Wisconsin State Representative Mark Pocan

Walker’s Sham Waste, Fraud and Abuse Commission

2012-01-19T14:23:00.003-06:00

I spent the last year serving on Governor Walker’s Waste, Fraud and Abuse Commission and I can honestly say it was a giant waste, fraud and abuse of government resources.

I agreed to serve on the commission because I took Governor Walker at his word that the commission would help us find savings that would help us out of our state’s perennial fiscal mess.

That was my first mistake.

Unfortunately, while the commission’s goal was laudable, the commission lost its way quickly. I caution readers that the Republican report takes credit for work already accomplished by our state agencies or items over which the decision-making process rests in the hands of the federal or local units of government.

And if that’s not enough to give you pause, Governor Walker’s numbers weren’t ever independently corroborated, yet the media keeps reporting them as if they were.

But what gives me the most heartburn over my experience on Governor Walker’s commission is that we were denied a vote on the commission. Before you turn this into a more partisan thing than the commission’s findings (if that’s even possible), take a breath. It was just the Democrats that didn’t get to vote on the commission’s report, NOBODY VOTED ON IT! How can you call this the commission’s “recommendation” when the commission didn’t even vote on the end product?

There were a lot of problems with the process and the report. Without further ado, I offer you the Top 5 Problems with Governor Walker’s Waste, Fraud and Abuse Commission report:

1. The report takes credit for passing federal legislation – In its court debt collection section, the report recommend passage of H.R. 1416, which they say would save $5.4 - $27 million. How can this commission, with a straight face, take credit for passage of a bill that hasn’t even passed the United Congress? Either this is the most powerful non-democratic commission in the world, or one giant sham. Take your pick.

2. The report makes suggestions that could deny FoodShare to poor people – The Walker report suggests requiring photo ID’s to be added to the Quest FoodShare card, yet readily admits that federal policies require the state to “permit all members of a household to use that card, reducing the effectiveness of any enforcement efforts.” Requiring a photo to the Quest card won’t be free, yet the commission doesn’t address this hidden cost. Furthermore, it will likely result in confusion at checkout aisles in grocery stores across the state, resulting in families in need being denied the very food they need to survive. While I recognize the need to crack down on fraud in the FoodShare program, the GOP has lost focus of their task in their haste to require a photo ID on almost everything these days.

3. Governor Walker already busted the unions, but he wants to take credit for it again – The section on overtime rules for public workers takes credit for changes already set in motion by the Republican anti-collective bargaining 2011 Act 10. In fact, the commission’s report takes credit for savings that it even admits are already under way.

4. Governor Walker’s inconsistency on tax cheaters – I was glad to see the commission report recommend spending an additional $10 million each year to hire more revenue agents to crack down on tax cheats. When Governor Walker said publicly he supports passing all the recommendations in the report, I thought that meant he’d support investing more money to crack down on tax cheats to bring in even more revenue to the state. But that doesn’t seem to be the case since the Walker administration is attempting to cut $2 million that is supposed to go towards hiring more revenue agents. So, how can the Governor pledge to spend more money to crack down on tax cheats while cutting the current budget for the same purpose? Is Governor Walker’s administration going to get tough on tax evaders or not?

5. Everyone loves a budget gimmick – We were led to believe this commission was going to find new savings through clamping down on waste, fraud and abuse in state government. Yet, $50 million of the report relies upon a suggestion that the state require agencies to lapse funds each year, something that both Democratic and Republican legislatures and Governors have required in various amounts for the last several biennial budgets. While this has been used to balance the budget, I would hardly call this waste, fraud or abuse of government.

Wisconsinites are getting tired of the double-speak from our Governor. Scott Walker made a campaign promise and in my opinion, he hasn’t lived up to it.

Medical marijuana calls for compassion, understanding

2011-12-01T09:32:00.000-06:00

If you had the power to make a decision that would help someone who is sick and suffering, you’d do it, wouldn’t you?

Today, Senator Erpenbach and I reintroduced a bill that would provide compassion to the sick and suffering. Our bill would legalize medical marijuana in Wisconsin.

Ten years ago, when I first introduced this legislation, 8 states had laws on the books regarding medical marijuana. Today, 16 states and the District of Columbia have laws that have laws that allow the cultivation of medical marijuana and protect patients from criminal penalties.

This is an issue where the public has been ahead of the policy makers. A November 18th CBS News poll showed that 77% of Americans believe that medical marijuana should be allowed. The most recent statewide public referendum from the Midwest, which happened in Michigan in 2008, won support from every single county in the state with an overall tally of 63% in support.

Clearly, there’s momentum to support this issue, and I’m proud to be the lead author in the Assembly on this bill yet again.

Our bill covers conditions such as cancer, glaucoma, AIDS and HIV and other diseases as could be determined by administrative rule. The bill also creates a maximum amount of marijuana a patient may have, establishing clear limits for both the patient and law enforcement. Finally, the bill gives the Department of Health Services the ability to create rules for a registry of people allowed to use medical marijuana and for the licensing and regulation of a non-profit corporation to distribute marijuana.

Wisconsin is sadly amongst the 34 states still don’t provide compassion to the sick and suffering. Each and every one of my colleagues has a chance to help someone who is sick and suffering and I hope they take the time to research this important issue and talk to patients.

I think once they take the time to understand this topic, they will be unable to turn away people in need.

Department of Revenue Validates Income Equity Act

2011-11-22T09:47:00.000-06:00

My record has been clear my entire career with regards to taxes. I believe in fairness.

That’s why several sessions ago I successfully passed the Sales Tax Fairness Act, which ensures your sales tax dollars actually make it back to the state, rather than the big box stores keeping your tax dollars as pure profit.

And that’s why I’ve reintroduced the Income Equity Act, the very first bill I ever introduced as a State Representative in 1999. The bill, based on federal legislation (HR 382), would limit government tax deductions to corporations with inflated CEO pay if that company doesn't also fairly compensate the little guy too.

To read a previous blog I wrote describing the Income Equity Act, click here.

I’m happy to announce the Income Equity Act (AB356/SB-250) recently got some good news from the Department of Revenue. Anytime a bill in the legislature will have a fiscal impact, relevant state agencies create a “fiscal estimate.” While these numbers are often guesswork, they are based on the best available information.

According to the Department of Revenue’s speculation based on the best available federal tax returns, the bill will generate more than $13 million each year for the state.

Ironically, the projected revenue this bill would generate would actually fully fund another of my bills, which would restore Walker’s cuts to the state’s recycling fund.

But will Republicans actually take a vote in favor of tax fairness? One can only hope!

We need real jobs legislation

2011-11-16T16:24:00.000-06:00

We’ve all heard the Republican mantra: Businesses are the “job creators.”

Well, I’ve been a small business owner for 23 years and I’ve got to tell you, there’s nothing more insulting for a business owner, or job creator if you will, to hear than the lip service Republicans constantly give us.

Ever notice how much the Republicans salivate when they talk about us “job creators?” Yet, when they get the keys to the Capitol, all they seem to do is figure out new ways to... Read my complete guest blog for The Progressive here.

Thanks for reading!

Pay gap drives 99% movement & the Wisconsin Income Equity Act

2011-11-08T15:10:00.000-06:00

In our struggling economy, the poor and the middle class are hit disproportionally worse than the wealthy.

Don't take my word for it. Just look at several prominent studies.

The Institute for Wisconsin's Future recently released an interesting report that articulated the very wage gap that has people protesting all over the country.

The study, which tracked CEO pay from four prominent Wisconsin companies, compared their CEO Pay to that of the average Wisconsin worker. The study found that the average CEO pay amongst the four companies studied jumped from $2.3 million to $6.9 million over the past decade. Not bad. Meanwhile, the average Wisconsin worker saw their wages, adjusted for inflation, increase by just $1,000 per year. Not good.

Not only did the study show that the rich are getting richer while the corporations aren't proportionately increasing the pay of their workforce, it showed these companies spend a lot of time trying to exploit every single tax loophole the legislature has created for them. In fact, almost none of the companies paid any state income tax. I guess this goes to show you that investing in a good accountant trumps investing in the middle-class.

And nationally it isn't any better - it's even worse. According to BusinessWeek Magazine, in 1980, CEO pay equaled 42 times the average blue collar workers' salary. According to www.paywatch.org, CEO's now make 343 times more than the average worker, giving America one of the largest wage gaps in the world. I believe we must learn from our nation's mistakes. Yes, American history includes worker exploitation. However, I believe we must move beyond that dark shadow and strive to achieve the American Dream for everyone.

If we are going to create a level playing field where everyone can achieve the American Dream, we must change the way we do business in America. Recently, the Congressional Budget Office articulated the wage gap. Since 1979, according to the CBO, income for the richest one percent has risen 275 percent, compared to 18 percent for the remaining 99 percent of Americans.

That isn't right. And I didn't think this was right in 1999, when I was a freshman in the State Assembly. That's when I first introduced the Wisconsin Income Equity Act, a bill based on federal legislation. My bill, which is also a bill before Congress (HR 382), would limit government tax deductions to corporations with inflated CEO pay if that company doesn't also fairly compensate the little guy too.

Currently, corporations can deduct up to $1 million of a CEO's pay from their income tax. Meanwhile, the janitor at most of these companies pays more in taxes than the company does. My bill would cap the corporate tax deduction for CEO pay at 25-times the salary of the lowest full-time employee at the company.

If you pay the lowest paid employee $20,000, you can still deduct $500,000 of salary - 25 times the lower amount. This is fair and just, and provides a real incentive to pay workers better.

I'm not saying corporations can't pay an executive what they want. I just don't think the 99% of us should have to subsidize excessive executive pay.

Anything But...

2011-11-03T11:01:00.004-05:00

When Governor Walker branded his second Special Session on job creation, he left out two important words; “anything but.”

Because in reality, we are embarking on our second “Special Session on Anything But Job Creation.”

While their special session started with a bang with lots of talk about jobs, so far, it has been a bust… or a bang, depending on if you consider that the GOP seems more focused on guns than job creation.

You’d think Governor Walker would have learned his lesson after his first failed special session. In fact, our unemployment rate has grown faster than the national average since Walker’s first unsuccessful special session on job creation.

Yet, here we are repeating Walker’s mistakes…again.

Since Walker announced the “Special Session on Anything But Job Creation” in September, the Wisconsin State Assembly has taken up 85 bills and 12 resolutions, yet very few of these bills will improve our economy.

Walker claimed he’d “focus like a laser” on job creation. Instead, Walker’s focus is more like a disco ball.

Instead of asking how we can help create jobs, the State Assembly is deeply embroiled in other important philosophical questions such as:

· Should we be able to serve butter AND margarine in restaurants?

· Is it okay to ban video cameras in the Assembly Gallery, yet allow our guests to have concealed weapons?

· How many hours of advance notice should landlords give to their tenants if they wish to enter an apartment for a non-emergency?

· What time of day should liquor stores be able to open?

· Should you be able to drink wine at a county fair?

· Should you be able to transport a gun on a boat? If so, how?

Today, Republicans tell us the Assembly is going to take up its first bills from Walker’s special session, but I’m not holding my breath that they will actually help the economy or create jobs. I’ve seen this movie and I know how it ends.

Wisconsin’s new conceal and carry law

2011-10-31T08:58:00.001-05:00

Regardless of your position on the issue, there’s no doubt things will be a lot different in Wisconsin on November 1, when concealed carry goes into effect.

My office has been getting calls from constituents about the new concealed carry law, so I decided to write a brief blog to answer some frequently asked questions.

First and foremost, the definition of a concealed weapon includes more than just guns. The new law covers knives, tasers and even billy clubs. In order to qualify for a concealed carry permit, you must provide proof you’ve completed adequate firearms safety training, which can include training from another state.

Even if you get a concealed carry permit, it doesn’t mean you can carry your billy club or other weapon of your choice anywhere. Many state and municipal facilities have banned concealed weapons. Public schools, for example, were exempted in the law.

Many people have called our office asked how to ban concealed carry on their personal property. The City of Madison has published a sign that will likely become as universal in Madison as the No Smoking Sign.

You also should check with your boss to find out if you or your coworkers will be allowed to conceal and carry on the job. You may find it helpful to know who’s packing at work. For example, it appears Governor Walker is going to allow the general public to pack heat in the Capitol. Yet, his own instructions allow supervisors of state workers who work in the Capitol to prohibit their employees from concealing and carrying.

There are a bunch of questions that can arise out of conceal carry. In fact, the Department of Justice put out a 56 page Frequently Asked Questions about the new law. In addition, the City of Madison published a great FAQ as it pertains to city property, such as busses and buildings.

This new law has the potential to have a dramatic impact on your life. So, I encourage you to educate yourself as much as possible on this new law.

Welcome to the Committee on Criticizing Colleges and Universities

2011-10-21T16:07:00.008-05:00

He held a public hearing on the “abuse” of sick leave for UW employees.

He invited an ultra-conservative lawyer from Virginia to tell us that we have too many people of color at UW-Madison.

Now that there is something that will actually impact the quality of education students receive at their UW campus, Assembly Colleges and Universities Committee Chair, Rep. Steve Nass (R-Whitewater) is denying Assembly Democrats’ request to for a hearing.

You see, Governor Walker recently announced he would cut an additional $65.7million above the $250 million Republicans already imposed while he is barely taking any cuts out of his own office.

We all knew at some point that the state was going to have to make $174.3 million in additional lapses. It just seems odd that the UW is being asked to absorb $65.7 million or 37.7% of the total lapse while Governor Walker is volunteering just $1,742 in cuts to his own office, which makes up just .001% of the cut.

Perhaps the committee should be renamed the Assembly Committee on Criticizing Colleges and Universities.

Special Session? Special for Whom?

2011-10-10T11:24:00.000-05:00

...Immunity to pharmaceutical companies, attorney’s legal fees and trespasser liability seem more like a tea party manifesto or a corporate fundraising solicitation than a special session on jobs to me...

Read my entire guest blog for www.FightingBob.com about the pending fall floor period and special session here.

Pocan exposes Walker's legislative strategy

2011-10-05T17:00:00.000-05:00

When I went to the ALEC convention in August, they shared strategic tips on passing special interest legislation. In this video, I talk about how Governor Scott Walker is using that tactic to fast track his special interest legislation under the guise of a "jobs" agenda.

Governor Walker's Not-So-Special Session on Job Creation

2011-09-30T09:23:00.000-05:00

With Wisconsin's unemployment rate rising faster than the rest of the nation on Governor Scott Walker's watch, the governor has called his second special session on job creation. Check out this video, where I talk about how this special session, much like Walker's first special session, is just cover for corporate give-a-ways.

The temporary occupation of FitzWalkerstan

2011-09-02T11:36:00.000-05:00

Many have asked where the term "Fitzwalkerstan came from. I coined the term on the floor of the State Assembly. Find out why by viewing my video blog below.

Hey Walker, the buck stops where?

2011-08-19T16:18:00.000-05:00

According to the Walker administration’s Department of Workforce Development, Wisconsin gained 12,900 private-sector jobs in June.

Walker passes the buck on unemployment rate.

Who did Walker give credit to?

Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which brought your federal tax dollars home, both kept necessary need-based programs afloat while also funding projects that put people to work?

Nope.

Did he give legislative Democrats credit for passing more than 50 different job creation measures last session when we were in control of the legislature?

Nope.

Did he give credit to legislative Republicans, who thus far have talked a lot about job creation but yet passed very few ideas that will actually create jobs?

Nope.

So who did he give credit to? Well, himself of course. On July 28, 2011, he issued this release, touting the number of jobs created on his watch.

Since Walker was so quick to take the credit, you’d think he’d also be quick to take the blame for July’s 12,500 private-sector jobs lost.

Wrong again!

In fact, he puts the onus in part on the recall elections. So, how did the recall elections hurt Wisconsin’s economy?

Good question. According to the people who apparently write Scott Walker’s talking points (Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce), the recall elections created “uncertainty” in our economy. I’m not making this up. Check out WMC’s statement here, which Walker basically regurgitated the next day to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

When the Journal Sentinel asked Walker if he should be accountable for the job loss since he previously took credit for job gains, he blamed job loss on “incredible uncertainty.”

So there you have it. Scott Walker wanted to be governor, but now that he’s in charge, he doesn’t want to be accountable.

Governor Walker, your continuous political rhetoric can’t hide your lack of real movement on job creation in Wisconsin (lawyers defending legislative lawsuits and poll workers doesn’t count as job creation).

The Secret Society Known as ALEC

2011-08-07T23:05:00.000-05:00

At the ALEC convention, one moderator said the legislators are the football players and the corporate lobbyists are the coaches. read more...

Video from ALEC Convention in New Orleans

2011-08-06T21:43:00.000-05:00

In this video, I give insight into the recent ALEC convention in New Orleans.

All men (and corporations) are created equal...

2011-08-05T11:07:00.000-05:00

If you are a single, somewhat unattractive corporation (maybe you have a chemical dumping problem or something), and you need a little love only a state legislature can give, you need ALEC. Read more...

What I did on my Summer Vacation

2011-08-04T09:31:00.005-05:00

I really thought it would take more than five minutes in New Orleans before I realized the conservative movement had landed.

But it didn’t.

As I was waiting for my bags, I heard a mid-thirties woman talking on the phone. “Yah, I’m down in New Orleans for the American Legislative Exchange Council meeting. We write legislation, and they..." Continue at The Progressive...

Guest Blog Roundup

2011-08-04T09:25:00.002-05:00

I've been busy the last few weeks guest blogging for the Progressive and Fighting Bob about the recall elections and unemployment since my last blog post. Check out my guest blogs for the Progressive about what Senator Hansen's successful election means in the fight for worker's rights. I also encourage you to check out my guest blog for Fighting Bob on the unemployment fight and a follow-up on on the same topic on The Progressive.

Rep. Pocan takes on the GOP redistricting plan

2011-07-15T14:37:00.006-05:00

In the video below, I provide a basic primer on the Republican proposal for redrawing Wisconsin's legislative districts. From my perspective, the plan is one of the most rushed and more partisan redistricting processes that I have ever seen.

Click on the video below once to watch the video in this browser. Double click the video to be taken to my YouTube channel, where you can view this and other videos.

The GOP are not walking the walk

2011-07-01T13:15:00.000-05:00

Today I wrote a blog for the Progressive Magazine that points out a few fiscal promises the GOP made but haven't lived up to. Check out the blog here.

Walker vetoes don’t fix budget

2011-06-27T16:51:00.000-05:00

You may have heard last weekend Governor Walker signed the Republican biennial budget bill.

What you may not have heard is that he signed the bill at a private location and refused to take questions from the media. Not surprising, though, because he knows his budget is unjustifiable to the average Wisconsinite. Under Walker’s budget, the middle class will have to work harder for less and the unemployed will have a “cooling off period” before they can collect an unemployment check while the rich just keep on getting richer. Those are not Wisconsin values.

Before signing the budget, Governor Walker made 50 vetoes. So rather than fixing the budget, what did Walker veto? Some of the highlights include:

* The Sheboygan aerospace landing pad
* Politician’s statements of economic interest will continue to be available on the internet
* Daycare providers will not be fingerprinted
* Board of Regents will remove certain aspects of the UW-Madison employment plans
* Deleted a grain inspection report
* Drug Offender Diversion Surcharge Fund report vetoed
* Suspended Milwaukee police officers will not be paid
* Dog the Bounty Hunter will not be able to practice his craft in Wisconsin
* Chewing tobacco will not be taxed based on weight
* The Pres House will remain tax exempt

He had his chance to make this budget right. Instead, Governor Walker ensured the Republican budget is still full of gimmicks, mistruths and talking points that put Walker’s budget far from the document that puts Wisconsin on the path to long term fiscal stability, as they claim. The Republican budget puts more spending on Wisconsin’s credit card, gives billions of dollars in tax cuts to corporations over the next decade and balances their budget with one-time fund raids and transfers, all while cutting programs that help the middle class.

If you’d like to read my statement on Walker’s vetoes, you can find it here. If you are just as much of a budget nerd as I am and you’d like to see all 50 vetoes, click here. You’ll see as I do, Governor Walker is out of touch with the struggles of poor and middle class Wisconsinites.

Pocan & Risser introduce repeal of GOP collective bargaining law

2011-06-24T16:48:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, Senator Fred Risser and I introduced legislation to repeal the Republican changes to collective bargaining in Wisconsin. To see our press release, click here. Or, check out my video blog on the topic below.

Double click on the video above to check out other video blogs available on my YouTube channel. I encourage you to also follow me on Twitter @MarkPocan. I also regularly post about what's going on in FitzWalkerstan on my facebook page.

Representative Pocan summarizes the Republican Budget

2011-06-16T16:40:00.000-05:00

Wisconsin Representative Mark Pocan (D-Madison) concludes his daily talks about the state's biennial budget. Today, he summarizes the budget and talks about last night's floor vote.

In this video, Pocan pledges that while this is the last episode of his budget series, he will continue to expose right-wing policy through future video blogs.

Stay tuned. Next week, the Assembly is expected to take up concealed carry.

Debunking the dishonest GOP balanced budget, surplus claims

2011-06-16T00:27:00.000-05:00

Tonight, I was the second member of the Assembly Democratic caucus to talk about the Republican budget on the floor of the Assembly. I’ve received good feedback from my speech, so I’d like to provide my Assembly floor speech here.

Not to get too policy wonkish, but tonight when debunking the dishonest GOP budget claims, I referenced specific memos from the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau. People have asked for copies of these memos, so I’ve hyperlinked them in this blog for your reference.

During the speech, I referenced 7 different items. Here are links to the documents with a brief explanation:

1) Republicans have created so many corporate tax breaks in this budget that the Legislative Fiscal Bureau pegs the 10-year cost in reduced revenue to the state at $2.3 billion. (See page 2)

2) Republicans use credit card spending to push $338 million dollars in state debt off into the future, costing us an additional $89.9 million in interest. (See page 2)

3) The GOP budget includes, at a minimum, $411 million in fund raids. (See page 1)

4) In the 2015-2017 biennium, Republicans cost the state $501.7 million in lost revenue because of their giveaways to corporations and the rich. (See page 2)

5) After claiming they don’t raise taxes in this budget, Republicans actually increase fees by $111 million. (See page 1)

6) After giving tax breaks to the rich and corporations, Republicans take away programs that help the middle class with their changes to the Homestead Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit. (See page 3)

7) After all their talk during previous budgets about freezing property taxes, the Republican budget will result in $438.8 million in property tax increases. (See page 3)

Pocan defends the environment

2011-06-15T09:18:00.005-05:00

In today's daily video blog on Scott Walker's Republican budget, Representative Mark Pocan defended the environment and highlighted several damaging Republican actions.

Republican lies in the budget

2011-06-13T16:42:00.000-05:00

In this series of daily video blogs about the Wisconsin State Budget, Wisconsin Representative Mark Pocan (D-Madison) highlights several Republican lies in this budget. These lies include fund raids and earmarks.

To read more of Pocan's writings, follow @MarkPocan on Twitter. You can also find him regularly posting about what's going on in FitzWalkerstan on his facebook page.

Pocan talks about health care

2011-06-13T11:09:00.000-05:00

Continuing his daily video blogs about the impact Governor Walker's Republican budget will have on health care, Representative Mark Pocan talks about the differences between how Democrats and Republicans handled difficult budgets.

Pocan talks about clean government and consumer protection

2011-06-12T10:20:00.001-05:00

Governor Scott Walker's Republican budget makes drastic changes to clean elections and consumer protections. Click below to watch Representative Pocan, the former Democratic co-chair of the state's budget committee, briefly discuss these issues as part of his daily video blog to shed light on Wisconsin's state budget.

Why Republicans are fast-tracking Wisconsin's budget

2011-06-10T17:21:00.000-05:00

Wisconsin Representative Mark Pocan (D-Madison) takes a break from his daily talks about the policy in Governor Scott Walker's budget to talk about the process Republicans are using to fast track the bill.

Representative Pocan talks about Walker's education budget

2011-06-09T16:33:00.000-05:00

In his third daily episode, former co-chair of Wisconsin's Joint Committee on Finance, Representative Mark Pocan, talks about Governor Scott Walker's cuts to education.

How Walker and Republicans treat higher education

2011-06-09T07:57:00.000-05:00

Here's a short summary of how Governor Scott Walker and Republicans have treated higher education so far in this budget.

This is not a bad budget...

2011-06-07T17:23:00.000-05:00

Check out my new video blog on the state budget.

I see their true colors shining through!

2011-06-01T16:21:00.000-05:00

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. But sometimes, a headline is worth a million. As of 10:02 am, today’s online headline of Jason Stein’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story reads “GOP panel votes for corporate tax break” with a subhead that reads “But Joint Finance Committee further cuts credits for working poor.” You can read the story for yourself here.

How much more crystal clear could it be? Republicans are beholden to the “haves” and don’t seem to care about the “have nots.”

Now do you understand why they are intent on rushing this budget through and their Senators are afraid to stand for a recall election?

I’d like to dedicate the Cyndi Lauper song about strength and perseverance to all 12 Repubs on the budget committee. Because I certainly “see your true colors shining through.”

Downhill fast

2011-05-31T10:51:00.000-05:00

I recently submitted a column for FightingBob.com recapping the damage the budget will do. In case you missed the column, here it is below in its entirety:

------------------------------------
Downhill fast

By Rep. Mark Pocan

May, 26, 2011

It’s been two months. The snow has melted. We Assembly Democrats have concluded our historic 62-plus hour floor debate. The Senate 14 came home. Fox News and its fake palm trees have gone back to warmer climates. The national spotlight has gone dark. The 100,000-plus people have left and the Capitol grounds have turned from a mud pit to the grassy areas we all remember. It may seem like things are back to normal in Madison, but don’t let Republicans lull you to sleep.

Inside the Capitol, visitors are still greeted by metal detectors, swarms of State Troopers and a faithful band of progressives who still sing from a progressive song book every noon hour. If you think Walker’s 144-page budget “repair” bill was bad, just imagine how bad the 1,345-page biennial budget is. In just one document, Scott Walker and the Fitzgerald brothers, the rulers of FitzWalkerstan, have undermined so much of what we have worked so hard for.

The biennial budget has something for everyone; or rather, it takes something away from everyone.

For the fans of clean government and campaign finance reform, Republicans have killed the Impartial Justice Act Democrats passed last session in an effort to level the playing field for Supreme Court races. Republican ire for clean campaigns isn’t limited to Supreme Court races, however, as the Joint Committee on Finance just passed a motion that also kills the Wisconsin Election Campaign Fund, ending the post-Watergate campaign finance grants that have been in place since the 1970s.

Do you like alternative transportation? Not only does Scott Walker completely eliminate state funding for new bike paths around the state in his budget bill, but Republicans eliminate regional transit authorities as well, both of which were passed last session when I co-chaired the budget committee.

Speaking of the environment, fans of the environment will be appalled to know Walker robbed the state’s recycling fund that helps local governments afford municipal recycling, and instead gave money to corporations through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. Not to be outdone, the Fitzgerald brothers’ hand-picked Joint Committee on Finance recently took $280 million from nearly the next decade of funding for the Stewardship Fund.

And there’s something in the biennial budget for corporations too. Walker gave them a nice little handout when he reopened the Las Vegas loophole that Democrats closed last session, allowing corporations to shirk their civic duty to pay taxes. And to add insult to injury, the state’s budget committee recently took aim at the legacy of former Secretary Rod Nilsestuen when they undermined his working lands initiative, allowing farmers a means to protect their land from development, another legacy the Democratic majority cemented in the last budget.

If you are one of the many Wisconsinites who live paycheck to paycheck, there’s something in the budget for you too: more taxes and fees. Even though we were in a tough fiscal spot last budget, Democrats actually increased the Homestead Tax Credit. Republicans reduce that very credit. Also, Republicans have taken away the foreclosure and tenant protections we passed last session. Now, whether you own your home or rent, with a little bit of bad luck you have a better chance of becoming homeless in FitzWalkerstan.

Not to be forgotten, Walker and the Republicans plan to cut approximately $900 million from education. While the Bush recession helped create a deficit twice the size of what Walker is facing, two years ago I personally fought against even deeper proposed cuts in education.

Last but certainly not least, Democrats have made Wisconsin one of the best states in the country on health care, covering all kids and 98 percent of Wisconsinites. Not to be outdone, Walker’s proposed budget will reduce the number of people receiving health care assistance.

Wow, what a difference a couple years can make. With just a slim 52-vote majority in the Assembly, Democrats were able to pass a budget that closed corporate tax loopholes, raised taxes on the wealthiest of Wisconsinites, and held the line on taxes for low and middle-income people while investing in or limiting the cuts to programs that represent our core values as progressives.

The Senate Democrats and Assembly Democrats may have gotten a lot of attention for our two-pronged attack, with the Senate Democrats breaking quorum and the Assembly Democrats fighting like mad on the floor for almost three straight days. However, the real heroes were the 100,000-plus people who marched on the Capitol against the budget “repair” bill. In the end, Republicans proved they aren’t listening to you.

A lot of people have asked me, “What’s next?” There is still a great deal left to fight for (or against). Now, more than ever, progressives need to stand in solidarity to recall Republicans in the Senate and keep that momentum going forward to recall Governor Walker and reinstall progressive values in a state with the motto “forward.” Fighting Bob would expect no less.

More on Politi“Fact”

2011-04-28T12:04:00.000-05:00

The folks over at PolitiFact apparently don’t like criticism. Interesting, since it is their business to criticize others.

But they were not happy about me outing their “process”. I’ve gotten the angry email from them. Words like “absurd”, “outrageous” and “outrageous” again. I think I hit a nerve.

Well, here’s more to make them unhappy….

I just went through a few recent posts (and one older – all the way back to the February blog I wrote) that I wanted to share just how off they are:

1) On February 25, PolitiFact states: If public employees don’t pay more for benefits starting April 1, 2011, “the equivalent” is 1,500 state employee layoffs by June 30, 2011 and 10,000 to 12,000 state and local government employee layoffs in the next two years. Politifact rating: Mostly True.

Well, it’s April 29th, no “repair” in place and, well, no layoffs. “Mostly true?” Ah, more like false. That is the same thing being said by most credible people about the Governor’s claim at the time. Walker acted as a bully, repeatedly promised layoffs if he didn’t get his way, and PolitiFact turned the other cheek and gave him a pass. Bad PolitiFact. (Can you really explain this one?)

2) On April 13, PolitFact rated “NO FLIP” on Scott Walker’s request for federal stimulus money for expanding rail. He refused it, now he asked for it. They originally rated it a “HALF FLIP” (a flop?), but now under pressure changed to say to “NO FLIP”.

C’mon PolitiFact, really? After Walker aides asked you to revisit…YOU flipped. I think you need to PolitiFact yourselves on this one. And I also suggest you flip your rating again.

3) On April 12, PolitiFact states about Congressman Sean Duffy (R-WI): "The benefits that were offered to me as a congressman don’t even compare to the benefits that you get as a state employee. I just experienced that myself. They’re not nearly as good." PolitFact gave him a “Half True”.

The increased pay as a DA to a member of Congress is from $93,662 to $174,000. In addition to his salary spike, that’s almost doubling his pension BENEFIT. Half true? How about BS. Yes, he pays more for health insurance but that’s MORE THAN offset by his additional salary and pension benefit. And they are guessing on which actual health care plan he has, but have no verification (I’ll bet they sent a nasty email to him, right PolitiFact?)

And Duffy is complaining about not living “high on the hog”. Tell that to your constituents, Sean. But don’t worry about PolitiFact; they’ve got your back.

That’s only a few. I’ve got more.

But again, my goal is to make PolitiFact, an idea with merit, work. Right now, it’s a bit too sloppy and loose with the facts to be called PolitiFact.

Politi-facting PolitiFact

2011-04-25T09:08:00.002-05:00

After a rather pointed conversation with a PolitiFact reporter on April 14th, I wrote this blog in advance of an expected “false” rating from PolitiFact, but didn’t publish this in advance of their opinion piece. Here’s what I originally wrote with some new information added at the end.

Two months ago (fact check that) I wrote a blog called “Scott Walker’s Top Ten Lies”. I laid out a number of the lies and misinformation that Governor Walker had put out during the introduction and debate about the budget repair bill.

In point number 9, I explained that Walker is blaming state workers for the fiscal crisis, when in reality the amount of money raised in the repair bill from increased contributions to healthcare and pensions was less than 1/10th of one percent of the state budget. That amount, therefore, did not drive any alleged problem.

However, in leading up to that, I made mention that total salary and compensation amounted to about 8.5 % of the total budget. While the total salary and compensation figure is closer to 17.7% of the total budget, I was referring to a memo from the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau that excluded two agencies – Corrections and the UW System – due to their unique nature. The balance of state agencies totals 8.5%.

Here’s why. The Department of Corrections has been hands off in every budget as you don’t really have that much flexibility in reducing staff numbers. But the real thrust of excluding them is that during the furlough process, we didn’t have great savings here because we still had to staff Corrections 24/7 causing a situation where when a furloughed shift was off, often immediately following an OVERTIME shift was created to keep staffing. And, the UW System has a large number of partially and fully FEDERALLY funded positions, thus furlough and other savings would be largely non-existent due to the funding sources of those positions (they aren’t STATE dollars). Thus, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, the remaining totaled 8.5 percent. I didn’t make up the number, it came from them.

But that figure is interchangeable to the point I made – that the salary and benefit total “saved” is less than 1/10th of 1 percent of the budget repair bill. That is a fact, from the budget repair document itself (current budget is $65,775,284,400 according to Table 1 of Appropriations and Authorizations page of the Legislative Fiscal Bureau budget summary of Act 28 – the budget. The “savings” from having employees pay in for their health insurance and pensions in the budget repair bill for the current budget is $29,800.00. Do the math, its actually less than 1/20th of one percent).

Should have I been more clear with the 17.7%? In retrospect yes, as I should have written one more paragraph as I did above explaining why I used the remaining 8.5%. But that doesn’t change the point I was making at all.

Regardless which number you use, the just-under $30 million savings is under 1/10th of one percent of the budget EXACTLY as stated in my blog. That would be called a FACT, everywhere but PolitiFact.

However, with all the lies from the Republicans, the staff at Polifact apparently needed to address Walker staff concerns and rate a Democrat with a False rating despite that it was not the point of my blog.

I told the reporter just this via phone and email. Here is what sent to the reporter:

Dear Tom,

Thanks for our conversation today. I appreciate being able to explain my point in the two-month old blog you are referencing.

As I stated, I expect that you will focus on All Ten of the Top Ten Lies of Scott Walker. At minimum, I hope you will reference the point of item number nine – that Walker’s blaming the budgetary problems on the benefits paid to state workers is completely false. The total saved in the budget repair bill discussed is less than $30 million according to the bill itself, well under the 1/10th of one percent of the total budget referenced in my blog. I have provided that documentation to you, though it is public record as well.

Let me also note that there has been no PolitiFact evaluation yet on Governor Walker’s lie about the cut spending in the proposed budget; since then it has been shown the budget has an increase of $609.5 million.

I’m sure there are plenty of others. I know your hands are full. If you need any additional information, please feel free to contact me.

Mark Pocan

As a journalism major, I appreciate the profession and also the responsibilities of that profession. I didn’t post this ahead of time because I think it would be wrong to scoop a journalist who called me about a story.

Here’s the problem with PolitiFact. The point I was making was clear – you can’t blame state employees for budgetary problems as the amount being asked for in healthcare and pension contributions was much, much smaller than the scope of the alleged problem. It was less than 1/10th of one percent to be exact.

To ignore my point – much less the other nine points in my blog – is not good or fair journalism. (I guess the fact that they didn’t challenge any of the actual ten points means they agree Walker really lied. Too bad they had to dig that deep to find something to criticize.)

I’m disappointed, but more importantly, I wanted to share just how the Polifacts process works – or better said – doesn’t work at times.

I would expect better, and I hope that’s what we all get in the future.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Added as of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel publishing: Wow, I guess I am even more amazed/offended at two additional points.

1) The reporter, Tom Kertscher, lied. There is no sugar coating it. If you read the blog above, I clearly responded via email the same day (3:47 pm in fact) with the documents making my point. I will try calling him today to see if he merely lied or “didn’t get” it, but luckily I saved it in my sent file and cc’d a fellow journalist of his. Why he needed to lie to make his point makes me wonder if all the others that supposedly don’t respond to PolitiFact – both Democrats and Republicans – actually replied, but he didn’t share the truth with us.

2) Here is what he wrote in Sunday’s paper:

The Madison Democrat, a 13-year lawmaker, had this to say about what he labeled lie No. 9:

"Walker has said that our budget problems are largely due to employee wages. Not even close, Governor. Total salaries and compensation in the last budget were 8.5 percent of the entire state budget."

Here is what I wrote in the blog post (go ahead and check it):

9) Walker has said that our budget problems are largely due to employee wages. Not even close, Governor. Total salaries and compensation in the last budget were 8.5%* of the entire state budget. Even with the changes being made to paying more for health insurance and pensions, the total is less than 1/10th of one percent. Our real problem is the same as every state – revenues in sales tax and income tax are down due to unemployment. Luckily, unless Walker really blows it, he inherited a lower unemployment rate and a better tax collection rebound than most states in the nation. (underlining added) (Also, another paragraph explained the 8.5%* number, which included the 17.7% number)

The point of item #9 was that the approx. $30 million “saved” was a very insignificant amount in the totality of the budget, thus not driving the need for a budget repair. He intentionally left that part out, despite our telephone conversation where I emphatically explained this over and over. That was the first sign that this was a rigged process. His intentional non-inclusion can only be seen as deceitful at best.

Look, I don’t know how big this is in the grand scheme of the world. I just know that I have seen numerous times PolitiFact misrepresent or miscall items on both Republicans and Democrats in their quest to win the Pulitzer. If you don’t have enough real stuff to print daily, go every other day. Don’t just make things up. My guess is if they keep this up, they may instead be nominated for the Burlington Liar’s Club Award.

I’ll say it again. I would expect better, and I hope that’s what we all get in the future.

Who is ALEC?

2011-04-12T10:38:00.001-05:00

The recent blowup over UW-Madison history professor William Cronon involved a shadowy right-wing group called the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Professor Cronon rightly pointed out that ALEC supplies conservative legislators with cookie-cutter legislation that promotes far-right corporate views, legislation that is often written by the corporation for the corporations. And then the legislation is introduced by “independently-minded” GOP legislators.

The Republican Party of Wisconsin took offense and made a storm of open record requests from Cronon.

Well, back in December of 2007, I crashed…er, attended….one of ALEC's meetings and wrote an article for the Progressive Magazine.

Here it is.

Yup, they are a “special” bunch.

It doesn’t take a fortune teller…

2011-03-17T11:30:00.000-05:00

…Scott Walker is just that easy to predict.

I previously predicted Walker blew this financial crisis out of proportion in an effort to pass his radical agenda. Walker created a budget “repair” bill. Then, Republicans stripped the non-fiscal items out of the budget “repair” bill and passed a bunch of right-wing policy items instead. So much for the “repairing” of the budget.

Then, I called Walker’s “scoop and toss” debt restructuring deadline “unsubstantiated.” According to the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, Walker’s fake deadline was indeed phony.

In a February 7, 2011 blog post, I said “It appears that Governor Walker has turned Wisconsin’s progressive tradition into an unmistakable pattern of regurgitating hard right-wing ideas of conservative wordsmiths like Frank Luntz.” Little did I know how correct I actually was. According to a recent press account, the day after Governor Walker was punked by someone pretending to be a billionaire, he had a face-to-face meeting with renowned right-wing spinster/fixer, Frank Luntz.

Wow, the Governor is just too easy to predict. One final prediction: Walker will realize Luntz costs too much and will instead hire Bush “Speechalist” Harlan McCraney. McCraney’s promo video can be seen here.

Enjoy.

The integrity of the Legislature

2011-03-16T12:51:00.001-05:00

Usually, when people visit my blog, they expect a lot of facts, figures, links and pointed humor. After all, how else are we supposed to get through the day here in FitzWalkerstan?

Today, I left the humor and stats behind. Instead, I sent a somber letter to the Fitzgerald brothers.

Welcome to FitzWalkerstan

2011-03-10T15:20:00.007-06:00

Wisconsinites, don’t recognize your state?

Over the past month, the most public of public buildings in my legislative district, the State Capitol, has been regularly locked down during business hours. Even legislators weren’t able to get in or out.

Don’t worry, though. Gov. Walker has a tunnel.

Over the past month, Republicans have ignored 50 years of Wisconsin tradition of negotiating with our state employees. Instead, Walker just issued layoff notices to thousands of state workers.

Don’t worry, Walker just gave himself more than 30 brand new political staff.

Over the past month, Republican legislators have continuously violated our own legislative rules. They’ve even disobeyed state law and a court order.

Don’t worry, they’re above the law.

Don’t recognize your state? That’s because it’s not your state anymore. The Republicans have spent the past two months quietly trying to form their own junta aimed at dismembering Wisconsin.

Welcome to FitzWalkerstan, where Wisconsin is open for special interest give-a-ways and closed to the middle-class.

The New Order will be issuing new laws soon. Stay tuned.

Can anyone trust Scott Walker?

2011-03-09T10:23:00.000-06:00

Should the Senate Democrats trust Scott Walker?

No really, I’m asking.

We already know that Scott Walker lied to the voters when he embellished the size of the state’s deficit so he could justify sticking it to hardworking state employees. Even I’m not alone on that assertion, just check out Capitol veteran reporter Steven Walters’ Op Ed in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on February 27th that states, “And about that $3.6 billion deficit estimate. It’s misleading…”

Then, Walker admits, while being punked by someone he believed to be billionaire David Koch, to intentionally trying to dupe Senators into returning to the state without a compromise.

Then, he tells the media he won’t negotiate. Yet, as a result of a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel open records request, we see his office has been kinda sorta negoti-emailing with a Democrat.

So, Walker lies to the public and the media and admits to trying to dupe the Senate Democrats. Tell me why anyone should believe him at this point?

Governor, the ball is in your court. Pick up the phone, talk to the Senators directly, negotiate in good faith, come to a compromise and end this thing.

Follow the money… or the attorney getting the money

2011-03-07T17:05:00.000-06:00

Remember when the Republicans hired their own attorneys in a potentially multi-million dollar sweetheart deal to act on behalf of the Legislature in redistricting matters and refused to allow the Democrats to have our own legal representation?

One of those law firms is Troupis Law Office, headed by Jim Troupis, who used to be a partner in the Firm Michael, Best & Friedrich (also notably RNC chairman Reince Priebus’ former firm). Both firms were hired by the Republicans to lead their redistricting efforts.

Don’t forget Jim Troupis. We’ll come back to him later.

Now, remember Club for Growth? They’re one of the groups that have hijacked Supreme Court races and state partisan races for the past several election cycles to the tune of more than $1M. You may also remember the ads Club for Growth put up within minutes of Walker introducing his budget “repair” bill.

Back to attorney Jim Troupis. One Wisconsin Now uncovered who this man really is in 2009. They found significant business relationships with David Prosser and Legislative Republicans, big clients of Troupis’ legal career.

Now, we find out that Republicans are about to cut another blank taxpayer check to Troupis for legal advice to compel Senate Democrats back into the state. Troupis even got involved in court proceedings in Senator Jim Holprin’s district. The case was filed on behalf of a resident, bankrolled by Wisconsin Club for Growth and tried in court by… you guessed it, Jim Troupis.

So, there you have it – Troupis and Club for Growth in, er, in court together. How can Troupis be the taxpayer’s lawyer and also Club for Growth’s campaign lawyer without breaching some sort of ethics rules or at the very least, the public’s trust?

It would appear through a simple Google search, following the money is easier than one might think. Troupis earned a lot of money in his career from taxpayers and has a long history of donating to almost exclusively Republicans and conservative Supreme Court candidates. Now we learn that he’s also working with one of the GOP’s biggest campaign groups.

I’ll let you decide if this passes the smell test.

Pink Slip for Walker

2011-03-04T16:15:00.000-06:00

Scott Walker is in trouble. The man elected just a few short months ago with 52% of the vote has a disapproval rating of 57%, according to a new poll. His once bright political future may come to an end in nine months, when he is eligible for recall.

Walker's pink slip hangs proudly in Pocan's window.

Is he backing off, taking yes for an answer? Is he even looking for a political escape route that allows him to save face?

Nope.

Scott Walker is using real human beings as political shields to protect himself from the public shellacking he’s taken in the past few weeks.

It seems like just about every day Walker flings a threat at Democrats. Many of them have been debunked as illegal, out of his power or simple bullying. But now he’s gone a step further. Today, Walker threatened 1,500 innocent state employees with layoff if Senate Democrats don’t return and do his bidding.

Scott Walker, you’ve gone too far. The people of this state didn’t elect a bully. They elected you to fix the economy, not to increase the unemployment rate.

The King’s Same Old Speech?

2011-02-23T10:04:00.000-06:00

Last evening, Governor Walker continued his primetime tv appearances reiterating the same old tired refrain, including his refusal to do his job and negotiate with workers. He also refuses to talk or sit down with the Assembly Democrats.

In fact, if you listened to Walker’s “fireside” chat, it could have been taped a week ago; he totally ignored the offer from labor to accept the demands to pay more for health insurance and pensions. He knows if he talks about what he REALLY is up to - taking away workers' rights to collectively bargain for workplace and safety conditions – his polling numbers would continue to slip.

Even King Walker’s efforts to steal a page from FDR’s playbook of fireside chat aren’t working. FDR rolled out his New Deal program that provided relief and security for the poor. Walker did none of that. If you missed the King’s speech, let me paraphrase it.

Hello, lie, lie, lie, threaten, lie, lie, threaten, Wisconsin's founders are smart, lie, good night.

More lies about the bill and the process. And now threats to layoff workers if the Democrats in the Senate don't return.

Governor Walker, it's time to be a leader and negotiate. Democratic and Republican Governors have worked with the bargaining law for the last 50 years and kept labor peace in our state. It's your turn to do the right thing. This is what leaders are made of, Governor.

Near-Riots in Madison!!!?

2011-02-21T19:41:00.000-06:00

Did that headline draw you into this blog? Fox News is hoping those words draw in viewership. Right-wing pundits from Fox News said Madison had turned into a scene of “near riots.”

A couple thousand people attended the tea party rally while approximately 70,000 plus supporters of workers surrounded them in a parade that spanned a continuous circle around the State Capitol. One of my aides followed a national Fox Business reporter and their cameraman and overheard the reporter feverishly calling into his control room.

You see, the tea party rally was getting close to ending and he wanted a live shot of the counter demonstration clashing with the tea partiers. “They are pushing in and this is going to get violent,” the man said excitedly. If only wishing made it so. Volunteers walked through the rallies with signs that read “This is a peaceful protest” and reminded people to keep their cool. Tea partiers had to exit their rally through a sea of teachers and nurses. Nobody got hurt.

But surely there were a lot of arrests, right? Nope. Zip. Zero. Nada. Sorry Fox News, your efforts to incite violence was thwarted by a bunch of public servants. Who would have thought?

Scott Walker's Top Ten Lies

2011-02-19T18:52:00.002-06:00

It takes a lot of spin to sell a load of …., well, to sell an idea that is unpopular with most Wisconsinites. Here is a list of the top ten lies so far:

1) We’ve said it before, but we’ll say it again. The need for a budget “repair” bill is manufactured so that Governor Scott Walker can bring in a “Trojan Horse” of bad conservative ideas promoted nationally by the far right. The non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau said no statutory trigger was met to require a repair bill.

2) Governor Walker has said, "This is not a shock." The Republican who took office in January said "The shock would be if we didn't go forward with this.” He was referring to his claim that during his campaign he said he was going to do the things that are in his budget “repair” bill. Not so fast, Governor. This one is a make-your-own project: Google ANYTHING about getting rid of collective bargaining, allowing a single committee oversight over sweeping reductions of access to Badgercare, etc. No, really. Try it.

3) The question isn’t so much whether it’s a lie or not, but the size of the lie. Walker claimed if we didn’t pass his “repair” bill, either 1,500 or 6,000 workers would be laid off. Why its not 2,500 or 4,000, I don’t know but I do know it’s a lie. The total brought in by the changes to health care and pensions are $30 million. According to the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, the average salary for a state employee is about $50,300 annually plus benefits. At that salary alone, the total would be $301,800,000 for 6,000 employees – a total cost way more than the policy changes about employees’ benefits would bring in.

4) He also stated that “close to 200,000 children who would be bumped off Medicard-related programs.” More manure. Legally, the state does not have the option to change eligibility requirements or remove kids from Medicaid according to the federal health care law until the year 2019. And by then, trust me, Walker will not be Governor.

5) Walker’s claims that states without collective bargaining having faired better in the current bad economy are wrong. According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, three of the 13 non-collective bargaining states are among the eleven states facing budget shortfalls at or above 20% (Texas, Louisiana, North Carolina). Another, South Carolina, comes in at a sizable 17.4%. Nevada, where state employees have no collective bargaining rights (but local employees do) has the largest percentage shortfall in the country, at 45.2%. All in all, eight non-collective-bargaining states face larger budget shortfalls than either Wisconsin or Ohio.

6) Public employees living high off the hog? Hogwash! The truth is usually people in public service work because they want to be public servants. According to the Economic Policy Institute, wages and salaries of state and local employees are lower than those for private sector employees with comparable earnings determinants such as education and work experience. State workers typically are undercompensated by 8.2% in Wisconsin.

7) Both Governor Walker and legislative leaders said we needed a “repair” bill to address a payment owed to the State of Minnesota of nearly $60 million and money owed to the Patient’s Compensation Fund in the tune of $200-plus million. The bill as introduced addresses NEITHER.

8) After getting heat for calling the National Guard instead of the unions to sit down and negotiate, he quickly backpedaled saying he merely put them “on alert” to take over the prisons if necessary. His handlers quickly realized that he over-reacted and needed to pull back before looking completely obstructionist. We have not had to put the National Guard into action due to a piece of state legislation in, well, pretty much forever. Instead of calling the unions to sit down and negotiate, he calls the National Guard and downplays (lies) about it later.

9) Walker has said that our budget problems are largely due to employee wages. Not even close, Governor. Total salaries and compensation in the last budget were 8.5%* of the entire state budget. Even with the changes being made to paying more for health insurance and pensions, the total is less than 1/10th of one percent. Our real problem is the same as every state – revenues in sales tax and income tax are down due to unemployment. Luckily, unless Walker really blows it, he inherited a lower unemployment rate and a better tax collection rebound than most states in the nation.

10) The Governor has over and over that the “repair” bill is about making state workers pay more for their health insurance and pension. As we all know, if that is all that the bill did he’d be sitting back at his mansion right now, sipping on a nice scotch, and playing on-line chess with Grover Norquist. This bill is about so much more. We all know it takes away people’s rights to collectively bargain. But it also allows for sweeping changes and reductions in Medicaid, makes it almost impossible for unions to exist, engages in a risky ‘scoop and toss’ debt restructuring, sells off state power plants and much, much more.

That’s ten for now. I’m sure they will keep piling up. But seeing it all in one place sure is illustrative of Governor’s Walker accounting of the “repair” bill has no merit.

Governor, c’mon. You owe us better than this.

*The 8.5% figure from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau excludes two agencies: Corrections and the UW System. No one is talking about reducing critical public safety staffing at corrections (you can't) and many positions at the UW are largely if not excusively based on federal funds. If both agencies were included, LFB puts that number at 17.7% (a number that is skewed because of federally funded and other critical public safety positions). Thus, Walker 's proposed employee pension and healthcare changes remain a very small percent of total state employee salary and thus, a small portion of the state's budget and a small portion of the state's budget deficit.

UPDATE: The list of lies is growing fast. Check out this PolitiFact debunking Walker's statement that under his budget 'repair' bill, collective bargaining rights are "left in tact."

Why Walker Created His “Fiscal Crisis”

2011-02-18T16:55:00.002-06:00

Scott Walker’s fiscal crisis is only a crisis if he decides to make good on his campaign promises.

Walker keeps talking about how the state is broke, yet he had no problem making $3.8 billion in campaign pledges to the wealthy to reduce the state’s tax collections. Furthermore, he later promised an additional $1.5 billion pledge to “repeal the corporate income tax.”

Yup, that’s right, Scott Walker says our state is in a fiscal crisis, and yet he wants to reduce state revenues by $5.3 billion.

If you are a worker who’s been hit hard by the economy, did you stop collecting income as a way to fix the problem? Nope, didn’t think so. But that’s exactly what Walker plans to do.

Up until now, Walker has been successful in spinning his fake budget crisis. However, Walker has been so careless in his pledges, that One Wisconsin Now has captured every single special-interest pledge Governor Gimmick (Walker’s new nickname) has made. You can find a citation for every single dollar of the nearly $5.3 billion in pledges here and here.

Next time Walker says we’ve got a fiscal crisis, just remember that he’s referring to completely unrealistic $3.9 billion in new spending state agencies want (that’s an increase of 6.2%), and that doesn’t even factor in $5.3 billion lost revenue Walker has promised his wealthy friends.

No wonder Walker just asked for more time before introducing his budget. He’s beginning to realize it’s unrealistic to make good on all his campaign pledges. Tic-tock Governor, the longer light shines on your fables, the less the public and the media will trust what you say.

Walker’s Trojan Horse

2011-02-16T15:32:00.000-06:00

Governor Scott Walker’s manufactured $3.6 billion state budget deficit in the next biennium is rapidly unraveling as a bogus figure. Yesterday I pointed out that the figure is based on $3.9 billion in new agency requests (Table 1) for a spending increase of 6.2%, a figure we noted is never approved by the legislature. Those are REQUESTS, not actual dollars expended.

Well today the non-partisan legislative Fiscal Bureau released a memo showing that in the current state budget, agencies requested a 9.7% increase in GPR dollars, yet were given an actual REDUCTION of 2.6%. That’s a difference of nearly $3.5 billion!

That means this isn’t just a bunch of Democrats looking at the numbers that are being used to put a budget together and crying foul; this is hard and cold reality from a respected, unbiased resource – the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

Further, we also know that there was no statutory requirement for a “budget repair” bill from the same non-partisan source, yet Governor Walker is claiming we needed to act due to impending payments to the state of Minnesota and the money owed the Patient’s

Compensation Fund. Well, chalk up another lie. Walker’s “Repair” bill addresses NEITHER.

So just what is Governor Walker up to?

Remember the Trojan War.

The only way you can slip a bunch of bad public policy into law in Wisconsin is to disguise it as something else.

Create a crisis, claim you are the sole path to resolving that crisis needing to enact whatever measures are necessary and be a hero to the people. Right...

This week Walker is trying to be a darling of the national conservative movement by taking away workers rights, destroying collective bargaining and setting the stage for big cutbacks in Medicaid. Next week he announced a budget that is full of cuts to education, healthcare and funds for police and fire.

All of these actions are hidden in the Trojan horse called the “budget repair” bill.

Back then they warned “Beware Greeks bearing gifts.”

Today the problem is the national conservative special interests get the gifts, while we get what comes from the tail end of this Trojan horse.

(Next blog….How much of the $2 BILLION in tax breaks and loopholes Walker promised the wealthy during the election will be put into his budget causing a REAL budget crisis?)

Scott Walker’s Manufactured Crisis…aka Remember the Balloon Boy?

2011-02-15T11:39:00.000-06:00

Do you remember the balloon boy?

The balloon boy was the young boy that was allegedly thrust into the air by a large helium balloon. The media went wild. Everyone was on alert to save the boy. However, when the balloon landed, the boy was nowhere to be found. Instead we later found out that the boy had been hiding at home, instructed by his father to lie low as the family basked in the media attention.

Fast forward to today. 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 are we really in that severe of a financial crisis?

We found out yesterday after our briefing with non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, the $3.6 billion deficit in the next budget that Governor Walker and the media has been repeating is a MANUFACTURED CRISIS. The number is 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. In fact, I asked Director Lang when was the last time we gave agencies exactly what they requested and was told he couldn’t think of one and he’s been here decades.

Further, the budget forecast for the next biennium projects $1.5 billion in additional revenue something we would have loved to have last session.

And, the most recent national rating shows Wisconsin number 23 of 45 for deficits in proportion to our budgets, a far cry from last session.

The budget needs balance but there is NOT the crisis being manufactured. Yet Scott Walker is loading every radical special interest idea into a plan to “fix” the budget crisis.

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.

Wisconsin Open for Duplication?

2011-02-07T11:02:00.001-06:00

Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. But copying Ohio? It appears that Governor Walker has turned Wisconsin’s progressive tradition into an unmistakable pattern of regurgitating hard right-wing ideas of conservative wordsmiths like Frank Luntz.

Walker's actual Tweeted ham sandwich.

First, his brown bag slogan is a rip-off of a previous Ohio gubernatorial campaign.

Then, Ohio Governor John Kasich proclaimed Ohio “Open for Business” (as usual) as well.

And, Kasich is even working on his own privatization of their commerce department with no government oversight, just like Wisconsin is now attempting.

With all this copycatting going on, doesn’t this make you wonder which Ohioan first tweeted a picture of their ham sandwich?

Walker Woos Mainway, Inc. to Wisconsin

2011-01-19T09:37:00.000-06:00

For months, Scott Walker campaigned on creating a special session of the Legislature to put Wisconsin back to work.

Now we know one of the cornerstones of Walker’s job creation agenda: tort reform. Most people find that laughable. Well, not Mainway, Inc.

While business leaders around the state are trying to figure out how this is going to help them create jobs, I’ve done Commerce Secretary Jadin’s job for him. I’ve found the perfect company to woo to Wisconsin. I’d like to introduce to you to Mainway, Inc. You may be familiar with Mainway Inc. because of their now famous toys Bag O’ Glass, Johnny Switchblade and Chainsaw Teddy.

Tort reform practically killed this American company. But Walker might single-handedly bring them back. One step closer to 250,000 jobs I guess…

Walker’s bill will change Wisconsin law to require plaintiffs to prove a company was “practically certain” their product would result in injuries. Exactly how tort reform is going to woo companies away from making their shoddy products overseas where labor is cheaper and materials used can be deadly has not been made clear to me. But, since Republicans aren’t the least bit concerned, I guess neither am I. As long as companies are required to include disclaimers like: "Kid, be careful, broken glass", I’m sure nobody will get hurt ever again…

Walker stopping holiday tree lighting?

2010-12-01T09:57:00.000-06:00

Dear Exiting Gov. Jim Doyle,

I am writing to respectfully ask you to delay the Capitol holiday tree lighting scheduled for this Friday. In light State of Wisconsin’s current fiscal condition, I want to address several concerns about the tree.

First, the holiday tree was selected in secret (i.e. I wasn’t asked), potentially behind closed doors (or at least doors that close) and someone might have been smoking in the room (hence it could have been smoked-filled). I think the public deserves a much more open process for tree selection. I know the tree is already cut, placed and being decorated, but talk radio in Milwaukee has already made this an issue, thus my hands are tied.

Further, to bind the will of the future governor by pre-selecting ornaments, lights and tinsel is ignoring the will of the voters who spoke loud and clear in the last election - they do not want a lame duck governor and legislature decorating the taxpayer tree. I, along with the newly elected legislature, should make this and all decisions next year regardless of how much sense that directive makes.

While returning the ornaments freely donated and created by Wisconsin school children for our tree might initially seem foolhardy, the future maintenance and storage of these decorations could potentially cost the taxpayers a smidge of a part of a fraction of a percentage of our operating budget. I need the flexibility in the final months of the biennium to see if we can outsource this to the private sector, as I plan to have most state workers on furlough by then.

Finally, there is the matter of the train running around the tree. It must be stopped. It goes nowhere. It does not go there fast enough. Not enough people are riding on it. It is a boondoggle. I ask that you use it to fund roads and to reduce the deficit. Send it to any other community. Just make sure it no longer reaches Madison.

I realize that waiting until I am sworn into office on Jan. 3, 2011 to make these decisions means that we will have a bare space in the rotunda for the holidays and that school children everywhere will be saddened. But these are extraordinary times that demand extraordinary measures…that is to say, my measures.

Thank you for your consideration of this request and for understanding that my sole motivation for sending this letter is to create 250,000 jobs in Wisconsin. And in the spirit of the holidays, April Fo….ah Merry Christmas!

Sincerely,

Gov.-elect Scott Walker

I found this letter on the printer in 309 East. Yes, it is December 1 not April 1, but since all decisions are being moved up anyway...what the heck! Don't take it too seriously anyone, ok? It's the holidays!

The tooth fairy or GOP’s claim of an employer tax?

2010-10-22T10:14:00.000-05:00

Question: Which is a more credible: The tooth fairy or the Republicans' claim of an employer tax increase?

Answer: The tooth fairy. More than 1.4% of people in Wisconsin see action from the tooth fairy.

I received an email recently from a woman who lives in Sturgeon Bay asking me, as co-chair of Joint Finance Committee, about a “new 11% employer tax” that her representative had vowed to repeal.

It is going to be tough to repeal something that does not exist.

From what I’ve been able to discern, her representative is talking about repealing combined reporting.*

The only problem is that combined reporting is NOT an employer tax. And it only impacts a tiny number of companies that had been dodging Wisconsin taxes.

What it does is close the Las Vegas Loophole. It ends accounting gimmicks that huge, multi-state corporations used to avoid paying taxes in Wisconsin. Some were splitting their corporations into separate entities or using a PO Box in a state that has little or no corporate tax to shelter their profits.

According to initial Department of Revenue estimates, only1.4% of companies in Wisconsin saw a tax increase due to combined reporting. Those few had been using Las Vegas Loophole game or other gimmicks to avoid paying Wisconsin taxes.

Because we closed this Las Vegas Loophole, the rest of Wisconsin businesses and families are no longer left to pick up the burden.

Republicans who want to get rid of combined reporting for their big corporate buddies had to give it a new name like “employer tax” because when middle-class, average people or small business owners hear combined reporting explained, they enthusiastically support it.

So when a politician talks about repealing combined reporting – or a falsely labeled employer tax – what they are saying is that they want huge corporations to be allowed to hide their profits out of state. And the rest of us in Wisconsin can foot their bill.

I supposed they’d like us to pay for it with money we get from the tooth fairy.

* Because we closed tax loopholes, in fiscal year 2009/10 these corporations paid $75.6 million in taxes under combined reporting. An analysis done in January 2009 by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimated that corporate taxes overall for that time period would be $700 million. So combined reporting tax fairness accounts for 10.8% of that estimated number. We assume that must be where they got 11%.

The Five Billion Dollar Lie

2010-09-30T07:59:00.000-05:00

For the past year Republicans have been tossing out numbers in the billions of tax increases they attribute to the past budget. The numbers bounce around wildly, as if they are pulled from some hat. But a frequent fave is claiming we raised taxes by “$5 billion” in 2009.

So it was satisfying to see PolitiFact Wisconsin call out a candidate who used this fake number and put this claim to its “Truth-O-Meter” journalism test. This Pulitzer Prize-winning operation came up with a resounding answer: This number is FALSE.

And the researchers over at the Journal Sentinel, which staffs Wisconsin PolitiFact, didn’t stop there. Using analysis from the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, and other sources, they broke the argument down step by step so readers get the full picture of how Democrats balanced the budget when confronted with a $6.6 billion recession time deficit.

To get to this phony number Republicans included more than $130 million in “enhanced collection measures,” which as the article noted is primarily the hiring of 30 more state Department of Revenue Employees. (Collecting unpaid taxes!) And, they note, there is no tax increase levied on residents, rather it would “lighten the load on those who are already paying up.”

Republicans also included a guesstimated $1.5 billion in property taxes, which as the Journal Sentinel notes, are levies set by local taxing bodies.

And how about the rest of that number: The $1.22 billion increase in the budget adjustment bill comes from tax fairness measures like combined reporting (making large corporations who hide profits out of state pay up) and the hospital assessment, which was supported by the Wisconsin Hospital Association and others because it leveraged $1.2 billion in additional federal revenue for Wisconsin.

And the remaining $1.92 billion bienniel budget number, well PolitiFact chalked that piece up to “taxes on cigarettes, high-income earners and capital gains investments.”

So back to what we’ve been saying all along -- we balanced the recession budget with:

No increase in payroll tax

No increase in sales tax

No increase in income tax for 99% of Wisconsinites (It went up only for the top 1% wage earners)

Even the state impact on property taxes was lower than the average of the last five years of Republican governors Thompson and McCallum.

Thanks for putting this lie to rest. Let’s see if Republicans will take note or continue to deal in falsehood and fear instead of facts.

Davis calls for “immediate end” to “ill-advised program” he approved

2010-08-25T16:57:00.000-05:00

In a press release today Rep. Brett Davis calls for “immediate end” to an “ill-advised program” that he "learned" about today ... and just happened to vote for in 2007.

The program Rep. Davis says he recently "learned" about is the Wisconsin Department of Corrections paying for driver’s licenses or state-issued identification cards for prison inmates who are being released as part of their re-entry package so they have identification needed to apply for jobs, among other things.

Here is a quick refresher on its origins. The 2007 budget included a bipartisan Corrections package authored by Rep. Scott Suder and yours truly, which passed Joint Finance on a unanimous, bipartisan vote. It went to the Assembly floor in the budget (Act 20) where Rep. Davis was one of 23 Republicans who voted yes, putting the following into state statute:

301.286 State identification upon release from prison.

Before an individual is released from prison upon completion of
his or her sentence or to parole or extended supervision, the
department shall determine if the individual has an operator’s
license or a state identification card under ch. 343. If the individual
has neither, the department shall assist the individual in applying
for a state identification card under s. 343.50. The department
shall determine if the individual is able to pay all or a portion of
the fee under s. 343.50 (5) from the individual’s general fund
account. The department shall pay any portion of the fee the individual
is unable to pay from the individual’s general fund account.
History: 2007 a. 20.

WORD FROM THE 78th: People over corporations

2010-06-24T15:55:00.000-05:00

In my annual newsletter mailed to homes in the 78th Assembly District in May, I surveyed residents to get feedback on important issues. On a variety of topics, one theme came through loud and clear from my district: Corporations should not be given the same rights as real people and their power should be reigned in.

The recession, the financial market crisis, instability and greed on Wall Street and big-oil’s environmental disaster in the Gulf have taken a huge economic toll on our country. People are justifiably fed up.

Most telling was that the question garnering the largest negative response on the survey was: “Do you feel corporations should be able to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence the outcome of elections in Wisconsin?” 92% of respondents gave a resounding “No!”

And 88% of the people supported Democrats’ actions this past legislative session to close corporate tax loopholes, with just 5% against and the remainder undecided. Further closing of corporate tax loopholes was also the favored method among respondents for directing additional funding toward K-12 education. Constituents (75%) did favor tax credits for business, but only if they are used to create family-supporting jobs in Wisconsin.

Constituents agree that the most important issue facing our community is the economy. They want fair solutions that focus on curtailing the power of out-of-control corporations while rewarding honest business practices that help real people find good, family-supporting jobs.

Other details from the unscientific survey included:
● 83% of respondents support a clean-energy jobs bill that requires 25% of Wisconsin energy come from renewable sources by 2025.
● 79% are against U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan’s plan to privatize Social Security.
● 81% support medicinal marijuana if recommended by a doctor.

Happy Bike to Work week, Steve Nass!

2010-05-25T11:59:00.000-05:00

With session over Rep. Steve Nass is waging warfare against a nasty new demon threatening life as we know it in the Badger state.
Shield the children’s eyes. This new malicious entity … is a bike box.
What is wrong with colored pavement or markings at a busy intersection that are basically an advance stop line for motorists with a waiting area in front for bicyclists during red lights? They’ve been highly successful in Europe at minimizing conflicts between cyclists and cars. And the city of Madison just installed pilot project to test them out in a few locations, as the Wisconsin State Journal reported last week.
“It’s basically about liberal extremists in Madison who hate cars and think everyone should bike to work,” Nass told the State Journal here. “It is basically making it difficult to use an automobile.”
It’s odd – Rep. Nass didn’t seem to mind using a circuitous route to work which was a far greater inconvenience than a bike box could ever cause.
Isthmus’ Jason Joyce summed it up well on The Daily Page: “This is what happens when you let the Vicki McKenna show determine your legislative agenda. Steve Nass says the bike boxes, which received mostly positive response last week with a decent amount of apathy tossed in, are a liberal plot. Worse, they encourage bikes to get in the way of cars when the light turns green. I guess that means cars might have to yield occasionally. The horror!”
Yet Nass told the State Journal he plans to introduce legislation in January to ban such boxes. When one of my constituents, Rosemary Lee, phoned his office to complain – she was told by a staffer that state resources might be used. The call got more heated, according to Lee and she says the staffer told her that if she wants bike boxes, she should move to Europe.
FYI, we’ve been assured by the Madison Mayor’s office that not only was the vast majority of this pilot funded by the private company that makes the pavement markings – no state or federal money was used to test this creative idea.
I’m sure this news will make Rep. Nass so happy that he’ll take to the streets on his bicycle with the huge numbers of Madisonians who will be celebrating Bike to Work week next week, June 6 to 11.
If he does so, he’s welcome to use the City of Madison bike boxes.

Big Pharma won’t win

2010-04-22T17:21:00.000-05:00

You win some and you lose some. And anyone who thinks we “lost” on medical marijuana in Wisconsin is wrong. Dead wrong.

This legislative session, we made more progress in passing a medical cannabis law than ever before. In December of 2009 we had a fantastic public hearing that showcased this topic. If you were there, you know what I’m talking about. We packed the largest hearing room in the State Capitol – there was a line out the door of people waiting to testify. In the end, 104 people either registered in favor of the bill and only six logged their opposition.
104 vs. 6 -- we win.

The media took notice of the bill as well. Not only did 10 newspapers endorse the bill with none opposing the bill, but we got more press coverage statewide on this issue than ever before.
10 vs. 0 -- we win.

Four organizations registered in favor of the bill with the Wisconsin ethics board and only two registered against. 4 vs. 2 -- we win.

A Facebook page sprung up in favor of the bill and generated more than 10,000 fans in under two months. To this day, there is still no organized grassroots group working to kill this bill. Activism vs. Apathy -- we win.

Today, Senator Jon Erpenbach, the bill’s other co-author, and I sent a letter to supporters of the bill. We pledge to keep fighting. People’s lives are literally at stake. While the bill did not pass this session, that’s not gonna stop us from advocating for compassionate care for seriously ill patients.

Today, we got a glimpse of what motivates the bill’s key opponents. In today’s Badger Herald, a UW campus newspaper, Wisconsin Medical Society’s Mark Grapentine stated:
“We don’t believe anything you can just grow in your backyard … is really the best way to go in terms of advancing the science.”

So there you have it, if Big Pharma isn’t making it, they oppose it. Sadly, this just proves that medicine is a business just like any other. The only difference is, if I ignore one of my prospective clients for my small business, they’ll just go elsewhere. When the State Medical Society turns a blind eye to the will of seriously ill patients, they don’t have easy alternative options.

Apparently, the State Medical Society is completely ignoring the litany of evidence – anecdotal and scientific -- showing that cannabis provides life saving appetite growth to seriously ill patients and alleviates pain with fewer side effects of other pain killers.

Medical cannabis with a doctor’s guidance is less dangerous than a doctor prescribing addicting OxyContin. Just ask Rush Limbaugh. Or Vicodin. Just ask Brett Favre.

I’m no stranger to tackling tough issues in the political arena. And I don’t quit. Together we will win!

Ticket to a GOP circus

2010-04-16T13:35:00.000-05:00

Around 3 o’clock this morning something became crystal clear in the Assembly. We saw the true colors of Republicans who have been obsessively focused on punishing their former colleague, now Independent lawmaker, Jeff Wood.

It is not about good policy. It is not about clean government or the integrity of the Legislature. It’s not even about the Assembly officially punishing Rep. Jeff Wood.

The Republicans hope to orchestrate a spectacular three-ring circus.

Wood made everyone aware around 9 pm Thursday night that he planned to pull the expulsion resolution against himself from committee to the floor for a vote. Both sides went into caucus to talk. Dems came back around 10:30 pm.

But Republicans found ways to drag session out – standing informal, caucusing – for six hours. Then after delay upon delay, they cried foul – we simply could not resolve this in the middle of the night!

If their agenda was to punish Wood, they could have done so last night. The Democrats voted to pull the motion from committee so we could take it up, deal with it and move on to other important matters. There is a lot going on right now that is of vital importance to Wisconsin’s economy, our families and our future. But Republicans voted against taking action on Wood saying they didn’t like the early-morning timing they themselves had forced and that they wanted Rep. Steve Nass, who requested the expulsion proceedings, present.

First – this is not about Rep. Steve Nass. We offer our condolences to Rep. Nass right now on the loss of his mother. Having another chance to speak against Jeff Wood cannot be what is foremost on his mind at this difficult time. As Republicans have publicly agreed – this is about the institution and how we are going to discipline members. And Nass himself made it clear when he chose not to attend a committee hearing on the Wood investigation that his presence is not necessary for action.

“There wasn’t any need for me to be there,” Nass told the media after missing the hearing. “It was very clear cut…The resolution is very, very clear…”

Nass is right – his resolution against Wood is clear.

And now another thing is clear. It’s clear what the Republicans real motive has been all along.

The Comeback Country

2010-04-15T15:16:00.000-05:00

Interesting article from the April 19, 2010 Newsweek titled The Comeback Country. It lays out how all the negative speculation meant "bleak is the new black," then challenges that assertion, calling the US economic recovery a "remarkable turnaround."

"But the long-term decline of the U.S. economy has been greatly exaggerated," writes Daniel Gross. "America is coming back stronger, better, and faster than nearly anyone expected—and faster than most of its international rivals."

Worth reading.

The cost of a promise

2010-01-22T14:33:00.000-06:00

One thing I’ve learned in my years on Joint Finance is that words have a price. It’s easy to say things and make promises that sound good without realizing -- or at least without explaining -- what kind of hit it would mean to the state budget in extremely tight financial times.

One such vow in the newspaper a few months back caught my eye. Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker told an editorial board that if he were to ever run this state, he would eliminate Wisconsin’s tax on retirement income. Here’s what the resulting article in the La Crosse Tribune stated:

“[Walker] also promises to eliminate Wisconsin’s tax on retirement income, which he says hurts investment in Wisconsin because wealthy retirees flee to more tax-friendly states.”

So what would be the cost to keep wealthy retirees from fleeing? In such matters, the best answer comes from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. There is a detailed three-page answer you can read here, but it boils down to this:

A loss of $460 million per year.

That's $920 million we'd need to replace in a biennial budget. To put that in perspective, that is almost the equivalent of running the entire state Department of Corrections for one year.

So how would he cover that cost? Walker doesn’t say.

The Governor's Black Friday

2010-01-20T14:06:00.000-06:00

Governor Doyle must have been in a serious Friday funk last week. His office put out two press releases Friday that completely struck out.

First, the Governor’s office put out a release announcing the filing of the state Race to the Top application. The state put together a solid application hoping to be one of the lucky 15 states to get some federal, one-time dollars for education. That is a good thing.

What isn’t so good is the Governor’s Don Quixotic obsession with the mayoral takeover of the Milwaukee Public School district. Somehow a positive press release about bipartisan state efforts to get millions of dollars for education devolved into the Governor’s obsession with mayoral takeover of MPS.

In the second to last paragraph of his press release, he buried an attack on Democratic lawmakers for not lining up to jump the cliff with him on his, thus far, inadequately proposed plan for Milwaukee public schools. Does the Governor really believe he has lined up enough Republican votes for passage? Not from what I hear.

Governor, remember it was you who launched an inadequately laid out plan without the forethought of allies or a direction you were going. If there is fault to assess, that is where you should look. Perhaps you need to reassess the launch and execution of your “plan” for mayoral takeover.

Also of note was the media release sent out at 4:34 pm on Friday announcing the Recovery jobs report. Yes, I will say it again: The Governor announced 44,000 jobs retained or created through recovery dollars at 4:30 pm on a Friday, the black hole of media times to get coverage. Doh!

It’s time to get back to the legislative Democrats’ #1 priority – jobs. I think the Mayoral takeover plan in its current form is on self-induced life-support.

Co-ink-a-dinky?

2009-12-22T14:24:00.000-06:00

Exhibit A: Republican legislators ask for a review of Medicaid costs at the Joint Finance Committee, which took place last Thursday.

Exhibit B: One day after the meeting, the Wisconsin Taxpayer Alliance puts out what I’ll generously call a “report” (less than two pages) about the soaring costs of Medicaid.

Now I am certain it was not at all coordinated. The self-proclaimed “independent” Wisconsin Taxpayer Alliance just happened to release its own report a day later. On the same topic. Within 24 hours. What an amazing coincidence.

It’s no surprise that Republicans and the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance are on the same message. Too bad it’s the wrong one.

The sloppy, partisan Taxpayer Alliance report, less-than-two-pages long, fails to account for basic questions an average high-school term paper would not miss. With one passing sentence it glosses over the elephant in the room: soaring health care costs. Wouldn’t you want to know how much health care costs in general have increased over the same period? I know it would have been expected as part of a paper written at East High School.

Instead it focuses on enrollment in the plans having increased – including “the increased emphasis placed on covering children and families.” Ah ha – it is those insidious poor children that are driving up state and federal costs. And, of course, all the people who have lost their jobs during this national economic crisis are to blame as well.

The poor and unemployed are the villains -- not the skyrocketing cost of health care. Never mind that during the time period covered in this report, the state’s cost per person served – the part Wisconsin taxpayers cover – was cut in half.

And, to make matters worse the corporate-leaning Taxpayer’s Alliance decided that providing health care comes at the expense of a Democratic priority – education. No analysis on the subject, just GOP rhetoric. Forget all those corporate tax loopholes we filled this year…

Finally, nowhere did the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance conclude that our country desperately needs national health care and health insurance reform.

But of course that’s not a Republican approved talking point.

Joint hearing

2009-11-30T15:59:00.000-06:00

It’s no surprise that Sen. Jon Erpenbach and I have heard a few wisecracks about scheduling a “joint public hearing” on our bill to allow suffering patients the option of medicinal marijuana.

But when the state Senate and Assembly team up for a hearing – it’s called a joint hearing, no escaping it. And that is what the health committees of the two bodies are doing on the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana bill on Dec. 15 at the Capitol in room 412 E at 10 am.

We expect to hear from folks representing some of the nonprofit groups that back our bill, such as the Epilepsy Foundation, HOPE the hospice and palliative experts association, Wisconsin Nurses Association and the ACLU.

Some national groups will fly to Wisconsin, including the Marijuana Policy Project. The Drug Policy Alliance will be represented by Daniel Abrahamson, and if his last name is familiar, that’s no coincidence. He happens to be Supreme Court Justice Shirley Abrahamson’s son.

Pot jokes aside, this joint hearing is a positive sign that this bill is being seriously considered and debated in the Capitol. And that's no joking matter for patients who are suffering.

I’m haunted by stories I’ve heard of a suffering mother who had to send her teen to the street to illegally purchase marijuana so she can keep down food or ease her pain.

I expect we’ll hear from quite a few patients suffering the devastating impact of such debilitating and painful diseases as cancer, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS and post traumatic stress disorder.

They highlight two reasons for this bill: common sense health care and compassion.

Many of Wisconsin’s newspapers, including the Wisconsin State Journal, the Appleton Post Crescent, the Wausau Daily Herald, have editorialized in favor of our bill and we appreciate their support.

I was particularly struck by today’s column from Capital Times editor emeritus Dave Zwiefel: “The time for Wisconsin to become the 15th state to allow patients to use pot to make their lives a bit more comfortable is long past due. My own father, who was suffering mightily from the pains of pancreatic cancer, found some relief from marijuana I was able to illegally purchase for him in the last weeks of his life.”

That’s why we need to pass this bill.

If a job is created in Wisconsin ...

2009-11-25T11:55:00.000-06:00

What if you created 53,000 jobs and nobody noticed?

I’m a bit stunned. I know it’s more fun to talk about what is bad about government than good. Heck, I’ve done more than my share of that in the day.

But in the last week, two private industry reports were released that show a cumulative effect of roughly 53,000 jobs being created or retained in Wisconsin thanks to federal recovery dollars, the Wisconsin stimulus bill (Act 2) and the state budget. And no media outlet seems to have noticed or cared.

Yes, the Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association (road building firms) and several unions released a report Tuesday that shows 28,500 jobs. And the Associated General Contractors of Wisconsin, Inc. (construction firms) released a report last Thursday showing the creation of more than 25,000 jobs. Both reports credited government with helping create private jobs.

The business community understands what got done this year.

However, others apparently don’t. If a job is created in a state and no one is around to talk about it, does it actually count? Heck yah! Just ask the worker who is now bringing home a paycheck.

It’s easier to criticize mistakes on federal reports about recovery dollars with wrong zip codes and the like than to talk about real jobs created in Wisconsin.

Even better, Rep. Robin Vos, a Republican from Racine County, put out his own press release admitting the federal recovery dollars worked in creating jobs. A GOP first: Obama does good!

But he failed to mention the $300 million the state legislature approved in Act 2 for road construction. Also not mentioned was the additional $250 million spent on roads that was added to the state budget to spur jobs. Maybe he leaves that out because the Republicans voted against both times. And let’s not forget the building projects approved in the capitol budget that - say it with me - the Republicans voted against.

So while the private employers of 53,000 people in Wisconsin are thankful at this time of year for the jobs created by the Democrats at the federal and state levels, it appears no one else seems to want to also notice the mammoth undertaking.

If only they had listed a wrong zip code on their press release…maybe it would have made headlines.

Happy Anniversary

2009-10-27T12:47:00.001-05:00

Happy Anniversary?

You probably didn’t celebrate it. At least I hope you didn’t.

Yesterday, October 26th, was the second anniversary of passing the previous state budget. On October 26th, 2007, Wisconsin Act 20 was passed, making it the last-in-the-nation state budget to be completed.

This year, you should remember, we got the budget done on time – by July 1st – for the first time since 1977.

With the Democrats in control, somehow we got our job done on time. And we did it protecting state taxpayers during the worst financial conditions of most of our lifetimes.

Now that’s something to celebrate!

Enough to make you a vegetarian

2009-10-20T12:19:00.000-05:00

One of the reasons I was glad to get my blog going again was to share "the rest of the story" on issues facing Wisconsin.

Case in point from last week….

You’ve heard the adage: “Laws are like sausages — it is best not to see them being made.” The roll out of job creation numbers by the Governor's office last week was pretty mangled, even for sausage.

According to the Obama administration, an estimated 22,100 jobs have been created and retained in Wisconsin thanks to the recovery dollars.

Some jobs were created directly by recovery dollars, some jobs were saved thanks to the cash and a good number of jobs would be retained or created due to the ripple effect through the economy.

Well, the initial numbers in Wisconsin got rolled out with all the finesse of an elephant doing ballet. Within an hour of being told at the Joint Committee on Finance meeting on Tuesday that we would be briefed on any job creation numbers that were to be reported, the Co-Chairs sat down for what I assumed was an initial briefing.

As we began raising questions on the incomplete way the report was being presented, someone passed around an iPhone. The screen revealed the clunky report had already been made public and was posted on WisPolitics.

But the real problem wasn't bad timing. The problem was the meat of the report. It was a partial report of a limited segment of recovery dollars. The media were given part of the story: the creation of 8284 jobs due to some of the recovery dollars – but what wasn’t included were such things as jobs from grant dollars, jobs from money directed to universities and local governments, jobs from tax credits and the impact of money being spent in the local economy . So legislative leaders scrambled to fill in the gaps: 22,100 jobs created. Context explained. Workers counted.

At a time of the Democrats making job creation our number one priority, it is hard to have a partner inadvertently downplaying the solid work of recovery dollars.

Republicans are doing that all on their own. Instead of trying to help us put Wisconsinites back to work, they waste their time throwing tea parties, raging at rallies and dodging the real work.

People care about the fact that, in the face of dire economic circumstances, we have made job creation and retention our number one priority. They care that the unemployment rate just went down. The real story here is that the economy is beginning to recover and the Republicans don't like it because they aren’t the ones making the sausage anymore.

Hi, I'm REALLY Mark

2009-10-15T10:49:00.000-05:00

Well, I’m back.

It has been just over two years since my former blog was taken over by a German bot, which now appears to have me hawking “psytrance chillout musik.” Seriously. Check out my alleged Astores (whatever that is).

But I have to admit, I miss my hijacked blog.

I know a lot of Republicans twitter these days. Maybe I’m being old fashioned when I say I want to go back to blogging. (Yes, I said old fashioned in the same sentence as blogging….yikes.)

But it is really hard to talk about substantive policy or issues in the amount of words that fit on a bumper sticker, which is what twitter usually is. Consider these words of wisdom:

“Honk for Inhofe in Tulsa!” – US Senator Jim Inhofe, Oklahoma
“the debate is over” – Gov. Bobby Jindahl, Louisiana
“@suzy_rice @Ridgeliner7 @NRSC Thank you for including me in your #followfriday recommendations” – US Senator John Ensign, Nevada

What the…???

So go ahead and call me old fashioned because I would like to express a few thoughts in a blog -- something more meaningful than honking or declaring an unknown debate to be over, even if @suzy_rice likes it short and sweet (if that is her real name).

So I will try to make sure that what is really going on behind the scenes in the State Capitol gets out, warts and all. So check back. I plan on offering my insight on all sorts of issues facing Wisconsin, from job creation to proposed legislation to federal recovery dollars and more. And some fun stuff too….

Here’s my promise. I will try to be as candid as possible about my observations, even if they aren’t popular with everyone. Because I think that is what is expected of me.

Thanks for stopping by. See you soon with some “meat.”