Obligatory Walker Budget Post

by folkbum

None of what was out today is a surprise, given that the worst of it leaked out ahead of time. Most of it would have been predictable months ago, and the sheer scope of the madness is not a surprise after the last few weeks.

Here's the best analogy I have: Walker is throwing local governments into the deep end of the pool. Which in and of itself is a time-honored tradition, or at least a time-honored metaphor. The difference here is that Walker has also tied the local governments' hands and feet together, virtually guaranteeing a dismal outcome.

In essence, Walker has handed off the state's budget morass to the local governments, and at the same time, taken away some of the most vital tools local governments have to deal with morasses. His proposal not only guts state funding for local units of government, his proposal guts their ability to fund themselves in the state's stead.

And he thinks this is going to make people want to move here, create jobs. It will be the other way around. Trust me.