From the you’ve got to be kidding department of the WI Economic Development Corp.: Eveyone gets a taxpayer paid iPad

The Journal Sentinel's Dan Bice tells this bitingly tale of hutzpah and opulence.

Gov. Scott Walker's message has been clear. "Wisconsin is broke, and it's time to start paying our bills today so our kids are not stuck with even bigger bills tomorrow," Walker said earlier this year.

But….

The newly created Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. has dropped a little more than $43,000 to buy 73iPads for everyone on the staff … formerly the state Department of Commerce … Toss in the activation fees and the monthly cost for 3G service for 35 of the iPads, and the cost rises to just about $60,000 for the year.

Tom Thieding, spokesman for the new agency, said "The old Department of Commerce - it was just lumbering along." Though the Economic Development Corp. is a private-public hybrid, Thieding confirmed that iPads were purchased with state dollars.