Your State Pension Under Attack

Executive Director Beil Blast's Opponents of State Pension Plan
Defends Public Sector Workers

Marty Beil - State Pensions Under Attack
Posted by SLY IN THE MORNING at 7:45 AM

Scott Walker and right-wing radio want to blame State pensions for the budget mess despite Wisconsin having one of the best run pension programs in the country. State employees make lower wages in exchange for a secure but modest retirement and its saves taxpayer money in the long run. Listen to AFSCME Council 24 Executive Director Marty Beil (http://slysoffice.blogspot.com/search?q=State+Pensions).

Listen to the radio show - Approximately 38 minutes
http://slysoffice.blogspot.com/search?q=State+Pensions

"This is not a case where there was a fatality or serious injury," Marks said. Her department is taking seriously the concerns raised by the investigation, she said.

No apology to the victims at the mental health facility who were sexually abused, just, well gee, there's been no murders so what's the big deal? Sexual abuse doesn't register as "serious injury" to the director of Human Services? 

And not a single comment from Walker in the whole article -- per usual, must be the state's fault, or the Board's responsibility, certainly not his or his administration.

Um, T. Wall pays individual taxes? Not most years…

“[O]ur businesses are pass-through businesses, that is to say our taxes are paid through the individuals. I and my investors pay taxes individually on behalf of our businesses. The only business that has double taxation, which is a C-corp, is something that’s traded publicly and we’re not public businesses. We don’t pay taxes like a C-corp. We pay them individually.” [WisPolitics interview, November 2009]

Before criticizing Doyle for statewide job losses during a recession, Walker should pay attention to what's going on in his own backyard.

In 2009 Milwaukee County lost over 30,000 jobs -- with the unemployment rate jumping from 5.5% to 9.2% in just one year. (bls.gov)

And just what sort of "economic development" has Walker been up to as county executive? It's a legacy of mismanagement and shuffled responsibilities. And even budget deficits: "Milwaukee County economic develpment division has $3M deficit," Daily Reporter, 3/30/2007.

When Walker was elected exec he had two divisions under his supervision that managed economic development programs in the county -- the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) Economic & Community Development division (a merger of Economic Development and Housing & Community Development), and directly in the Executive Office was the Office of Community Business Development Partners (initially called Disadvantaged Business Development).

In his 2006 budget Walker moved the Office of Community Business Development Partners out of his office to the County Board after several years of reducing funding (in 2002 the program was funded at $680,454 and by 2005 Walker recommended funding of just $494,688).

After four years of recommending flat funding, Walker reduced funding for the DAS Economic & Community Dvlp department by $3 million (2007 budget), and then followed that up in his 2008 budget by stripping the program down to just real estate management and federal block grant distribution.

In his 2009 budget, introduced right in the midst of the 2008 financial collapse, the division was completely eliminated.

Walker reduced what had been $18-19 million each year in county spending on economic development (2002-2006), to just over $1 million in his proposed 2010 budget.

And so his grand 2010 effort to save face in light of the county's weak record on economic development: Milwaukee Works! A weak marketing ploy that probably had more to do with his gubernatorial campaign than with actually creating jobs in Milwaukee County.

After helping to bloat the state corrections system (in the 1990’s prison spending rose 246%), and taking political contributions from the for-profit private prison industry, Walker has now created a $5 million hole in Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke’s 2010 budget in his zeal to lie about raising the property tax levy. To cover this hole Clarke is proposing fewer highway patrols, more early releases, and cuts to programs to help rehabilitate inmates and reduce the numbers of re-offenses.

While Walker’s spokesperson claims he “takes a really strong stance on public safety” (and thanks to Capper, let's not forget his faux "Safety, Affordability and Pride" theme from his 2007 budget), a review of all of Walker's proposed budgets shows he actually proposed cutting the numbers of sheriff’s deputies and House of Correction officers in all but one of his proposed budgets from 2003 to 2010. And all those budget and staff cuts resulted in record-setting overtime spending. Walker also mismanaged the House of Correction so poorly that Sheriff Clarke had to take the department over.

Sure sounds like someone who takes a "really strong stance on public safety."

Wisconsin Environment slammed the right-wing Wisconsin Policy Research Institute (WPRI) yesterday about their inaccurate and misleading report about the Governor’s initiatives to grow the renewable energy industry and create green jobs.

Here’s an excerpt from Wisconsin Environment’s report:

“…the WPRI report fails to acknowledge the many obvious economic and other benefits that would result from a broad effort to repower Wisconsin with clean energy.

Among the long list of benefits (apparently) not considered in the analysis are the following:

1.) Avoided costs of electricity generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure resulting from reduced energy demand or the incorporation of on-site renewable generation.

2.) Increased income for Wisconsin farmers resulting from increased use of biofuels and the potential to lease lands for wind turbines and other forms of renewable energy development.

3.) Health benefits (including reductions in absenteeism, early mortality and possibly health care costs) from avoided fossil fuel-related pollution, including reductions in pollutants that form smog and soot, and mercury deposition in waterways.

4.) Avoided economic impacts of global warming in Wisconsin, including predicted changes that threaten to reduce the productivity of agriculture, increase the possibility of dangerous floods, shift the composition of Wisconsin forests, affect the winter recreation industry, and more.

5.) Reductions in the risk to individuals, businesses and government posed by sudden shifts in fossil fuel prices.

6.) Energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy both have hedging value as insurance against sudden spikes in fossil fuel costs.”

 Doyle also critiqued the report, saying “Anybody who doesn’t think this creates jobs is simply not looking around.” Doyle’s Office of Energy Independence released a study saying the legislation would create 15,000 jobs by 2025.

This is far from the first time OWN has noted WPRI’s propensity for twisting the truth to suit the interests of their monied special interest and corporate friends.

And yet the University of Wisconsin-Madison poli sci department doesn’t believe their joint polling effort with WPRI doesn’t help advance a conservative legislative agenda?

You can visit Wisconsin Environment’s report in the report section at www.WisconsinEnvironment.org.

Walker’s legacy of managing the Milwaukee County parks: mid-year budget deficits, pool closures, underfunding, complete and utter mismanagement by his appointed staff, and taking credit for a national award that was granted because of the efforts of a creative director and private citizens who took park maintenance into their own hands.

Walker’s often used strategy of making public infrastructure and services so terrible that the only option appears to be privatization is clearly on display once again.

Dan Cody writes here about the problems with the MJS story about the parks audit, and the underlying issue of needing a dedicated funding source.

These issues, however, could have been addressed by Walker long ago. He’s had eight years and eight budgets now with opportunity to clean up the problems. Instead there have been repeated mid-year budget crises, repeated layoffs and downsizing, increased fees, and reduced access through closures and repeated attempts to shut down various beloved community pools. All in an effort to further strip the parks budget. Walker’s leadership has been inconsistent at best, and downright destructive in his zeal to eliminate county jobs.

Dear Mr. Walker,

Yes, jobs are the top concern for people all across the state of Wisconsin. But unlike you, who didn’t start addressing job creation until after your announcement for Governor earlier this year, Wisconsin families have been concerned about losing their jobs in this Bush-created recession for nearly two years now.

It’s great you finally joined President Obama’s bandwagon in recovery dollars for its intended purpose: creating jobs and boosting local economies, like Milwaukee County’s. It’s also great you created a new marketing scheme within your office to “boost economic development.” I am curious, however, about why you booted the Office of Community Business Development Partners out of your office in your 2006 budget, and eliminated the Department of Administrative Services Economic & Community Development division right when the economy was collapsing. I can’t even believe an elected official would so completely abdicate his responsibility to help create jobs right when such efforts are needed the most.  

Here’s what you said in October of 2008, during the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression:

The state and municipalities play larger roles than the county in shaping development, Walker said. They have access to more incentives that developers want and, in the case of cities, control zoning decisions. Often, firms interested in a deal mistakenly assume the county has a grab-bag of incentives, he said.

County Supervisor Toni Clark said she would oppose Walker's move, calling economic development "probably the most important division of county government."

The county needs to redouble its efforts at marketing its Park East holdings and hire more experienced development staffers, not downplay its development role, said Clark, the chairwoman of the County Board's Economic and Community Development Committee.

Walker's last two choices to lead the county economic development office, Bob Dennik and Tim Russell, came from his campaign and lacked depth in the development business, Clark said. Dennik left the post this week to become an executive with a Pewaukee construction company. Russell is now Walker's community relations director.

"Walker chooses folks who don't have (the necessary) experience," she said. (MJS, “Walker Budget Adjusts Priorities; He would lower profile of development efforts,” 10/3/2008)

A prominant Milwaukee business leader garnered a story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel yesterday for calling for the dismantling of Milwaukee County's governemnt at a Rotary Club meeting.

While I fail to see why a conservative calling for the dismantling of government is news, the story did reveal that a new study will be coming out in January from the Public Policy Forum that "will analyze the problems the county faces in providing some key services." You might remember some of these: the mismanaged call center and state takeover of public assistance programs, child care services fraud, the House of Correction crisis, just to name a few.

Each of these massive failures were in part the result of mismanagement or ineptitude by Scott Walker and his administration, yet Sheldon Lubar, a former president and chairman of Charlie Syke's ultra right-wing Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, is putting the blame on the board, workers and unions -- the same groups Walker has scapegoated in budget after budget, and is threatening to continue doing so if elected governor.

Sheldon Lubar is living in a different universe (one apparently solely populated by Scott Walker and their rich friends) if he thinks a lack of leadership, continual underfunding and depriortizing of vital public services that created all of these failures is the fault of the county's workers.

Citizens for Responsible Government (CRG) is running radio ads right now against a couple members of the Milwaukee Board of Supervisors, one of whom who earlier this week voted against the Board’s budget.

Despite her vote against the budget, Patricia Jursik is apparently being targeted because of her support for spending in the past. Theo Lipscomb voted for the board's budget and backed a local sales tax increase to fund transit and parks that passed in a referendum last year.

There's another reason, I suspect, for these attack campaigns: both of these Supervisors have been vocal critics of CRG and their thuggish tactics, one calling them outright “bullies” and the other inconveniently pointed out lies and inaccuracies in CRG radio ads back in October.

I think these two quotes from CRG frontman, Chris Kliesmet say it all:

"At the end of the day, [supervisors] have to do what they are told, not what they feel like doing," said Kliesmet. MJS 11/11/09

"If they are not willing to do that, you use the power of the electorate to see that they will," Kliesmet vowed. "That has been our modus operandi." MJS 10/12/05

If CRG actually was FOR responsible government and not merely a front group pushing Scott Walker for governor, they would have come out guns blazing against Walker’s 2010 “credit card” budget, which actually INCREASES spending from 2009 by 6.3% -- twice the rate of inflation.

As pointed out by Eye on Wisconsin: From 2003 to 2010, Walker has increased county spending by 35%, and raised the levy 18% -- that’s a $40 million dollar increase.

But then again, what can you expect from a group created to get Walker elected and push his policies at any cost?

Dropping to new lows of complete and utter disdain and abuse of workers, on Monday Walker told a radio DJ that the layoff notices mailed to Milwaukee County workers were just a "political ploy" to force the Supervisors to approve cuts to rectify a budget deficit created by the idiocy and mismanagement of yet another Walker appointee.

With the holidays coming up, county unemployment levels hovering at 10%, and an “economic development” plan that's too little too late, you’d think Walker might get a little more creative than sending pink slips to 180 workers and adding to the unemployment rolls. But that would require more compassion and ingenuity than Walker apparently has.

Adding insult to injury, Walker hasn’t sent a pink slip to the moron who created the $3.6 million budget deficit that resulted in the layoffs Walker's heartless political gamesmanship. Apparently he gets to stay while workers who didn’t massively screw up get the can.

More here and here about Walker and John Chianelli's screw-ups and ineptitude.

Awesome leadership. Awesome.

Yesterday Walker announced that he would "borrow a page from his county budget strategy book" in reshaping the state budget if he's elected Governor next year.

Let's get specific about exactly what those strategies look like: 

1.) Unrealistic revenue projections that have led to repeated mid-year budget corrections (remember 2003?), resulting in pool closings, layoffs and other draconian cuts;

2.) Balancing the budget on the backs of workers and threatening layoffs to win employee concessions in the midst of a steep recession;

3.) Announcing cuts to social programs that provide a safety net to thousands of unemployed and low-income workers and their families;

4.) Privatizing jobs;

5. Waiting 7 years before creating an economic development program that's little more than a marketing strategy;

6.) Repeatedly increasing bus fares, making them the highest in the nation, while cutting service and weakening the public transportation system;

7.) Playing politics with federal stimulus funding to help weather the economic crisis. 

And let's not forget that Walker declared at the Wisconsin Republican convention earlier this year that he will "transform the governor from the "chief bureaucrat" to the state's chief business advocate." Because it just wouldn't be fair to expect businesses to pay their fair share of taxes that pay for the roads, sewers, education system and other public infrastructure that they need in order to make a profit. 

Yes, this is exactly what Wisconsin needs the next governor to do to "reshape" the state budget.

Since first elected County Executive in 2002, Walker has repeatedly closed or threatened to close pools all across the county, citing their high cost to maintain and ignoring their benefit to their communities. (MJS 9/19/03, MJS 6/18/06, MJS 9/29/06, MJS 10/5/09)

So it struck me as funny that in 2007 Walker and his family moved in a new home with his own private pool, while refusing to pay for the repairs needed at his community’s pool so it could be reopened (Hoyt Pool in Wauwatosa).

His high salary, paid for by the taxpayers, is paying for his private pool, but in turn he’s refusing to use those same tax dollars for pools the entire public can enjoy?

Topping it off, he took a 72% pay raise in 2008, presumably to help pay the mortgage on that nice private pool of his, just as the recession was forcing millions of Americans out of their homes.

You can take a look at Walker's very nice home and pool right here:

Walker's new budget for 2010 continues his ongoing attempt to rid the county of community pools:

Milwaukee County supervisors on Tuesday balked at County Executive Scott Walker's plans for pool closings and eventually privatizing operation of the Milwaukee County Zoo.

Walker's 2010 budget plan seeks closure of indoor pools at Noyes and Pulaski parks and shutting down outdoor pools at Holler, Jackson, Kosciusko (Pelican Cove) and Washington parks...Supervisors questioned those closures after several residents objected.

"We paid taxes all these years, now it's our time to go swimming in the pools," retiree Dixie Williamson told the County Board's finance committee. "What are you going to do when you get older?"

She and others said retirees, low-income residents and people with physical disabilities rely on the indoor pools for exercise. (MJS 10/6/09)

Blogging Blue has an interesting find today -- real estate mogul Terrence Wall has not just one, but in fact 16, businesses registered in Delaware!

Three of T. Wall's Delware LLCs share the same name with LLCs that he just recently dissolved here in Wisconsin, on August 21, 2009 in fact.

Makes one wonder if he moved these LLCs to Delaware to avoid having to abide by the new combined reporting requirements passed by the Legislature this spring?

According to this Office of Justice Assistance report, 415,543 arrests were made in 2008, equivalent to roughly 7% of Wisconsin's 5.6 million population. About 100,000 of those arrests were of juveniles.

Based on legislation proposed by Reps. Sheila Harsdorf and Ann Hraychuck, law enforcement officials would be required to collect DNA at every one of these arrests.

Here are some of the crimes that one can be arrested for that Harsdorf and Hraychuck would require DNA collection for: murder, rape, robbery aggravated assault, arson, drug possession and sale.

So far, so good. These all are crimes that you would expect DNA to be useful in helping to convict or exonerate the person arrested.

Here are some more crimes that law enforcement would be required to collect DNA upon arrest: forgery, fraud, vandalism, weapon law violation, gambling, DWI, liquor law violations, disorderly conduct, vagrancy, family offenses, runaways.

Hmm. Your 15 year old gets busted for cutting class or staying out too late and breaking your town's curfew and suddenly the state's collecting her DNA. Or you get into an argument with your neighbor, someone calls the cops, and you're required to provide DNA. Or you're driving home after happy hour and get pulled over for speeding. Suddenly you're being booked for drunk driving and giving a DNA sample.

Setting aside the fact that this is an unnecessary privacy violation, the sheer volume of collecting and managing these samples poses serious financial and staffing challenges.

Van Hollen's DOJ couldn't keep track of all the DNA samples they currently have. How are they going to manage over 400,000 samples? Can the WI crime labs even handle such a volume?

I can see police, DOJ and crime lab budgets growing as I write.

I guess this is good news for those seeking jobs in law enforcement. Not so good news for tax payers.

In one breath Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clark is calling for tax cuts and a smaller government and in the next he's calling for the collection of DNA before a person is even charged with a crime.

More from the Illusory Tenant here.

So all those drunk frat boys, high school pickpockets, trespassers and happy hour goers who drive home better make sure they don't get caught. Whether they're guilty or not, their DNA will belong to the government if Sheriff Clark gets his way.

The National Academy of Science's formula, which is gaining credibility with public officials including some in the Obama administration, would put the poverty rate for Americans 65 and over at 18.6 percent, or 6.8 million people, compared with 9.7 percent, or 3.6 million people, under the existing measure. The original government formula, created in 1955, doesn't take account of rising costs of medical care and other factors.

"It's a hidden problem," said Robin Talbert, president of the AARP Foundation, which provides job training and support to low-income seniors and is backing legislation that would adopt the NAS formula. "There are still many millions of older people on the edge, who don't have what they need to get by."

It's common knowledge that non-profit organizations can't endorse political candidates, to everyone except Americans for Prosperity's executive director Mark Block, that is.

Block, who in 2000 was fined $15,000 and banned from volunteering or working on political campaigns for 4 years, has raised new questions about activities being conducted by his organization. According to the Wausau Daily Herald:

There's some question, though, about the event's treatment of political candidates. The group originally invited U.S. Rep. Dave Obey, D-Wausau, and Republican challenger Ashland County District Attorney Sean Duffy to be guest speakers. Former Obey challenger Dan Mielke, who is vying against Duffy, was not invited.

Block denied that the exclusion was an endorsement of Duffy, but could not offer an explanation. He said the "format" of the event was going to change after Obey declined to attend.

Mielke said he suspects the event is an effort to marginalize him in the election. Duffy said he has no ties to the group but wanted to "take any opportunity" to discuss health care before finding out Friday AFP was rescinding the invitation to speak.