and in her words, she is ‘unwilling to risk’ shifting her research program here, when Michigan is clearly willing to invest in it.”

Another aspect of Walker's budget plans of changing the state's Long-Term Care services, taking them from a regional and localized program, and making it a system based on statewide contracts, and these proposals led a Wisconsin health care business to cut hundreds of jobs this week.

The owner of Slinger-based GeminiCares Inc., which is closing and laying off 701 employees, said the causes of the company going out of business included "uncertainty" around Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed changes to the state’s long-term care system....

GeminiCares president and owner Kathleen Rublee issued a statement April 7 in which she said the state budget for long-term care of the elderly and disabled has been under the strain of increased costs and increased numbers of state residents needing care.

State officials have sought to make services cost-efficient, but that “put financial strains on those entities which are involved in this system, managed care organizations, county agencies and provider agencies,” Rublee said.

“This along with the uncertainty of the long-term care system of service provision due to changes proposed by Governor Walker weighed heavily into the decision to cease operations,” Rublee said. “Governor Walker has a large task before him as he attempts to address the significant cost pressures of long term care in Wisconsin while also attempting to maintain quality care.”

These actions are the direct result of Walker fiscal policies that have chosen tax cuts to corporations over investing in services that stabilize people's lives and grow the talent that improves the economy in the short and long term. Wonder if Scotty will take credit for these job losses and reduced economic activity as he goes around the country and the world, bragging about his "bold reforms." It also begs the question, do voters and our media care more about Walker's alleged "boldness", or do they care about the failed results and unnecessary stress that have been a result of those "reforms"?