Taking advantage of a frightened under and unemployed public, Gov. Walker appears to have manufactured a state economic crisis that plays into that fear, and shapes his image into the conquering hero. Can we believe anything the Republicans are telling us? NO!
State Rep. Mark Pocan:
Scott Walker’s Manufactured Crisis…aka Remember the Balloon Boy?
The Wisconsin budget is $3.6 billion in deficit according to Governor Scott Walker. We are in crisis! 200,000 children will be kicked off of Badger Care and 6,000 employees will be laid off! Call the National Guard! Dissolve the unions!
But … We found out yesterday after our briefing with non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, the $3.6 billion deficit in the next budget that Walker and the media has been repeating is a MANUFACTURED CRISIS. (It’s) based on $3.9 billion in new spending requests by agencies, a 6.2% increase. I don’t think there is a member in the legislature that would vote for that. Further, the budget forecast for the next biennium projects $1.5 billion in additional revenue something we would have loved to have last session.
… crisis being manufactured … Every crisis needs a hero. And that is the role Scott Walker wants. However, I think he will ultimately be cast as the balloon boy.
But it gets worse...really.
Capital times: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 (here) makes it clear that Walker did not inherit a budget that required a repair bill. The facts are not debatable.
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