Saturday, May 9, 2015

Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch tries out for the lead role in 'Pollyanna"


Lieutenant governor outlines budget proposal.  (Daily Union, 5/8/2015)

Quote source:  Daily Union
Photo credit:  State of Wisconsin


Guess she missed at least 2 Legislative Fiscal Bureau memos.

1/23/2015 memo to co-chairs of the Joint Committee on Finance.
Based upon the November report, the administration's general fund condition statement for 2014 -15 reflects a gross ending balance (June 30, 2015) of -$132.1 million. 

Our analysis indicates a gross balance of -$ 283.4 million for 2014-15. This is $ 151 .3 million below that of the administration's report. The 2014-15 general fund condition statement is shown in Table 1.

5/6/2015 memo to co-chairs of the Joint Committee on Finance.
For 2014-15, the January estimates projected tax collection growth of 3.7% over 2013-14. Through April, 2015, year-to-date collections are running at 3.3 %.  As tax processing is completed and the remaining months of collections are realized , the year-to-date growth rate should increase somewhat, and it is possible that 2014-15 collections may exceed the January estimate.  However, IHS Global Insight Inc.'s recent forecasts of the U.S. economy have been downgraded from the January forecast, which was used in preparing the current tax revenue estimates. Most significantly, the April forecast of growth in national personal income is lower than the January forecast by 0.5% in calendar year 2015, 0.6% in 2016, and 0.2% in 2017. The forecast of growth in personal consumpt ion expenditures has been decreased by 0.7%, 0.2%, and 0.1%, respec tively, for those three years.

Therefore, if there is any additional revenue in the current year, it will likely be offset by State of Wisconsin reduced growth rates in 2015-16 and 2016-17.  On balance, we believe that the current estimates for the three-year period are still reasonable and should not be adjusted.  [Emphasis added.]
 
And then there's this national report.

Wisconsin’s Revenue May Make It Harder for Walker to Crow.  (Bloomberg Business, 5/6/2015)
Walker and allies who control the legislature would have been buoyed by a more robust forecast. That could’ve softened unpopular trims to primary and secondary education as well as the University of Wisconsin contained in the governor’s two-year budget proposal.

Scott Walker Adds Another Iowa Event to his Schedule


Will POTUS hopefuls hitch ride with Ernst?  (Des Moines Register, 5/8/2015)

Little Scottie's on board.
Ernst, a Republican from Red Oak, said Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has told her he will join the motorcycle ride that kicks off the June 6 event.


Related posts:
Scott Walker will return from Israel just in time to do his laundry and make yet another series of visits to Iowa.  (5/5/2015)
Without a hint of irony, Scott Walker trumpets Wisconsin tourism in his latest weekly e-update.  (5/2/2015)
It's becoming a daily routine to update Scott Walker's presidential campaign travel schedule.  (5/2/2015)
Scott Walker adds a couple of stops to his Iowa itinerary.  (5/1/2015) 
From Iowa to Massachusetts.  (4/28/2015)
Scott Walker runs to the arms of Iowa Republicans for approval.  (4/17/2015) 
Where in the world is determined presidential candidate/distracted Wisconsin governor Scott Walker?  (3/16/2015)
Furiously campaigning for the Presidency, Scott Walker travels on the Wisconsin taxpayers' 'dime'.  (3/4/2015)

Little Scott Walker Clams Up, Keeps Big Bad Reporters At Bay



Scott Walker drops job agencies' merger after critical audit of WEDC.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5/8/2015)
This weekend, Walker heads to the crucial early presidential primary state of South Carolina and then to Israel. He did not take questions from reporters at an event in Madison Friday honoring law enforcement officers killed while on duty.

Sound familiar?

Scott Walker's silent treatment.  (Politico, 4/30/2015)

Scott Walker Won't Take Press on Israel Trip.  (Buzzfeed, 4/28/2015)

Scott Walker Plans to Ignore 'Political Questions' on Israel 'Listening Tour'.  (Talking Points Memo, 4/22/2015)

Scott Walker tours Europe in no-press 'trade mission'.  (Washington Examiner, 4/16/2015)

Scott Walker starts steering clear of reporters.  (MSNBC, 3/30/2015)

Scott Walker now avoiding reporters.  (Political Wire, 3/30/2015)

Former press hound Scott Walker limits media availability in wake of slip-ups.  (Politico, 3/27/2015)

Walker alone in avoiding press.  (Greenville Online, 3/21/2015)

Walker keeping quiet as he ramps up for 2016.   (Portland Press-Herald, 3/10/2015)

Usually accessible Walker hasn't taken questions lately.  (Fox 11, 3/10/2015)

Reporters at Scott Walker, Rudy Giuliani event didn't know it would be off the record.  (Capital Times, 2/20/2015)

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker dodges question on evolution.  (CBS, 2/11/2015)

Scott Walker won't take questions from reporters during London trip.  (The Daily Mail, 2/10/2015)

Scott Walker won't take questions on John Doe records Thursday.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2/20/2014)

60 Years Ago Today: Harpo Marx Appears on 'I Love Lucy'


Original broadcast date:  May 9, 1955.



Episode #124 summarized on "Everything Lucy".

Most popular TV shows, 1954-55.
1.   I Love Lucy
2.   The Jackie Gleason Show
3.   Dragnet
4.   You Bet Your Life
5.   The Toast of the Town
6.   Disneyland
7.   The Jack Benny Show
8.   The George Gobel Show
9.   Ford Theater
10. December Bride
Source:  The Complete Directory to Primte-Time Network TV Shows  

Still no TV at our house at this time.  Books were plentiful, though.

UPDATED with link to 94 pages of drafting errors: A Timeline of the Attempted Gutting of the Wisconsin Idea



Link to public records received by the State Journal.

Page 11.


Original post begins here.


Tuesday, December 30, 2014.. Nathan Schwanz, Department of Administration analyst in the state budget office, emails Legislative Reference Bureau drafter Mark Kunkel insisting on a number of change the UW mission statement. One of the directive is to delete "Basic to every purpose of the system is the search for truth."

Monday, January 12, 2015. Schwanz follows up with another directive to delete the phrase, "To extend knowledge and its application beyond the boundaries of its campuses."

Thursday, January 29. John Yingling, special assistant to the UW President, sends an email to Schwanz objecting to the proposed changes. "We strongly urge that stricken language is unique to depicting the character, mission, and vision of the UW System."

 Photo credit:  LinkedIn

Tuesday, February 3.   Governor Walker delivers his budget address to members of the legislative. The full text of the 2015-17 executive budget proposal is made available online.

Wednesday, February 4 . At a stop in De Pere to promote his budget, Walker is asked about the proposed changes to the UW mission statement, i.e., the Wisconsin Idea.


Wednesday, February 4. At a budget tour stop in Oconomowoc, Walker calls the strikeout of the Wisconsin Idea a "drafting error", a phrase that immediately becomes a laugh line.

Wednesday, February 4. Also in Oconomowoc, Walker continues to offer dubious explanations.


Thursday, February 5. Walker admits that UW official objected strongly to the deleted language but were told that it was "non-negotiable".


As usual, Walker refuses to take any personal responsibility for what happens. With him, the blame always lies elsewhere.  In this case, with UW officials -- a big, bold, and patently false accusation --  and then a nameless "someone".

Thursday, February 5. Walker continues to enhance "drafting error" as a classic Wisconsin laugh line. Here's his response to a query if there were other things in the budget he didn't know about.


Thursday, February 5. Walker's budget director, Michael Heifetz, falls on his sword.


Still calling it what it ain't.

Friday, February 6. Walker earns a "pants on fire" designation from PolitiFact (R) Wisconsin for his "drafting error" claim. It's labeled "inaccurate" and "ridiculous".

No Friend to the Environment: Republican Representative Kevin Brady, Texas's 8th Congressional District


Photo sourceU.S. Congress
Text sourceU.S. Congressman Kevin Brady


Rep. Brady was re-elected to a 10th term in 2014 with 89% of the vote.

Required reading for Rep. Brady and the constituents in his north of  Houston district.

Climate change for Southeast Texas.  (click2Houston, 5/7/2014)
"Climate change interacts with our existing vulnerabilities," said Hayhoe. "We are already vulnerable to storms. We are already vulnerable to hurricanes. We are already vulnerable to flood, and we are already vulnerable to drought. Climate change is going to exacerbate the same problems we already deal with today."
3% lifetime rating (0% in 2014) from the League of Conservation Voters.

No Friend to the Environment dishonor roll.

Alabama Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives.   (Their anti-environmentalism can be summed up in one world:  coal.  Which is odd, since Alabama contributes a mere 1.9% of U.S. production, good enough for an overall ranking of 13.  The state's peak year of production:  1990)  
Alaska Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
  • At-large District.  Don Young (R).   Ridiculed environmentalists as a “self-centered bunch of waffle-stomping, Harvard-graduating, intellectual idiots.....not Americans, never have been Americans, never will be Americans.” 
 Arizona Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
Arkansas Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
California Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
Colorado Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
No House Republicans hail from Connecticut and Delaware. 
Florida Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
Georgia Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
 Idaho Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
 Illinois Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
 Indiana Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
 Iowa Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
Kansas Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
Kentucky Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
Louisiana Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
Maine Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
Maryland Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
No House Republicans in Massachusetts delegation.
Michigan Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
Minnesota Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
Mississippi Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
Missouri Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives 
Montana Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
Nebraska Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
Nevada Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
New Hampshire Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
 New Jersey Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
New Mexico Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
New York Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
 North Carolina Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
North Dakota Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
 Ohio Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
 Oklahoma Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
 Oregon Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
  Pennsylvania Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
South Carolina Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
South Dakota Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
Tennessee Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
Texas Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives

Friday, May 8, 2015

Chairman of the Board Scott Walker's BIG, BOLD Idea


Require Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation's grant and loan recipients to create or retain jobs but don't bother having them submit any paperwork.


Source of italicized portionLegislative Audit Bureau
 
As was electing Scott Walker Governor -- twice!!

Walker's quasi-public agency, of which he serves as chairman, has been a source of ridicule since its inception.

Related posts:
Based on WEDC's previous track record, this is what came to mind when I saw first saw this headline.  (4/2/2015)
Apparently, being the CFO of WEDC is not much of a resume-builder.  (3/13/2015)
WEDC's revolving door.  (9/12/2014)
Here's how the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation is "Reinventing Economic Development".  (8/24/2014) 
Company looks to expand its business geographic focus?  (8/14/2014)
Scott Walker and the horrible, terrible, no good, very transparent day.  (7/28/2014)
Kestrel Aircraft: All these incentives, but no construction, no jobs.  (7/13/2014)
The Eaton Corporation/WEDC timeline of shame.  (7/10/2014)
Wisconsin featured in report on privatized state economic development agencies.  (10/25/2013)
Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation pledge: Following the money.  (7/23/2013)
Incompetence rewarded.  (5/9/2013)
And while we're at it, let's take a look at WEDC 's core values. (5/9/2013)
WEDC Public Information Officer Resigns After 1 Month on the Job.  (5/9/2013)
Plenty of time for messaging but none for fixing what ails WEDC.  (5/9/2013)
Previous WEDC audits?  What previous audits?  (5/8/2013)
Are you seeing a trend yet?  (5/8/2013)
Echoes.  (5/7/2013)
Get me rewrite.  (5/4/2013)
Legislative Audit Bureau Report on Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation: The "Cliff Notes" Version.  (5/3/2013
"Tales of woe never end at WEDC."  (4/25/2013)
Enterprise Florida and Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation share a lack of transparency.  (2/28/2013)