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I’m still trying to get my arms around the budgetvetted by the Joint Finance Committee in the wee hours of this morning.
But one thing is for sure—Scott Walker is runningfor president.
He and the Republican members of the JFC havechecked off all of the boxes Walker needs to promote himself nationally. Ofcourse, Republican legislators gave him a head start two years ago, when Walker and the GOPdecimated public employees’ bargaining rights. But the new budget proposal willserve Walker well as he pleads his case with conservative donors outside ofWisconsin.
- Creating a regressive income-tax cut: You betcha. And it’sbigger than the one Walker proposed a few months ago. That’ll sell nicely to hisdeep-pocketed donors around the country who still, despite all evidence to thecontrary, believe in trickle-down economics. Probably because they get thetrickle.
- Rejecting Obamacare: What else could get tea partydonors more hot and bothered than the mere mention of Obamacare? Well, Walker’srejected it and sticking it to low-income Wisconsinites who need it the most.The JFC came to Walker’s rescue by adding in millions of dollars for hospitalsthat would be forced to aid more uninsured people, driving up costs. Walker’s proposalmakes no sense if you run the numbers. But it’ll play well with hisgovernment-hating base.
- Expanding voucher schools: Of course. WhileRepublican legislators tinkered with some of Walker’s original plan and removedsome the statewide charter school board and special education vouchers from thebudget, Walker and the GOP legislators are now expanding vouchers across the state—at the same time they're increasing fundingfor them and adding no new accountability measures for these taxpayer-fundedprivate schools. Nice trick. The Amway family will go wild.
- Creating a job for Dog the Bounty Hunter: The JFC revived an ALEC proposal to legalize private bail bondsmen inWisconsin, even though there’s no reason to do so. (And quite a few reasons notto.)
- Seeming bipartisan by rewarding Chris Abele: Thecontroversial Milwaukee County executive helped to push the anti-MilwaukeeCounty and anti-local control AB 85 through the Legislature. So Republicanlegislators are coming to Abele’s rescue by redefining the Lake Michiganshoreline. That may help spur the Couture development, which Abele vetted in ahighly irregular fashion. No wonder why Abele is known as “Walker-lite”—the twomen seem to disdain transparency.
So, yes, Walker is running, and he’s running on thisbudget because he’s definitely not running on his job-creation record.
