“I would think most people in the state would think after the U.S. Supreme Court rules on this that there’s certainly not a lack of work to be done in Milwaukee County on issues related to crime and on other issues,” Walker said. “We hear, not only in that county, but in other counties, about the need for additional district attorneys and additional resources. I think a lot of people wonder, if they continue to spend time after the U.S. Supreme Court were to rule on this, if that’s really necessary, if they have time to spend on this even after the courts have shut it down.”
Tag: Scott Walker
Welfare Reforms Help People Get To Work
It worked when Tommy Thompson did it. It worked when Clinton replicated it on a national level. It worked when Walker did it. I sense a pattern.
The existing FoodShare Employment and Training (FSET) program was redesigned last year to help participants meet the federally mandated criteria while providing them free resources they need to enter the job market so that they can be weaned off government benefits.
Fifteen months after the program’s approximately $60 million recreation, Walker announced that Wisconsin Department of Health Services data shows that 14,400 FSET participants, 38 percent of those eligible, have found employment, averaging $11.99 per hour and working a little over 32 hours a week, which is significantly more than the state’s minimum wage and the minimum requirement to keep food benefits.
Walker makes first offer on transportation budget
My column for the West Bend Daily News is online. Here you go:
Gov. Scott Walker released his transportation budget proposal last week and made his position perfectly clear when stating he is “not going to raise the gas tax or other associated fees without a corresponding reduction.” That is a welcome statement to this taxpayer.
The issue Wisconsin is facing in the next budget is the forecasted revenue for the transportation fund falls about a billion dollars short of paying for forecasted expenditures. Whether this happens to a family, business or government, there are only three things one can do when this happens: reprioritize and reduce the forecasted spending, borrow money, or find a way to increase revenue. Walker has taken the last option off the table and attacked the issue with a combination of the first two options.
Walker’s justification for refusing to increase revenue by increasing taxes or fees is simply that despite several years of tax cuts, Wisconsinites are still taxed too much. Walker would rather the government do the heavy lifting of prioritizing and cutting back instead of forcing families to do it to pay higher taxes. The governor is right.
Wisconsin’s gas tax is still among the highest in the nation. According to a fact sheet the governor released, at 32.9 cents per gallon, Wisconsin’s total taxes and fees collected at the pump ranks as the 11th highest in the nation. But that is only part of the story. The same Wisconsinites who pay the gas tax also pay all of the rest of Wisconsin’s tax burden, and it is a heavy burden. Wisconsin still ranks as the fifth highest taxed state according to CNN/Money. As State Sen. Duey Stroebel rightly said in a recent column, “With Wisconsin’s overall tax burden still in the top 10, this is no time to be campaigning for higher taxes.”
Meanwhile, it should be noted Wisconsin spends a ton of money on transportation — more than most states. Wisconsin spends about $3.8 billion per year on highways, which ranks 14th nationally. Total transportation spending, including state and local spending, is 33 percent higher than the national average according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
In other words, despite cries of “poor” from some folks, there is plenty of money for transportation. Yes, the recipients of that spending always want more, but it is the job of the administration to prioritize the spending within the confines of Wisconsinites’ ability and willingness to pay.
That is exactly what Walker’s budget proposal does. Walker’s transportation budget proposal actually increases state funding for maintenance of existing roads and sends more money to local units of government for their transportation needs. He partially pays for those increases by halting, delaying, and slowing down some existing projects including the widening of Verona Road in Madison, expanding Interstate 94 in Racine and Kenosha, and part of the Zoo Interchange.
Walker’s budget proposal also seeks to borrow $500 million, which, according to the governor, is the lowest level of borrowing since the 2001-03 budget. That is still a lot of borrowing, but using debt to fund major projects used for 30 years by future taxpayers, too. The key is to manage debt sensibly.
Walker is taking the correct approach to managing the state’s transportation needs through prioritization and forcing efficiencies instead of turning to the taxpayers for more money. He is also right to shift more spending to maintaining the roads the state has and away from more expansions. Is it perfect? No. It still spends and borrows too much, but it is a very good start.
Walker to Propose Sales Tax Holiday
Eh…
During appearances Wednesday in Green Bay and Milwaukee, Gov. Scott Walker will announce a sales tax holiday on school supplies that he will propose in his 2017-’19 budget bill in February. The proposal will need legislative approval, but Assembly Republicans were already set to push for a similar proposal in a separate event earlier scheduled for Wednesday.
[…]
That proposal would have decreased state tax revenues by $13.2 million a year and local government tax revenues by $952,000 a year. That would amount to a cut of just one-quarter of 1% of the $5.06 billion in sales tax revenues last year.
I remember when these became the rage across the South. As a consumer, it’s kind of nice to save a few bucks and many stores use the occasion to have promotions and such, but it’s gimmicky. I would prefer real tax reform, but I’ll take it.
Governor Activate National Guard to Quell Milwaukee Violence
Necessary, but sad that it is.
Following a request from Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, and after discussions with Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and Adjutant General Donald Dunbar, I have activated the Wisconsin National Guard to be in a position to aid local law enforcement upon request.
I commend the citizens who volunteered in clean-up efforts this morning. This act of selfless caring sets a powerful example for Milwaukee’s youth and the entire community. I join Milwaukee’s leaders and citizens in calling for continued peace and prayer.
It is also important for citizens to know that Wisconsin is the first state in the nation to have a law requiring an independent investigation anytime there is a shooting by a law enforcement officer that leads to a death. I will not comment on the specifics of the case as it is now under this investigation. I do, however, hope people will give law enforcement the respect that they deserve for working so hard to keep us safe.
Let’s hope for a night without any deaths, injuries, or property damage. Is that too much to hope for?
Governor Walker Calls Signals Flat Spending for Most Agencies
Good.
But in a letter the governor sent July 25 to the heads of state agencies, Walker indicated his budget proposal won’t include any new funding for UW or any but a few other departments.
A list of “budget targets” from Walker’s office states that “all agencies should assume there will be zero growth” in state funding, with a few exceptions — the governor writes that he will seek more funding for K-12 education and for state departments such as Corrections and Health Services.
I would like to see more decreases, but flat spending is better than increased spending.
I Smell a Trump Clothing Line
Whether you agree with Walker or with Cruz depends on whether you believe the party, as a matter of pure honor, needed one person onstage to suggest in the mildest, most oblique way that perhaps Trump isn’t fit for the presidency. Cruz was the kid at the procession who can’t help noticing that the emperor isn’t wearing any clothes. The crowd would have stoned him for it if they could have.
Of course, now I’m picturing Trump without clothes ~shudder
Walker Says Teachers Should Be Paid On Merit
Apparently Governor Walker is getting heat for these comments.
When asked whether he would encourage a relative with a teaching degree to seek employment in Wisconsin or Minnesota, Walker said Wisconsin.
“They don’t have to wait 20 years to be able to succeed,” Walker said. “If they’re a great teacher and they’ve got great incentive to perform they can get a high-quality teaching job anywhere in the state of Wisconsin and they can get rewarded for that and not have to wait to build years of seniority.”
Walker said school districts can set pay based on performance and hire based on merit.
“It’s about putting the best and the brightest in the classroom,” Walker said. “If someone is an exceptional talent and wants to go into education, they can be rewarded for that.”
When asked whether he thought such incentive-driven salary programs would be a hindrance to allowing school districts to keep quality teachers, Walker compared teaching to being a player in the NFL.
“If the Green Bay Packers pay people to perform and if they perform well on their team, (the Packers) pay them to do that,” Walker said. “They don’t pay them for how many years they’ve been on the football team. They pay them whether or not they help (the Packers) win football games.”
Walker said Wisconsin school districts can pay either a fresh college graduate or a 25-year veteran based solely on performance.
“Most businesses outside of government, that’s how they operate as well,” Walker said.
I understand that measuring merit (or even defining what constitutes “good”) is subjective given the nature of the job, but that is true of many jobs. After all, someone thinks that Jay Cutler is good enough to deserve a massive contract. But is there something inherently wrong with the notion that good teachers should be able to be paid more than crappy teachers?
Walker Wants Transportation Budget Early
Good. Let’s have time for the debate before the election and well before the next budget.
Gov. Scott Walker has redoubled his resistance to increasing gas taxes or vehicle fees to fund Wisconsin roads, saying near-term spending on large highway expansions instead must be curtailed.
In a letter to Transportation Secretary Mark Gottlieb, Walker also instructed him to submit his agency’s budget request by Sept. 15 instead of Nov. 15 to “allow for a full public discussion.”
Walker’s Third Term
So?
MADISON — Gov. Scott Walker sent conflicting signals this week by putting off for at least a year his final decision about whether to run for a third term as governor.
Walker said he plans to wait until after the 2017-2018 state budget is completed, a process that will likely wrap up next summer. He had previously said he would take the rest of this year to make a decision and announce it sometime after that.
“I think it`s important to stay focused on the budget, to get that through and put the time and energy needed in for that, but it won`t be long after that,” Walker said.
Analysts were conflicted about why Walker would build in the additional time. A Republican strategist said it allows the governor to focus on the state budget and the repayment of his presidential campaign debt, while a Democratic strategist saw it as proof that Walker would not run for a third term.
Whether he is on the ballot or not, the framework for the next election is already set. The question will be, does Wisconsin want to continue the policies of Walker or not?
I am a bit baffled by all of the media pressure for Walker to announce whether or not he intends to run for a third term. The election isn’t for another two-and-a-half years! Why does he need to decide now? He doesn’t. It just gives the media something to write about every few weeks.
Trump’s Oral Diarrhea Mentions Walker
“I like Walker actually in a lot of ways,” Trump told the newspaper. “I hit him very hard. … But I’ve always liked him. There are people I like, but I don’t think they like me because I have hit them hard.”
Asked Monday in Madison about the comments, Walker wouldn’t rule out being Trump’s vice presidential pick, instead saying he was focused on being governor. He said he laughed when he read Trump’s comments.
“It’s kind of interesting to hear that after the things that were said about me a couple weeks ago,” Walker said. “It’s almost breathtaking that I was listed in the first place.”
Scott Walker Endorses Ted Cruz
Good. I’m glad he got off the fence.
Washington (CNN)Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker formally endorsed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz on Tuesday, saying he is “a strong new leader” and “constitutional conservative.”
“After all these years of the Obama-Clinton failures, it’s time we elect a strong new leader and I’ve chosen to endorse Ted Cruz,” Walker told conservative radio host Charlie Sykes on Newsradio 620 WTMJ Tuesday.
Walker Should Endorse Cruz Now
I agree with Wiggy, for all of the reasons he states.
It’s time for Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker to endorse Texas Senator Ted Cruz. When Walker withdrew from the presidential campaign trail, he called on other Republicans to consider dropping out to unite the anti-Trump forces around one candidate. His advice was ignored then and Donald Trump has built a delegate lead while the field sorted itself out.There are only two Republican challengers to Trump remaining now, and only one of them, Cruz, has a chance of winning the nomination outright. Strong showings by Cruz can also prevent Trump from getting the necessary 1237 delegates needed to have a majority before the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.
And I’ll add a reason. Walker’s popularity is down within the Conservative base in Wisconsin after his flirting with the ethanol lobby in Iowa and disappearing during last year’s bruising political fights in Wisconsin. If he stands aside now and lets Trump win Wisconsin unchallenged while failing to support the solid conservative candidate in the race (Cruz), Walker will struggle to regain his stature with the base of supporters he will need to win reelection in 2018. Walker needs to stand up and earn his self-selected “unintimidated” moniker, or forever lose it.
This should be an easy call for Walker.
Governor Walker Listens
Governor Walker was in Washington County for a listening session. The Washington County Insider was there and has the details.
Gov. Scott Walker hosted a listening session at Jackson Village Hall on Thursday afternoon. About 40 community leaders, business owners and students were in attendance.
West Bend School Superintendent Ted Neitzke brought three of his best and brightest students including Alaina Michels, a 17-year-old junior at West Bend East High School, said there were a lot of ideas presented at the session and it will be up to the people that were there to get the job done. “It’s important we spread this information throughout the community,” said Michels. “We can take action within school and through adults that are active in the community.”Andrew Steiner, 18, from West Bend East High School said there were a lot of ideas exchanged at the session but he was optimistic advancement in the state is possible. “A big part of what we talked about was communication and collaboration and if we continue things like this the sky is the limit,” he said.The governor’s visit was part of the Working for Wisconsin: 2020 Vision Project. The session was a unique opportunity for neighbors to voice their thoughts on economic development priorities directly to the Governor.
The case for self-insuring state employees
My column for the West Bend Daily News is online. I’ll warn you… it’s a bland topic. I tried to spice it up as much as I could.
Gov. Scott Walker’s fifth State of the State speech last week was primarily a defense of his leadership to date and was most notable for its lack of grand ideas that have defined his tenure. Walker did, however, highlight one initiative that should be advanced. Wisconsin should self-insure its employees’ health care.
Wisconsin spends about $1.1 billion per year to provide health insurance for its employees in 18 separate health insurance plans. A study by Segal Consulting commissioned by the state Department of Employee Trust Funds last year determined the state could save about $42 million per year by self-insuring.
In doing so, the state takes on the responsibility of collecting premiums, managing health plans and paying claims. This puts the state at financial risk should the cost of claims exceed the premiums collected, but it is a small risk given the number of state employees to be covered.
This is why governments and businesses self-insuring their employees has become a very common and increasing trend — especially since the passage of Obamacare.
In 2013, 58.2 percent of American workers with health care coverage were in self-insured plans, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute. That is up from 40.9 percent in 1998. Most of the businesses that self-insure are large companies with 1,000 or more employees. These include some of Wisconsin’s keystone businesses like Briggs & Stratton, Kohler, Kwik Trip, S. C. Johnson & Son, Schneider National and others.
Self-insurance is also common in governments. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 46 states self-insure at least some of their employee health care plans and 20 states self-insure all of their health plans. In Wisconsin, many of the larger cities and other governments self-insure, including Madison, Milwaukee, Appleton, Green Bay, Brown County, Milwaukee County, Washington County, Waukesha County, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District and others.
The switch to self-insure is not an easy one. For the state to accomplish it, it would have to triple cash reserves to cover claims and either build a department to administer the plan or contract one or more private companies to do that administration. But while transitioning the state to self-insurance is not a task to be taken lightly, it is certainly not an untrodden path.
While state taxpayers stand to save millions by selfinsuring, the source of those savings is more interesting. According to the study, the state would save $11 million in administration fees and $11 million that constitutes the current insurance providers’ profits, the lion’s share of the savings — $18.3 million in 2018 and more in subsequent years — would come from the state avoiding Obamacare fees. The study did not include savings from the Obamacare excise tax on health insurance that is scheduled to start in 2018 on some of the state’s current plans. Yes, the vaunted “Affordable” Care Act is anything but affordable.
The opposition to the state self-insuring is coming primarily from the folks who stand to lose out if the state takes this step. The organizations representing the insurance companies that provide health insurance plans for the state’s employees and some union leaders who fear a decline in coverage are voicing opposition. But some folks are also concerned about disrupting Wisconsin’s private health care market by such a huge shift in the landscape. Such points are not without merit, but they do not justify state taxpayers spending at least $42 million per year more than they should to provide health care insurance for their employees.
In Walker’s State of the State, he expressed his goal to take savings generated by self-insuring and spend that money on K-12 education. Doing so is likely a political calculation by Walker to gain support from Democrats for the change in health insurance and to give legislators a spending boost for education as most of them ask the voters to re-elect them in November.
While politically smart, it is bad policy. Dumping more money into government spending for the sake of spending more money is never good policy. Given that Walker has increased state government spending in each budget he has signed, this is an opportunity to return savings to the taxpayers. If taxpayers want to spend more on their local K-12 schools, we can do so through our local school districts via referendum, if necessary.
Looking for Leadership
James Wigderson has a good column this week about what Walker said in his State of the State speech… and what he didn’t say. Read the whole thing, but he concludes:
Tuesday night was a missed chance for the governor to express his vision for the state. Instead, Walker asked the public to give him ideas of what they want to see by 2020. But isn’t that why we elect leaders, to share their vision with us? Walker is home from the presidential campaign. It’s time for him to inspire Wisconsinites to support him and his policy goals, not to lead us from behind
Walker Pledges Support for Increasing Education Spending
If savings can be found elsewhere.
Gov. Scott Walker pledged Tuesday night to reform state government and invest “every penny of savings” to support public education.
[…]
What’s more, lawmakers from both sides also raised concerns about the one idea Walker offered in reforming government to invest in education: changing how the state administers health insurance for its employees. The guv’s administration has been studying moving to a self-insurance model, saying it could save tens of millions, but legislative leaders said it could disrupt the private market, hurting taxpayers.
I suspect that Walker wants to encourage Democratic support for his reform proposals by promising to plow any savings into public education. I also sense a growing reluctance on the part of some Republicans to cut public education.
While not a terrible idea, the reforms should stand on their own merit irrespective of where the savings go. And I’m skeptical of any plan that promises to spend more on something without any indication on if the extra money is needed or how it will be spent. Politicians like to spend more on popular things to make themselves look good to their constituents, but is that money going to be spent wisely? On what? Shouldn’t we start with a budget that prioritizes expenses and then see how much of it we can pay for instead of just throwing money at it and thinking we accomplished something? Without knowing how that money would be spent, I’d just assume return any savings to the taxpayers. If they want to spend more on their local public schools, that’s what the referendum process is for.
Walker Advances College Affordability Package
It’s nice to see Walker back engaged in Wisconsin politics. Here’re his ideas for helping folks better afford college:
· Deducting All Student Loan Interest – authored by Representative John Macco and Senator Howard Marklein, this legislation would eliminate any cap on the tax deduction for student loan interest, which would save student loan debt payers $5.2 million annually when it is fully phased in. This tax deduction would be the most generous of any state in the Midwest with an income tax and benefit roughly 32,000 Wisconsin taxpayers paying off student loans. This deduction also directly benefits middle class Wisconsinites with an average benefit of more than $200 annually for those making between $30,000 and $70,000;
· Increasing Wisconsin Grants for Technical Colleges – authored by Representative Dave Heaton and Senator Sheila Harsdorf, this legislation would increase needs-based Wisconsin Grants by $1 million for technical college students in the biennium or $500,000 annually. This would benefit over 1,000 students throughout the state;
· Creating Grants for Students in Emergency Financial Need – authored by Representative David Murphy and Senator Howard Marklein, this legislation would provide $130,000 to UW System colleges and $320,000 to technical colleges to provide emergency grants to students. This approach has been credited with increasing the likelihood a student finishes his or her degree in these unfortunate situations by increasing student retention;
· Increasing Internships – authored by Representative David Murphy and Senator Howard Marklein, these two pieces of legislation would enhance internships, creating more pathways to employment by funding two positions within the Office of Skills Development at the Department of Workforce Development (DWD), as well as additional UW System positions. These new positions would work with employers and institutions throughout the state to build and grow relationships between higher education institutions and employers, so students can gain job skills, which will assist in filling open positions and connecting our graduating students to employers in Wisconsin;
· Helping Students and Families to Make Informed Decisions – authored by Representative David Murphy and Senator Howard Marklein, this legislation would require all state institutions of higher education to provide financial literacy to their students within the first semester of their instruction. It would also require all institutions of higher education offering an associate’s degree or higher to annually mail cost, loan, and other financial information to students. This is modeled after an Indiana law that has been credited with reducing the amount of loans taken out by students.
There’s nothing earth-shattering here, but it’s a solid list of good ideas. On the last item, while it is a good idea, I think it comes too late. I would like to see some mandatory financial literacy education prior to graduating high school.
Walker Suggests Cutting Road Spending
I think he meant this as a threat to Republican legislators, but I say huzzah, huzzah!
Gov. Scott Walker suggested in an interview Thursday the state could simply spend less on roadwork in his next budget considering his pledge to not raise taxes or fees without an offset and the reluctance of lawmakers to continue bonding.
After a difficult transportation budget earlier this year, budget watchers have suggested the state could hope for an influx of general purpose revenue to pay for a tax cut that would meet Walker’s pledge or to continue transfers to the transportation fund. But barring a surprise uptick in the economy, that appears unlikely.
Continuing to bond is also an option, though lawmakers rejected Walker’s request this year to borrow $1.3 billion for roads. Instead, they approved $500 million with another $350 million in contingency borrowing the Joint Finance Committee has already approved releasing.
Walker said there is another option.
“Or you adjust what you spend it on, just like everything else in life,” he said during an interview with WisPolitics.com at the executive residence.
Walker noted his 2017-19 budget is still more than a year out, and revenues could pick up by then. But he said his bottom line on transportation is he won’t support a gas tax or registration fee increase unless there is a tax cut elsewhere, vowing to stick to a pledge he made during his 2014 re-election campaign.
Walker Repays State for Travel Costs
After all of the griping by the lefties a couple of months ago, Walker did exactly what he said he would do.
MILWAUKEE – Gov. Scott Walker has repaid the state of Wisconsin what is billed so far for travel costs incurred by his taxpayer-funded security detail during his presidential run, according to new records. But a potentially bigger bill is coming.
Walker’s campaign paid $67,300 on Nov. 23, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. That covers the last of $125,100 the Republican governor had promised to reimburse taxpayers for travel costs of his security detail while he prepared to run for president.