Tag Archives: Scott Walker

Meanwhile, in Washington…

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It’s easy to be totally focused on Gov. Scott Walker’s efforts to destroy unions along with most of what is good about Wisconsin.

But, hey, they’re trying to screw you in Washington, too.

The House and Senate this week agreed to a continuing resolution that will keep the government chugging along for a whopping two weeks. The fight ain’t over yet, though.

The House, keen to cut programs that benefit anyone making less than a zillion dollars a year, is pushing for a $61 billion cut in discretionary funding, according to The Economist.

According to The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:

Some 157,000 at-risk children up to age 5 could lose education, health, nutrition, and other services under Head Start, while funds for Pell Grants that help students go to college would fall by nearly 25 percent, under a bill passed by the House that would cut current-year non-security discretionary funding by an average of 14.3 percent.  The bill (H.R.1), which would fund the government for the rest of fiscal year 2011, now must be considered by the Senate. 

H.R. 1 also would kill a program that helps low-income families weatherize their homes and permanently reduce their home energy bills, cut federal funds for employment and training services for jobless workers and for clean water and safe drinking water by more than half, and raise the risk that the WIC nutrition program may not be able to serve all eligible low-income women, infants, and children under age 5.  In addition, it would cut funds for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by 10 percent, for the Food and Drug Administration by 10 percent, and for the Food Safety and Inspection Service by 9 percent.

Wisconsin, according to CBPP, would stand to lose $30 million in education funding — in this fiscal year!

According to CBPP:

At the same time, H.R. 1 would increase overall funding for security programs (those funded by the Defense, Homeland Security, and Military Construction-Veterans Affairs appropriation bills) by a little less than 1 percent.

Also, the 14.3 percent figure is a bit deceiving.  To achieve that level of overall cuts for non-security programs for the entirety of 2011, funding for those programs will have to fall on average by nearly one-fourth over the seven remaining months of the fiscal year.  This could make it even harder for some agencies to maintain important activities than the 14.3 percent figure for all of 2011 suggests.

The House, by the way, would not fully share the sacrifice it would impose on others, as its own budget would decline by a mere 6%.

There is not many surprised on who voted how on this bill:

Yea    WI-1    Ryan, Paul [R]
Nay    WI-2    Baldwin, Tammy [D]
Nay    WI-3    Kind, Ronald [D]
Nay    WI-4    Moore, Gwen [D]
Yea    WI-5    Sensenbrenner, F. [R]
Yea    WI-6    Petri, Thomas [R]
Yea    WI-7    Duffy, Sean [R]
Yea    WI-8    Ribble, Reid [R]

There you have it. Something besides Scott Walker to think about.

No surprise, but oh, my

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The Joint Finance Commitee adopted Gov. Scott Walker’s draconian proposals for slashing public employee compensation, putting $45 million in transit aid at risk at the same time.

So now public workers will have a harder time making those car payments, and Walker is making sure they won’t be able to catch a bus to work. either.

Well, that’s one way to cut the workforce.

Walker: Costing Wisconsin even more

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Gov. Scott Walker’s efforts to strip workers of their collective bargaining rights could cost the state $70 million in federal transit aid.

Did Walker know that before he proposed his punitive measure? If he did, just how much damage to Wisconsin is he willing to do to advance his anti-family corporate agenda? If he didn’t, why the hell didn’t he?

Mindless if he did, mindless if he didn’t.

Walker: too wussy for the work?

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Gov. Scott Walker says he special benefits-preserving deal he is carving out for police and firefighters is not a payoff for their support in his election campaign.

The JS’ Dan Bice reports:

Instead, the governor said he is concerned that his budget bill may lead to walkouts by some public employees. He didn’t recommend changing the rules for cops and firefighters because he said Wisconsin can’t afford for them to leave those positions vacant for even a short period.

That sounds like total BS, of course. But let’s totally suspend disbelief and take Walker’s statement at face value. If it’s true, he is cravenly cowering before public safety employees. He is so afraid of them and so worried that they will deliberately put residents in harm’s way that he cannot even try to take them on.

Wow. What a weak, sorry bastard Walker is if that is true.

Scott Walker: too weak for Wisconsin.

Scott Walker: too wussy for the work.


Say what? Walker hurts Wisconsin again

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The administration of Gov. Scott “The Worst” Walker has done it again: turned away federal money that could benefit the state.From the JS:

State officials are returning $23 million to the federal government, saying there were too many strings attached to stimulus money that was supposed to be for expanding high-speed Internet service in schools, libraries and government agencies.

The money was to have boosted broadband connections in 380 Wisconsin communities, including 385 libraries and 82 schools. It also could have been used to improve police, fire department and hospital communications in rural areas.

The sticking point, apparently, is that Wisconsin contracts with ATT for broadband infrastructure. The feds wanted assurances that the fiber optic cable the money would pay for would be used for 20 years; the state’s ATT contract is for five, according to the state. ATT, the state says, did not want to be a sub-recipient of the grant.

Oh, really? The service provider dictates terms to the customer? Or is that just major donors to Walker’s campaign that get to do that? ATT, on behalf of its shareholders, turned down that money? Really? Uber competitor Verizon gets the iPhone — punching a huge hole in future ATT revenue streams — and ATT turns up its nose at millions of dollars?

The Walker administration gave up trying to resolve the issues and walked away from the money. That is a mind boggler, even if the feds were behaving badly at this point. Another bad move by Walker.