July 29, 2002
Well after sniffing on the so-called Wisconsin "Budget Repair Bill" for awhile, I had to put on my Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer antlers. You know why? This budget bill is Christmas in July for Special Interests! Think about it: the
Governor tells local governments that they are bloated and need to find more ways to be efficient, yet road builders and the Department of Transportation make off like bandits in this budget. Just click here to see what Representative Jon Richards says about the guv's Milwaukee road building initiative. When asked how the state can possibly afford such projects, the guv said "the state would have to set its spending priorities."
Meanwhile, how come so many humans in Wisconsin aren't aware of the millions and millions of dollars the state gives away to private businesses each year with no strings attached? Don't you realize that it's this kind of budget hijinks that have created the financial mess you are in today? A recent guest on my dad's and Jim Mather's show Commentary, Joel McNally, has given gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett some credit for saying that it's time to at least look at tax exemptions.
Back in early July those budget watchdogs (I love that word!) at the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign exposed this monkey business in the legislature's fiscal plan:
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Last year, legislators and the governor put the 2001-03 state budget on the auction block, stuffing it with at least $493 million worth of items that benefited special interests - equivalent to $127 for every Wisconsin taxpayer - and received $4.6 million in large individual and political action committee contributions for their effort. A year later with the state economy in shambles, it seemed likely that they would have had little choice but to make deep spending cuts and/or review sales and property tax exemptions and other special interest breaks as part of the budget deficit solution. But lawmakers appeased the state's largest teachers' union and business lobbying groups by refusing to consider cuts in education spending and flatly rejecting a suggestion by the counties association to review hundreds of millions of dollars in sales tax exemptions that well-heeled contributors have received over the years as a result of large campaign contributions. Lawmakers also left untouched all of the special interest items they approved in the 2001-03 budget, including $292 million in new roads, a $45 million high-tech zone program and $8.6 million in breaks for ethanol producers, cable television operators, business, dog tracks and banks. |
Breaks for dog tracks? I'll tell you this folks, you might laugh at my kind when you make us chase rabbits around a track, but nothing looks more ridiculous than your legislators chasing special interest money around the capital.
By the way, the legislature has also shelled out close to a million bucks to pay the legal fees of caucus employees and others under investigation. I guess it's Christmas in July for trial lawyers too!
Let me close by saying that our top dog in the United States Senate, Russ Feingold, exposed some Christmas in July madness going on in Washington back in 1999. In the spirit of Fightin' Bob LaFollette, Russ has often "called the bankroll" on the floor of the US Senate to show which big money interests stand to gain from federal legislation.
I hope you're not offended by getting advice from a dog, but after this latest budget debacle I must respectfully bark that you desperately find some legislator willing to call the bankroll in Madison.