Capt. I didn't include state parks used for hunting. I'm sure they will be affected by it. IF selling public hunting land does happen, do you really think county and federal lands are enough to support the number of hunters Wisconsin has? I don't.
A stretch, not at all! It is the first step to private management of state parks. Remember, divide and conquer? At the very least he wants to wave his tax cut flag at tax payers and say; look, I just saved you another million. All the while bending them over with higher user fees. The guy is a fraud.
Oh you want to hunt the new high fence public hunting grounds, make a reservation by calling Cabela's. Jackson Marsh hunting grounds, oh we sold that land to a developer. Needed the revenue for Christain charter schools. The developer? Maybe you recognize the name, Koch.
You hate that man, that we get! ;-)
I agree with Walker
I see I got the base fired up.
Antler, it's the old, I got mine mentality. True colors come out.
Ironically, Wisconsin's proposed $4.6 million budget cut — more than a quarter of the current operational budget — is the exact amount Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton said he planned to ADD to the state parks operational budget there.
That said, I don't think an additional $2 per campsite and a $3 per year hike on the admission is that big of a deal. In fact, I'd say up the sticker fee an even $5 and be done with it. But the current $16.7 million parks budget would decrease to $15.6 million under the budget plan, making a $4.6 billion cut an even bigger deal.
The Minnesota proposal would increase the state park operations budget by $4.6 million in a fiscal year ending June 30, 2016, and $4.9 for fiscal year 2017. This would be in addition to the current state parks and trails operations budget of $34.6 million. That's a budget more than double what Wisconsin allocates, with five million fewer visitor days than Wisconsin lures, and an economic impact 60 percent lighter. Yet Minnesota, citing the economic impact to its state, is choosing to invest in its parks.
As for Stewardship $, I think scaling back and purchasing only the best pieces is a good idea (while selling landlocked parcels and other pieces with poor habitat), but am not in favor of scrapping it altogether. A statewide poll of 600 voters recently showed overwhelming support on the need to continue dedicated state funding for the program. Thirty-nine percent of those polled identified themselves as Democrat, 35 percent Republican, 25 percent Independent and 1 percent wouldn't say.
Nearly 90 percent said they agreed that even when the budget is tight, the state should continue investing in protecting Wisconsin's land, water and wildlife. Most voters believe that protecting the natural resources is important to a healthy economy, and four-in-five voters would tell their legislator to continue conservation investments through the Stewardship Program. And, more than three-fourths of those surveyed rejected the idea that "Wisconsin has more than enough natural areas and wildlife habitat, and we do not need to do any more to protect them."
This week, legislators will decide whether to slash funding for County Conservation staff by $1.6 million over two years. Among other duties, staff does critical testing and monitoring of run-off that can affect drinking water and lakes. That's big in ag areas.
like it or not.. the only reason for any budget cut is from way over spending in the past...
no reason the state needs all this land..there is room for moderation
I don't buy it... you can if you want..but try watching real news as opposed to politically funded reports by the lefties.
point here is .. the lands would be better managed under private ownership..Heck we all are saying there needs to be more regeneration and cutting on state lands to support more deer and other wildlife... this would allow that as private landowners are where the cutting is taking place...they don't have to deal with the left wing tree hugger nut jobs.
Paper mills can't get wood fast enough...the price is top dollar for hardwood..yet the lefties are hugging the public woods as opposed to taking advantage of the rates for wood.....private firms would manage the property much better..
The expected shortfall for the next two-year state budget starting in July has risen to nearly $1.8 billion, or about half of what it was when Gov. Scott Walker took office in January 2011.
Meanwhile, the state's projected gap in its current budget ending June has risen to $396 million — or about 1.2% of the spending planned for the 2013-'15 budget.
The Republican governor resolved a more than $3 billion budget shortfall in the months after taking office, but the latest projections show the state is running through the resulting surplus. The state is again facing a gap in the 2015-'17 budget because of tax cuts enacted by Walker and lawmakers and lagging growth in other state taxes in recent months.
The projected weakness in the state budget matters because it eventually could lead to cuts in spending on priorities such as schools or increases in state taxes or fees.
The latest estimates by the Legislature's nonpartisan budget office jumped by more than $1.1 billion over the previous estimate of a $642 million gap released in May. The projections from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau were released Monday for the budget beginning in July 2015 and ending in June 2017.
These estimates aren't final — they could still get better or worse depending on the whims of the global economy. The so-called "structural deficit" projections aren't perfect, either — they don't attempt to estimate how much state tax revenue may grow if the economy picks up or how much state costs might rise due to inflation in spending programs such as state health coverage for the needy.
Walker spokeswoman Laurel Patrick downplayed the report, saying the state could still see revenue grow in future years and take new steps to control spending.
"We have a proven track record of managing the taxpayers' money well. By continuing to grow the economy, finding further efficiencies in government, continuing to eliminate waste, we will take care of any future structural issues," Patrick said.
The memo describing this so-called "structural deficit" has been issued regularly by the fiscal bureau going back to the 1990s. It could have a political impact as well. Walker has campaigned for re-election on his handling of the budget. His challenger, Mary Burke, a Democrat, is running on the idea that she can do better.
Burke, a former Trek Bicycle executive, seized on the new projections.
"Governor Walker's fiscally irresponsible approach and his failed stewardship of a lagging economy have resulted in a state budget picture that is a mess," she said in a statement. "I have spent my career balancing budgets and insisting on accountability; setting priorities and getting the biggest bang for the buck. Gov. Walker has spent money we don't have. In the business world, if a CEO created this big of a financial mess, he would be fired."
The memos released at the end of a legislative session or after a budget often change by the time the governor and lawmakers take up the budget in February of odd-numbered years.
For instance, a memo released at the same point in 2010 put the expected shortfall facing Walker in 2011 at $2.5 billion, or more than a half-billion dollars less than it actually was.
This latest projected shortfall is the third highest predicted in a comparable fiscal bureau memo since 1997.
To help handle the potential deficit, the state could draw on some $280 million in reserves that sit in the state's rainy-day fund.
Lawmakers concerned
Even some Republican lawmakers expressed concern Monday about the latest figures.
Sen. Rob Cowles (R-Green Bay) said the numbers show that lawmakers need to do more to urge caution in how the state budgets. Cowles held out for more spending decreases in a tax-cut bill passed last spring before supporting it because of his concerns about its overall impact on the budget.
"We should have done a better job — that's it," Cowles said.
Senate President Mike Ellis (R-Neenah) said the size of the projected shortfall likely meant that lawmakers would have to pass a budget-repair bill early next year.
"They need to come in in January and fix it," said Ellis, who is not seeking re-election.
Ellis was part of a group of Senate Republicans who raised concerns that recent tax cuts went too deep and could harm the state's finances in coming years.
"A number of us were concerned, but they did it anyway," Ellis said. "But we (Republican senators) voted for it, so we can't hide behind 'I told you so.'"
The more than $3 billion projected budget shortfall that Walker inherited as governor represented the gap between the state's expected tax revenue over the next two years and what state agencies were asking to spend over that period. The gap worked out to about 10% of the overall budget in the state's main account.
The new projected shortfall works out to about 5.8% of the 2015-'17 state budget.
To summarize, the state closed a roughly $3 billion shortfall in Walker's first budget, is now a little out of balance in his second budget — the current one — and is expected to face a shortfall in the next budget that is about half the size of the initial one.
To close that first shortfall, Walker lowered state aid to schools and local governments, and then covered most of that lost money by cutting the benefits and take-home pay of teachers, state workers and other public employees. Labor groups organized massive protests against those measures, which included a repeal of most union bargaining power for most public employees.
Walker and GOP lawmakers also reduced income and property taxes across the board in the state, along with other tax cuts for businesses such as nearly eliminating all income taxes for manufacturers in the state.
Walker's administration is expected to provide a fuller picture of where the overall budget stands in an Oct. 15 report.
For now, the fiscal bureau said it expects a ripple effect into the future from an unexpected dip in state tax collections over the past year.
The challenge of a slow growth rate in the early year of a budget is the same for the state as it is for any worker given a low starting salary — it provides a small base that can hinder income growth in future years. For instance, a 2% raise comes to $400 for a worker with a $20,000 salary but adds up to $600 for a worker making $30,000 a year.
Another challenge is that there was relatively little cushion built into the current state budget — like most of the previous ones drawn up by both Democrats and Republicans over the past 20 years. That leaves Wisconsin vulnerable to gusts of unexpected economic winds.
"This budget crisis was completely avoidable and will only get worse if we don't act now to balance our budget and grow our economy from the bottom up," said state Sen. Jennifer Shilling (D-LaCrosse), a member of the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) shot back that Democrats like Shilling "are looking for dark clouds on a sunny day."
"No one can ignore the fact the state is headed in the right direction," Vos said in a statement. "Unemployment is down, more jobs are being created and new businesses are opening their doors.
The job creation agency founded by Governor Scott Walker has been routinely violating its own rules and state law, according to a damning report released Friday by Wisconsin’s non-partisan Legislative Audit Bureau. Walker set up the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation in 2011 in order to give taxpayer dollars to private corporations to help them create jobs for Wisconsin workers. But a new audit of more than 100 grants from the agency found that the WEDC failed to follow up on whether the companies were actually using the funds to create and retain jobs. The group also gave loans and tax credits to companies that did not meet its requirements, and did not even attempt to fact-check claims by the companies about the number of jobs they created. Additionally, the agency forgave, wrote off or deferred more than $4 million in loan payments that the corporations were supposed to pay back to the state. Critics of the Governor, including Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate, cited the new data as evidence of his “ineptitude…bordering on criminal negligence” and called for legislators to pass reforms. Since its creation in 2011, the WEDC has been plagued by scandals. An audit in 2013 found the agency repeatedly failed to follow state laws regarding the use of public funds. And in 2014, two corporations that received millions taxpayer funds from the WEDC, Eaton and Plexus, outsourced jobs to Mexico and other foreign countries, and laid off hundreds of Wisconsin workers. The new report comes as Governor Walker and the legislature struggle to come to agreement on how to address the state’s nearly $2 billion deficit, a problem greatly exacerbated by the corporate tax breaks passed in conjunction with the WEDC’s creation. As he seeks to slash about $300 million from the University of Wisconsin system, Governor Walker has asked for more than $47 million for the WEDC — despite the fact that the latest audit found the group to be sitting on a surplus much larger than what it needs to operate.
Personally, I do not like entitlements and therefore agree with davebow.
Having said that, the public sector workers, (I'm not one and never have been one) earned what they had. Nobody gave them a free-ride. They negotiated for and earned what they had fair and square. Always easy to point the finger at unions and blame it all on unions but, the unions would not exist if people were treated with respect and value. Yes, he lowered taxes but, at what cost? The $125.00 he saved me in property taxes turned into $800.00 worth of front end work on my truck because the money was not there to properly fix county roads.
Do all road users pay for road improvements? As I stated above, I have no problem paying for what I use. That includes roads. My problem would be only having some users pay for the roads.
Guess I am lucky as I travel county roads each and every day but have no repair bills due to poor roads. That includes four vehicles that are used on a daily basis.
Also, don't just measure the amount your taxes went down but also figure in how much your taxes would have gone up had there been a different governor.
Again, I have encountered no bad roads to any degree worse than at any time I have lived here. As I said, no damage to any of my vehicles.
I'd welcome another bank, insurance company and gas station. They would provide additional jobs and pay additional taxes. And, that does not include the potential for lower cost products and services due to the additional competition. Not sure why you'd be against that?
Taxes going up is speculation? Did you just move here? Didn't you get to enjoy the rising taxes from the Doyle era? That was not speculation. Add to that the plethora of social programs that helped to give away tax-payer dollars.
What is Christian is people helping themselves. Not helping themselves to tax-payer money but helping themselves in the sense that they do for themselves.
I'm sure someone here can explain it better than I, but I'll give it a try. SS is self funded by us workers and our employers. Each month the government takes out SS from our paychecks and plans to give it back to us with interest when we retire. The problem is, they take our money out of this account and spend it on other things. My guess, is that they spend it on roads and welfare (I've have no idea if that is true but I do know they spend it instead of save it for us and our future). SS is running out of money because we are spending it faster than we are replacing the money. Welfare isn't self funded. It's funded by us that work to pay for those that don't. You can think of it this way, SS is a saving account we pay for, for our retirement. Welfare is given to someone, not from a saving account, just as a gift.
For the record, I'm not against our welfare program. I do believe that there are times in peoples lives when they need help. I do think the program needs some reform.
How did I do? BC
If that money is used specifically for roads I am not aware of but from what Ten said I am not thinking it was.
Doyle was an idiot but, Scott MaCallum crapped the bed and Doyle was left to clean it up. The only thing MaCallum did was watch Chrysler Engines and Jacobsen leave Racine, Briggs & Stratton leave for Perry Georgia, Kohler move operations to Mexico… and he did absolutely nothing to save those jobs. Wisconsin's economic problems extend way deeper than Doyle! Walker's actions wrongfully hurt a lot of good people in this state. He kicked them when many were already down! Not very Christian, and he has stated many times that his path is calling, (as in from God himself). Really? Is he sure of what voices he is hearing? I'm sure you are aware the other 21 Republican candidates have all claimed a calling as well. That is hysterical! Hell, I've never even gotten a dial tone. LOL
Seems to be a lot of threads bashing how forest rangers and law makers know nothing and public lands are totally mismanaged. Guys are blowing their belly buttons on their beer guts over this.
Let me make sure I have this right, you have a direct line to Christ and are able to spew exactly what he or she is saying to Democrats? Last I checked with my Minister, Christ love and guidance was unconditional. I wasn't aware of all the conditions your are privy to. Wow, you've been climbing the ladder. You wouldn't be a Self Ordained Minister would you? It would take more than a so called shelling to make me go away. Actually, I probably would have to croak to go away. haha
Konk, you are right. I apologize, I just like to push that Republican button once in a while. For no particular reason, I can't resist. All in fun.
What you don't realize is that while you believe you are pushing buttons, what most of the rest of the world sees is a misguided person who unwittingly and inappropriately shows his lack of understanding for the real world and its' workings.
Aren't you tardy from the protests in Madison?
Which protest are you referring to? I didn't get this months schedule. It wouldn't be the Save the Whales protest, would it?
I wonder if I can have my Walker Derangement Syndrome covered under Obama Care? Or maybe, I can claim loss of earning power, go on welfare and collect Social Security. Whatever the case, keep paying your taxes, I need the money.
FullDraw2015's Link
A nonprofit watchdog group filed a lawsuit in a Wisconsin circuit court against Gov. Scott Walker (R) on Tuesday, alleging that he is refusing to make public documents relating to an effort by his office to change the mission of the University of Wisconsin that is embedded in state law.
Earlier this year, Walker submitted a budget proposal that included language that would have changed the century-old mission of the University of Wisconsin system — known as the “Wisconsin Idea” and embedded in the state code — by removing words that commanded the university to “search for truth” and “improve the human condition” and replacing them with “meet the state’s workforce needs.”
The change is not insignificant; the traditional mission speaks to a role for the university system of broadly educating young people to be active, productive citizens in the U.S. democracy, while Walker’s suggested change would bend the school’s mission towards becoming a training ground for American workers.
Walker didn’t mention the suggested change in a speech he gave about the budget, but it was discovered by the nonprofit Washington -based Center for Media and Democracy and widely publicized. Walker quickly backtracked and said it was a “drafting error.”
The Center for Media and Democracy filed a Freedom of Information Act request to Walker’s administration requesting documents about the “drafting error” and how the language to change the university’s mission wound up in the budget document. The center says it received some documents but not all; Walker’s office saying that the withheld papers are protected by something called the “deliberative process privilege,” which the center says is not recognized under Wisconsin’s public records law. That’s why it filed the lawsuit in circuit court against Walker and his office.
“CMD believes there is significant public interest in how this attack on Wisconsin traditions was developed, and that blowing a new hole in the public records law to keep that a secret would do grave damage to Wisconsin’s traditions of clean and open government,” Brendan Fischer , the center’s general counsel, said in a statement.
Well produced video with a good amount of production value. Paced just fast enough to make it difficult to impossible to verify both the manufactured and so called official documents shown in the video That is unless you have a professional edit system to view it frame by frame in like I do. I give them credit, excellent propaganda piece. Equal to the propaganda crap the Democrats are equally adept at putting out there.
Stuff like that reminds me of the 1970's Cheech and Chong Wedding Album with the skit of the guys sneaking into the drive-in movie. In the background you hear the audio of the movie with the two queers saying "Captain, Captain, see what he did to me". Very funny bit! You will have to listen to it sometime, it puts both the Republican and Democrat propaganda machines into perspective. Actually it puts the politics of both parties and their candidates into perspective. There are no honorable politicians these days. Like I've said a thousand times, I'm not tied to either party, I don't follow blindly, no man crush here. I guess that is why I enjoy bow hunting so much, true independence!
Walker has done a lot of good things for WI. He's also out in left field on a number of issues (as he's finding out with the current budget process and his big dip in approval ratings). And, now that he's got his eyes set on D.C., he's flip-flopping faster than an Asian carp out of water (not talking about the current WEDC fiasco, either). Doesn't matter if R or D, they both do it. Too bad the "Common Sense" Party in the middle has no chance of taking charge right now.