I’m sure we’ve all heard about Governor Walker’s budget crisis. This ‘budget crisis’ is Walker’s bargaining chip when it comes to stripping the unions of their collective bargaining rights. What many people may not have heard of, however, is the fact that Scott Walker actually ‘created’ this budget crisis upon his arrival in to office.
The Huffington post, FDLreporter, The Washington Post, The Nation, and many other news organizations are reporting that Governor Walker handed out $117,000,000 in corporate tax breaks.
Now bear in mind that I’m citing the most conservative number that I have come across; The Nation has reported that $140,000,000 has been given. For the sake of fairness, I’ll use the lowest number.
That being said, the Huffington Post has stated that “The state Legislature’s Legislative Fiscal Bureau . . . warned Walker and the legislature that the [tax break] would create a budget gap.”
This is very interesting, given the fact that before Scott Walker took office, there was no budget gap, thus no fiscal crisis. Now, the state faces a $137,000,000 budget shortfall. So, if I had used the $140 million number, this means that Scott Walker created, and I do not use the word created lightly, the current gap.
Perhaps my conspiratorial mind is at work, but this seems to me like a way for Walker to ‘create’ an excuse to usurp the Unions.
Another interesting thing to point out is the fact that Governor Scott Walker has proposed a bill, that was vetoed in 2005, that grants Walker the right to sell state-owned and run power plants to outside corporations. The Bill also allows Walker to sell these powers without bids, which means Walker can sell them to whomever he wants, and for whatever amount he wants. Here is the exact wording of the bill:
Now, let me try to piece this all together. Koch Industries is an energy conglomerate, and “it is the largest privately owned company in America.” So, the Koch brothers finance Governor Walker’s campaign (most of it anyway), then upon Walker’s entrance in to governorship, he ‘creates’ a budget gap, by giving Corporations large tax-cuts (Koch Industries included). After a budget gap is announced, the Governor attempts to de-stabilize the state even further by stripping those devilish union employees of their bargaining tools. Just Prior to this, Governor Walker puts the state-owned power plants up for sale. Not only does he put the ‘energy producing’ plants up for sale, but he does it using a no-bid scheme to sell to whomever he wants, whenever he wants. Shall I say Koch Industries? Perhaps I should.
Now, this bill has yet to pass, but the implications are obvious – Walker is selling Wisconsin to conglomerates, without the permission, or the voice of the citizens of Wisconsin.
If it wasn’t unprofessional to write in all capital letters, this whole paragraph would be in capital letters. I cannot stress enough the importance of this bill. This will begin a precedent for other Republican-run state legislatures to undermine their constituents by selling their constituents’ state from underneath them. It has already had a domino effect on other states such as Ohio, who are now fighting anti-unionist bills. This is an important part of history that is currently unfolding. As citizens of any state, we need to get up, get out, and do something.
I will be on the look-out for protests close to home and I will be posting links on my blog to websites that combine protests in to an easy-to-find location. The links will be up today.
Never fear, the will of the people is here.
Related Articles
- Dave Johnson: What Is The Real Agenda Of The Budget-Cutters? (huffingtonpost.com)
- [Re:Wisconsin] It’s Time to begin converting Teabaggers! (curmilus.wordpress.com)
- Governor Scott Walker Created his Budget Crisis. (democraticsocialistrepublic.wordpress.com)
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