# Did Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker CAUSE the deficits he is gnashing his teeth about? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 18, 2011, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-wisconsin-governor-scott-walker-cause-the-deficits-he-is-gnashing-his-teeth-about/571833 "2011-02-18T18:38:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-wisconsin-governor-scott-walker-cause-the-deficits-he-is-gnashing-his-teeth-about/571833/21 "2011-02-20T20:05:52Z")
> [@digs](#): > > As a Madison teacher (and a fiscal conservative)… That should read “_Fiscal conservative_, but in a way that still keeps me from being anything like Rand Rover in any way”. ---
**Author:** ![isaiahrobinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85e7bf/32.png) [@isaiahrobinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/isaiahrobinson)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-wisconsin-governor-scott-walker-cause-the-deficits-he-is-gnashing-his-teeth-about/571833/22 "2011-02-20T20:21:38Z")
This specific attack that Rachel Maddow and others have been making is false. Ie. The claim that there is no budget deficit in Wisconsin this year, and/or that it’s been caused by $140bn of tax cuts given away by Walker. Politifact analyzed this exact question [here](http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2011/feb/18/rachel-maddow/rachel-maddow-says-wisconsin-track-have-budget-sur/) and concluded Rachel Maddow’s statement that “Wisconsin is on track to have a budget surplus this year” was false. Wisconsin really does have a $137bn deficit this year, and neither Walker nor the Republicans can really be held responsible for it. Kevin Drum, a leading liberal commenter who is very pro-Union, admits the same point [here](http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2011/02/how-big-are-wisconsins-problems): there really is a budget deficit this year and Walker didn’t cause it. However, the key element of that statement is “this year”. Walker passed a number of measures recently including tax cuts which will significantly reduce revenue not this year but over the next couple of years, so Walker _has_ made the projected deficits for 2012 and 2013 worse. Drum goes on to say - and this seems to be the conclusion I’ve read across a lot of the liberal blogosphere - that while Walker does have a problem with the deficit, which he didn’t cause, he’s passed measures that will make it worse over the coming years and then used it as an excuse to pass an anti-Union bill which is overboard and unnecessary; that its main aim is to rip the heart out of Democrat-leaning public sector unions in Wisconsin for ideological reasons rather than fiscal ones (Politifact also found, for instance, that Walker’s claim that he was “leaving collective bargaining intact” was [wildly false](http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2011/feb/18/scott-walker/wisconsin-gov-scott-walker-says-his-budget-repair-/): the entire point of his bill is to get rid of collective bargaining for the targeted unions). They also argue it’s impossible to argue Walker’s move is in good faith because he’s not pushing for the same measures for policemen or firefighters, only for unions that strongly lean Democrat like teachers. There’s a simple, useful Q&A article from Andy Kroll in Madison, for Mother Jones, [here](http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/02/whats-happening-wisconsin-explained) if you want more detailed information. (Bear in mind that while Mother Jones is trustworthy on its facts, it does very much write from a liberal perspective). He also summarizes the viewpoints that have been given from most of the leading liberal bloggers and pundits: Ezra Klein, Matt Yglesias, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-wisconsin-governor-scott-walker-cause-the-deficits-he-is-gnashing-his-teeth-about/571833/23 "2011-02-20T20:55:38Z")
Isn’t there a sense of frustration right here on the SDMB when Prez Obama pushes his agenda along like little wuss? I believe there is. Ergo, yap yer heads off about the policies, but don’t be a hypocrite if you scold the tough approach the Gov has taken. Do you secretly wish the Prez had a pair as big as the Gov? I believe you do. Further, I see all the condemnation of conflict. Conflict can be good. The whole thing is a festering boil coming to a head. So be it. Let’s see who can bolster their argument, get what they deserve… and we’ll see what happens when the dust settles. I need to think more about the collective bargaining issue, but the Gov might be using that as a tactic to make the pension and health care issue look more realistic. . ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-wisconsin-governor-scott-walker-cause-the-deficits-he-is-gnashing-his-teeth-about/571833/24 "2011-02-20T21:09:43Z")
Walker’s union busting measure has nothing to do with the budget and wasn’t something he campaigned on, so it can’t be defended as anything he was elected on. The fact that he’s caused police and firefighters to turn on him should tell you that. Incidentally, Obama never had the votes to just push something through like this or he would have. The situations are not really comparable. ---
**Author:** ![isaiahrobinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85e7bf/32.png) [@isaiahrobinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/isaiahrobinson)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-wisconsin-governor-scott-walker-cause-the-deficits-he-is-gnashing-his-teeth-about/571833/25 "2011-02-20T21:13:31Z")
Ezra Klein offers a simple but good breakdown of what the bill actually does [here](http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2011/02/what_is_actually_being_propose.html): > [@](#): > > **What is actually being proposed in Wisconsin?** > > Reading the commentary, I think a lot of people are confused about what’s actually being proposed in Wisconsin. So let’s go through it. You can find Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal [here](http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/journal_media_detail.asp?prid=5622&locid=177). It’s called “the Budget Repair bill.” The section that’s attracted all the anger is “State and Local Government and School District Labor Relations.” > > In it, Walker proposes that the right to collectively bargain be taken away from most – but not all – state and local workers. Who’s left out? “Local law enforcement and fire employees, and state troopers and inspectors would be exempt from these changes.” As Harold Meyerson notes, these are also the unions that happened to be more supportive of Walker in the last election. Funny, that. > > Walker tries to sell the change in collective bargaining as modest. “State and local employees could continue to bargain for base pay, they would not be able to bargain over other compensation measures.” But that’s not really true. Read down a bit further and you’ll find that “total wage increases could not exceed a cap based on the consumer price index (CPI) unless approved by referendum.” In other words, they couldn’t bargain for wages to rise faster than inflation. So, in reality, they can’t bargain for wages and they can’t bargain over other forms of compensation. They just can’t bargain. > > The proposal doesn’t stop there, though. “Contracts would be limited to one year and wages would be frozen until the new contract is settled. Collective bargaining units are required to take annual votes to maintain certification as a union. Employers would be prohibited from collecting union dues and members of collective bargaining units would not be required to pay dues.” These rules have nothing to do with pension costs or even bargaining. They’re just about weakening unions: They make it harder for unions to collect dues from members, to negotiate stable contracts or to survive a bad year. > > \*\*The best way to understand Walker’s proposal is as a multi-part attack on the state’s labor unions. In part one, their ability to bargain benefits for their members is reduced. In part two, their ability to collect dues, and thus spend money organizing members or lobbying the legislature, is undercut. And in part three, workers have to vote the union back into existence every single year. Put it all together and it looks like this: Wisconsin’s unions can’t deliver value to their members, they’re deprived of the resources to change the rules so they can start delivering value to their members again, and because of that, their members eventually give in to employer pressure and shut the union down in one of the annual certification elections. > > You may think Walker’s proposal is a good idea or a bad idea. But that’s what it does. And it’s telling that he’s exempting the unions that supported him and is trying to obscure his plan’s specifics behind misleading language about what unions can still bargain for and misleading rhetoric about the state’s budget. \*\* Personally I agree with the liberal commentators: I’m not naturally a huge fan of public sector unions. But I think it seems very unfair for Walker to cite a budget deficit which unions didn’t cause, and which his own measures will exacerbate starting next year, as a reason to strip them completely of the collective bargaining rights that sustain them. Moreover, the fact that he’s targeted only Democrat-leaning unions, and exempted the ones like police and firefighters who supported him, suggests that this is primarily a political measure aimed at damaging labor and Wisconisn Democrats rather than being a necessary means of closing the deficit (the measures that are causing so much controversy won’t necessarily have much effect on the deficit in the short term anyway). But that’s just my own opinion. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-wisconsin-governor-scott-walker-cause-the-deficits-he-is-gnashing-his-teeth-about/571833/26 "2011-02-20T21:16:40Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > Isn’t there a sense of frustration right here on the SDMB when Prez Obama pushes his agenda along like little wuss? I believe there is. Ergo, yap yer heads off about the policies, but don’t be a hypocrite if you scold the tough approach the Gov has taken. Do you secretly wish the Prez had a pair as big as the Gov? I believe you do. > > Further, I see all the condemnation of conflict. Conflict can be good. The whole thing is a festering boil coming to a head. So be it. > > Let’s see who can bolster their argument, get what they deserve… and we’ll see what happens when the dust settles. I need to think more about the collective bargaining issue, but the Gov might be using that as a tactic to make the pension and health care issue look more realistic. > > . You must lean right. Only a wingnut would use “tough” to mean “blatantly hypocritical.” ---
**Author:** ![isaiahrobinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85e7bf/32.png) [@isaiahrobinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/isaiahrobinson)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-wisconsin-governor-scott-walker-cause-the-deficits-he-is-gnashing-his-teeth-about/571833/27 "2011-02-20T21:28:59Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > Isn’t there a sense of frustration right here on the SDMB when Prez Obama pushes his agenda along like little wuss? I believe there is. Ergo, yap yer heads off about the policies, but don’t be a hypocrite if you scold the tough approach the Gov has taken. Do you secretly wish the Prez had a pair as big as the Gov? I believe you do. The measures themselves are “tough”, but I wouldn’t say the governor has been particularly, certainly in terms of owning up to his proposals. He didn’t campaign on these measures and when he’s been asked about them he’s denied them: he specifically denied, for instance, that his bill takes away collective bargaining from any of the Unions. Politifact found that claim was [wildly false](http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2011/feb/18/scott-walker/wisconsin-gov-scott-walker-says-his-budget-repair-/): “Pants on Fire” as they call it. Walker claims workers can indeed continue to negotiate their wages; but his bill would put an upper cap on wages against inflation, making it impossible to ever negotiate a real-terms pay rise. Essentially they’re allowed to negotiate pay cuts if they want, and that’s it. He’s also been misleading about why the bill is necessary, implying that Unions have been responsible for the current deficit and that the complete bill is necessary for reducing that deficit, even though some of the controversial provisions aren’t fiscal at all: there are measures that require Unions to renew themselves by vote every year for instance, making it more likely they’ll collapse after any bad year. Tough measures, yes. And he’s entitled to propose them given he won his election. But does it really take “a big pair” to propose controversial measures that you didn’t mention during your election campaign, then deny you’ve proposed those measures when you’re asked about it? ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-wisconsin-governor-scott-walker-cause-the-deficits-he-is-gnashing-his-teeth-about/571833/28 "2011-02-20T21:39:39Z")
I’ll retract my definition of “tough” upthread and change it to “prepared to win at any cost to one’s consituency or one’s character.” ---
**Author:** ![isaiahrobinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85e7bf/32.png) [@isaiahrobinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/isaiahrobinson)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-wisconsin-governor-scott-walker-cause-the-deficits-he-is-gnashing-his-teeth-about/571833/29 "2011-02-20T21:46:41Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > I’ll retract my definition of “tough” upthread and change it to “prepared to win at any cost to one’s consituency or one’s character.” Actually, they very much don’t affect Walker’s constituency (if by that you mean the people who voted for him), which is one of the reasons he’s been accused of arguing in bad faith. His measures are brutal when it comes to public sector unions that lean left - teachers among others - but completely exempt the public sector unions that lean right, like the police and firefighters. Your definition of “tough” should be something along the lines of “partisan”: essentially the primary aim of the bill - the controversial elements, anyway - is to gut power from political institutions that support Democrats. That’s something Republicans will like and Democrats will hate. Like I said though, rhetorically I don’t think he’s been tough at all: he didn’t campaign on these measures and when he’s been asked about them he’s specifically denied the controversial ones. ---
**Author:** ![isaiahrobinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85e7bf/32.png) [@isaiahrobinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/isaiahrobinson)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-wisconsin-governor-scott-walker-cause-the-deficits-he-is-gnashing-his-teeth-about/571833/30 "2011-02-20T22:07:56Z")
Just to go back to the original question, Ezra Klein (who’s really getting stuck into the details of this one at the moment, I really recommend his blog if you’re interested in the issue, his entries are short and written very clearly but they’re very informative) has gone into some more details of the state’s budget situation. The basic conclusion is the same as I outlined above: the state does have a significant deficit this year, and neither Walker nor Republicans can really be held responsible for it, but Walker has passed measures that will increase the deficit in 2012-2013. Further details though: his article has all the links to his citations, so I’d recommend clicking [here](http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2011/02/wisconsins_fiscal_condition.html) to read it, but I’ll quote it anyway: > [@](#): > > **Wisconsin’s fiscal condition** > _By Ezra Klein_ > > As I wrote in the update to my original post on Wisconsin, my initial understanding of the way Gov. Scott Walker’s tax cuts had changed his state’s budget picture was wrong: They didn’t add to this year’s deficit, but to the 2011-13 deficit. That doesn’t make them any more fiscally responsible, but it does mean they’re not behind the deterioration in Wisconsin’s 2011 budget projections. They’re behind part of the deterioration in their 2011-2013 budget projections. The Wisconsin State Journal has a good editorial running through the numbers. To get a broader look at the state’s finances, I asked Nick Johnson, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ state and local budget guru, to tell me what he knew. Here’s what he wrote back: > > ``` > - Wisconsin’s budget problems are real. The state has a $137 million shortfall in the current fiscal year – after taking into account the need for an additional Medicaid appropriation to get through the end of the year. The state has a $3.6 billion shortfall in the upcoming 2011-13 biennium (the two-year period that starts July 1, 2011). As always, we measure shortfalls as the gap between projected current-law revenues, and the cost of providing a continuing level of services, and that’s basically what the $3.6 billion figure reflects. See here for more. > > - Some opponents of the governor’s budget bill want to argue that the shortfall is a fiction. This is not the case. > > - The budget problems for 2011-13 were exacerbated by recent tax cuts. Note, however, that the recently enacted tax cuts don’t affect the current fiscal year. To quote the Legislature’s nonpartisan (and highly regarded) fiscal office, “It is estimated that, together, these three bills will reduce general fund tax collections by $55.2 million in 2011-12 and $62.0 million in 2012-13.” See page 11 of this report (pdf), which also describes the tax cuts. (So, in a technical sense, the tax cuts didn’t create the current-year shortfalls that in turn are creating the specific opening for the 'budget repair bill' [Which is the bill including the collective bargaining restrictions -- Ezra]. However, it is true that the tax cuts are worsening the state’s overall budget picture, and it is the state’s overall budget picture – not the current-year picture alone – that the guv is using to justify going after the workers.) > > - The governor is likely to propose a LOT more tax cuts. In the campaign, he promised total repeal of the state’s corporate income tax. (And he wasn’t the only one) We were expecting to see what his proposals were next week, but yesterday he announced that he’s going to postpone his budget presentation (which was supposed to be Tuesday) until March 1. > > - The myths about public employees are flying fast and furious, so here’s two things to remember ... First, Wisconsin is among the vast majority of states that have made budget cuts hitting public employees since the recession began — both furloughs and layoffs. And, as EPI’s study on Wisconsin state worker compensation shows, public workers in Wisconsin are compensated less well than their private sector counterparts. > > ``` ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-wisconsin-governor-scott-walker-cause-the-deficits-he-is-gnashing-his-teeth-about/571833/31 "2011-02-20T22:39:40Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Thanks for the definition of a fiscal conservative **Rand**. Someone who will spend any amount of other people’s money as long as it’s for something they like. I can’t imagine how we ended up in this mess with the fiscal conservatives in charge. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-wisconsin-governor-scott-walker-cause-the-deficits-he-is-gnashing-his-teeth-about/571833/32 "2011-02-20T22:40:46Z")
> [@digs](#): > > That should read “_Fiscal conservative_, but in a way that still keeps me from being anything like Rand Rover in any way”. Your loss. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-wisconsin-governor-scott-walker-cause-the-deficits-he-is-gnashing-his-teeth-about/571833/33 "2011-02-20T22:58:38Z")
> [@isaiahrobinson](#): > > false. Wisconsin really does have a $137bn deficit this year… Obviously, there is no possible way Wisconsin has a deficit of $137 billion. Wisconsin has a deficit of about $137 MILLION, which is nothing to panic about. \*\*As the unions have completely capitulated on the issue of money, this movie is obviously about punishing pro-Democratic unions. \*\* The issue has nothing to do with this year’s budget. ---
**Author:** ![isaiahrobinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85e7bf/32.png) [@isaiahrobinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/isaiahrobinson)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-wisconsin-governor-scott-walker-cause-the-deficits-he-is-gnashing-his-teeth-about/571833/34 "2011-02-20T23:59:48Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Obviously, there is no possible way Wisconsin has a deficit of $137 billion. > > Wisconsin has a deficit of about $137 MILLION, which is nothing to panic about. \*\*As the unions have completely capitulated on the issue of money, this movie is obviously about punishing pro-Democratic unions. \*\* The issue has nothing to do with this year’s budget. You’re right, I meant $137 million. I’m used to talking about the federal government where it’s always billions. The reason this is generating controversy is because of the anti-Union elements, not because of the budgetary elements. But the budget part is important because liberal commentators have made an issue out of it: they claim that Walker is essentially lying that there’s a deficit at all, or that if there is a $137m deficit, it’s only because he himself created it. As far as the 2011 budget goes, those accusations are false: there really is a $137m deficit, that is a significant deficit for Wisconsin that does need to be dealt with over the next few years, and Walker had no role in creating that $137m deficit (although he has passed measures that will increase the deficit from next year onwards). Yes the real issue that’s causing controversy here is a Republican governor trying to gut power from the Democratic-supporting Unions. But that’s not what the thread starter asked about: he asked about the conflicting claims concerning the state’s budget. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-wisconsin-governor-scott-walker-cause-the-deficits-he-is-gnashing-his-teeth-about/571833/35 "2011-02-21T00:05:59Z")
> [@digs](#): > > I read (on the Dope, must be true) that the New York Times has an editorial saying Walker caused it. Haven’t read it yet, though. rich? If the New York Times said it, than you know it’s a pack of lies. They are the rag that published false accusations about John McCain having an affair but ignoring John Edwards, leaving that to serious magazines like National enquirer. Is Walker also the governor of Illinois, New York, California and a slew of other states that have fiscal problems due to unions electing legislators that raise taxes on the private sector to make them rich. ---
**Author:** ![isaiahrobinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85e7bf/32.png) [@isaiahrobinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/isaiahrobinson)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-wisconsin-governor-scott-walker-cause-the-deficits-he-is-gnashing-his-teeth-about/571833/36 "2011-02-21T00:56:57Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > [Here](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/18/opinion/18fri1.html) is that editorial from the New York Times. The relevant paragraph is, “Meanwhile, the governor is refusing to accept his own share of responsibility for the state’s projected $137 million shortfall. Just last month, he and the Legislature gave away $117 million in tax breaks, mostly for businesses that expand and for private health savings accounts. That was a choice lawmakers made, and had it not been for those decisions and a few others, according to the state’s Legislative Fiscal Bureau, the state would have had a surplus.” Yep, this is the paragraph of the NY Times editorial that claims Walker’s decisions contributed to the $137m deficit in 2011. It’s [wrong](http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2011/feb/18/rachel-maddow/rachel-maddow-says-wisconsin-track-have-budget-sur/). Walker has passed tax cuts and other measures that will increase the deficit, but they won’t kick in until 2012, so the 2011 deficit is nothing to do with him. ---
**Author:** ![legalsnugs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@legalsnugs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/legalsnugs)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-wisconsin-governor-scott-walker-cause-the-deficits-he-is-gnashing-his-teeth-about/571833/37 "2011-02-21T21:34:42Z")
I understand Walker’s bill will also change Medicaid administrative procedures. To wit: > [@](#): > > Authorize DHS to restructure program notwithstanding current law > > Medicaid costs have increased dramatically due to the recession and expanded program eligibility. > > In order to reduce the growth in costs, the bill authorizes the Department of Health Services to make program changes notwithstanding limits in state law related to specific program provisions. > > The department is expected to develop new approaches on program benefits, eligibility determination and provider cost-effectiveness. The proposed changes will require passive approval of the Joint Committee on Finance before implementation. [Cite](http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20110216/GPG0101/110216041/Read-summary-of-Gov-Scott-Walker-s-budget-repair-bill) to Walker’s own summary of the bill. But it’s just a “sneaky provision that paves the way for him to cut, or eliminate, Medicaid and BadgerCare healthcare benefits for low-income people.” [Cite](http://www.theawl.com/2011/02/burning-down-wisconsin-the-hidden-budget-bill-item-even-worse-than-union-busting?ref=obawl). > [@](#): > > Walker’s administrative rules change would allow the Department of Health Services, via the overwhelmingly GOP-controlled budget committee, to change state laws unilaterally, skipping the legislative process altogether. In terms Vicki McKenna can understand, this means Walker’s bill will allow the governor to subvert the legislative process and make his own laws without going through the tiresome and long American tradition of lawmaking. That part’s fact. This part is my opinion: He’s declaring war on the poor (and the working class) and has hidden it pretty well behind the budget “fix”. Clever, if by “clever” I mean evil. Everyone’s looking at the budget and/or unions and ignoring a huge and bad part of the bill. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-wisconsin-governor-scott-walker-cause-the-deficits-he-is-gnashing-his-teeth-about/571833/38 "2011-02-21T21:57:56Z")
Well, there’s also the “fire sale” aspects of the budget repair bill… > [@](#): > > 16.896 Sale or contractual operation of state-owned heating, cooling, and power plants. (1) Notwithstanding ss. 13.48 (14) (am) and 16.705 (1), the department may sell any state-owned heating, cooling, and power plant or may contract with a private entity for the operation of any such plant, with or without solicitation of bids, for any amount that the department determines to be in the best interest of the state. Notwithstanding ss. 196.49 and 196.80, no approval or certification of the public service commission is necessary for a public utility to purchase, or contract for the operation of, such a plant, and any such purchase is considered to be in the public interest and to comply with the criteria for certification of a project under s. 196.49 (3) (b). In other words, not only can the state sell off its heating/cooling plants without bids, those sales will be automatically considered “in the public interest” and “to comply with the criteria for certification of a project” under state law. In other words, pay no attention to the men behind the curtain! No looting of the state’s assets going on here! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-wisconsin-governor-scott-walker-cause-the-deficits-he-is-gnashing-his-teeth-about/571833.md?page=1)