Can't make this up!!! Walker Republicans avoid $100 Million handout vote to Kimberly-Clark till AFTER Election then blame Dems? A Truly Cowardly Extraordinary Session.

So, Scott Walker and the Republicans have denied the Foxconn deal wasn't the start of even more taxpayer money to corporations threatening to leave Wisconsin. They lied, and now they're trying to put off another similar handout to Kimberly-Clark till AFTER THE ELECTION. 

If the following makes any sense to you...oh, and political pressure is another way of saying "coward." Heck, these guys are even calling it a "Foxconn-style" incentive:

"To put this in the best position to pass, to actually do what’s best to save these jobs, we had to do this after the election," said Sen. Roger Roth, R-Appleton, who is sponsoring the measure. Roth cited "political pressures" as the primary rationale for delaying the vote.

I know, why not blame Democrats for putting off the vote till after the election, because they're the cowards? No really, he tried that one too:

"We’re five weeks away from an election and I do not believe — and I don’t necessarily fault them for this — but I don’t believe (Democrats) want to do anything that would be considered a perceived victory for Gov. Walker," he said. "If we came in now and took the vote, (Democrats) would vote no, the bill would fail, and Kimberly-Clark would leave the state, these jobs would be lost."

Under the deal, proposed by Walker in February, the state would provide "Foxconn-style" incentives to the company: a 17-percent tax credit on payroll and 15 percent on capital expenditures. The state’s Legislature nonpartisan budget office estimates it could cost the state up to about $109 million over 15 years. The incentives would be paid out to the company, as it has no current tax liability under state law.

The Pushback: 

Liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now criticized GOP leaders for pushing the vote after the election. "This is the definition of corruption," said Scot Ross, executive director of the organization. "What else would you call Scott Walker and the Republicans using a lame duck session full of potentially un-elected politicians to send $100 million of our tax dollars to a huge corporation."

Walker's not-so-fiscally-conservative Voter Bribes and Corporate Tax Credits Spending Spree

Scott Walker groundbreaking reelection campaign spending tactic is a doozy; give away the store. And even crazier, Wisconsin taxpayers will be on the hook, actually paying companies to stay in our state with their own hard earned wages. Gross mismanagement, comic genius, or breathtaking desperation?

Walker Showers Tax Credit Gifts All Around: Walker's supposed "market driven" reinsurance plan using taxpayer money to support ObamaCare was the big tip-off. Now Kimberly-Clark tax credits are free market "catalytic things." Foxconn fever is here:

 

Gov. Scott Walker said Wednesday he'd be open to offering other paper companies Foxconn-style tax credits just days after he floated the suggestion for consumer products giant Kimberly-Clark. "We'd be willing to match for keeping these jobs at Kimberly-Clark and for that matter other major paper companies in the state if you're talking about significant opportunities to keep and grow jobs in the state."

Walker was asked whether the state would run the risk of other companies seeking similar tax breaks. "You do, but for us, what we try to do is say these are catalytic things," Walker said.

Walker's Reelection Year Bribe-New and Improved: This is so shamelessly a voter bribe that it has to be illegal, especially after the proposed yearly $100 tax rebate for every child was limited to just the midterm election, with the added bonus of sales tax holiday. Seriously?

The proposal would cost an estimated $172 million over the current biennium, drawing down about 45 percent of an expected $385 million budget surplus.

The weird Republican idea that surplus revenues are just excess cash, and should be given back instead of being used for rebuilding our states infrastructure, roads, education funding, mass transit, renewable energy investments...etc. is not just bizarre, but leaves that bill to our kids and their kids:

"As I promised, when we have a surplus, we will give it back to you. It’s your money," Walker said in a statement announcing the deal.

 Like Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz said:

(It's) "an election year bribe. The governor might as well save money on postage and just hand these checks out at polling places in November. For seven years, Governor Walker has handed out favors to his donors and corporations to stay in power. Now, he’s trying to do the same with voters, but they’re not going to fall for it."

Walker Won't Budge, Won't Build Roads: After Trump stuck-it to the states by forcing them to pay for most his massive national infrastructure plan, Wisconsin Republicans and Walker are headed for a stalemate:

The state Senate's top Republican says Wisconsin needs to add toll roads if it wants to qualify for a possible influx of federal transportation funds. "I think it forces our hand," Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said. Trump's plan would offer states a chance at increased federal funding for infrastructure projects as long as states put up most of the funding themselves. That could be difficult in Wisconsin, where Republicans who run state government have been unable to reach an agreement to raise the gas tax or vehicle registration fees.

Fitzgerald said, "A nickel, a dime on a gas tax? That is not going to fill the pot that's going to be able to match those federal dollars at this point." The state was on the cusp of adding its first ever toll roads last year before the idea was rejected by Walker. The budget that Fitzgerald said would have resulted in Wisconsin being chosen by the federal government to add toll roads. Walker vetoed the study. "We cut the deal already. The deal was in the budget. I mean it was there."

Asked about Fitzgerald's comments, Walker said Wednesday he was not opposed to tolling, but he stressed that he was not ready to support it. "We're not even going to think about it unless we can reduce taxes somewhere else in an equal or greater margin," Walker said.

Walker stealing Democratic agenda; fund rural schools, closes Lincoln Hills, saves ObamaCare, tries to save Kimberly-Clark...what's his message? Vote Democratic.

And you thought Scott Walker's $100 handout to voters children around election time was brazen?

In a stunning display of desperation, and an acknowledgement that his own political agenda ain't working, Scott Walker tried to upstage the Democratic plan to keep Kimberly-Clark's factories open:

 As Democratic lawmakers were announcing their own Kimberly-Clark plan, the GOP governor called for passing legislation to allow the state to give the paper company the same level of tax credits per job as Foxconn.

A few hours later, Gov. Scott Walker's office sent out a release detailing a separate proposal to more than double tax credits to Kimberly-Clark Corp., from 7 percent to 17 percent, to keep that papermaker from shutting down two Fox Cities mills and eliminating about 610 jobs. The percentage is the same percentage used "to attract Foxconn's historic investment in Wisconsin," the governor's statement said.

For staunch tightwad small government conservatives, you gotta wonder what they were thinking seeing Walker govern like a Democrat and then betray his "free market" principles by throw taxpayer money hand over fist at every trouble business in the state. Seriously? I thought the "masterly" crafted GOP business climate alone in Wisconsin was enough:

Walker also referred to Appleton Coated in Combined Locks, which went into receivership last August, laying off most of its 600-employee workforce. New owner Industrial Assets restarted one machine ... 50 workers were recalled for a total of 88. The governor's said ongoing discussions with Industrial Assets "about providing assistance to the company to continue mill operations in the Fox Valley..."

This is where the $4.5 billion Foxconn deal keeps coming back to haunt us. That said, Democrats decided to work with money already spent:

Meanwhile, the Papermaker Fund bill, announced by Democratic lawmakers in their Monday press conference, will ask the state to dedicate 1 percent of the Foxconn investment, or $30 million, to each of two programs, to help mills retrofit to make more desirable paper grades and make energy efficiency upgrades.

Walker's "Open for Business" tax climate isn't stopping market forces from shutting down other long time businesses. And some thought the state economy was roaring along:

Besides K-C and Appleton Coated, Appvion in Appleton and U.S. Paper Converters in Grand Chute were two more paper facilities that recently announced job reductions.  Appvion filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October and announced in November it would cut 200 jobs, about one-quarter of its local workforce. It outsourced its warehouse and distribution center in Appleton where 62 employees worked. U.S. Paper Converters shut in late 2017, eliminating 52 jobs.

NOTE: Walker's tax free gift to manufacturers who never had to create one job is also biting us in the ass now:

As manufacturers in Wisconsin, both Foxconn and Kimberly-Clark pay little to no corporate and personal income tax on profits from those operations. That means that  any potential enterprise zone credits could end up being paid to each company in cash if it has little corporate tax liability.

As Democratic Majority Leader Gordon Hintz said in a press release:

Governor’s proposal reeks of election year desperation. No information given on the cost of tax credits or how the state will pay for them ... Today, Governor Walker announced via Twitter that he instructed WEDC “to offer Kimberly Clark the same deal for jobs as Foxconn.”

“This sounds like another deal crafted on the back of a napkin. The lack of foresight and planning by this Governor is unbelievable. Real economic development starts with homegrown businesses. Rather than selling out our state’s future for the FoxConn deal, we could’ve been investing in Wisconsinbusinesses, infrastructure, education, and healthcare."

“Just like his State of the State Address, today’s announcement sounded more like a going out of business sale than a serious policy proposal. At this point it’s clear that the Governor will say just about anything to get re-elected.

The question everyone should be asking the Governor is, “What will you do when the next corporation threatens to leave the state unless they get the FoxConn deal?