Progressive Thinking

This week Sen. Kathleen Vinehout writes about the proposal in Governor Walker’s budget related to the combining of WEDC and WHEDA. Her concern is that as the dollars for economic development grow, the ability of the public to determine how well their public dollars are used does not.

MADISON - “I’ve heard about the cuts,” the Buffalo County man said. “But this budget spends more. Who’s getting more money?”

Folks are concerned about big cuts to the UW; cuts to local schools; scaling back of health programs for the disabled; public radio and TV losing state support.

But the new budget spends $3 billion more than the last. Where is that money going?

One place to look is the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC). Despite its name, WEDC is a part of state government; in fiscal year 2012-13 it received over $62 million from the budget (including about $4 million in federal funds) and the agency can authorize potentially millions more in tax credits.

The Governor’s flagship program turned troubled when auditors found procedures weren’t written down, loans were lost and Wisconsin was penalized. Three Chief Financial Officers left – one after only a day on the job.

I described the creation of WEDC four years ago as putting the cookie jar in a dark pantry with a sign on the door that says, “Trust Us”.

In this budget the Governor combines WEDC with another agency that administers loans: the Wisconsin Housing & Economic Development Authority.

The Governor creates a new board. He kicks off the board the legislators who ask too many questions. The new board will only be private sector folks chosen by the Governor.

The budget adds more money into the mix: $55 million in a revolving loan fund and almost another $10 million in tax credits. Governor Walker then proposes taking existing business tax credits and converting them into refundable tax credits. What does that mean?

Think about the refund you might receive when you file your taxes. The refund comes because you paid in more than you owed. It’s your money coming back.

What if the rules were changed so you didn’t owe any taxes? You still filed your tax return but you owed nothing. A refundable tax credit would still give you a refund check signed by the people of Wisconsin. That’s what’s going on.

Imagine you’re the CEO of a multi-national company that reported sales in billions. You’re making a lot of money. But the tax laws are changed so the company owes very little or nothing at all.

When your accountant files your company’s tax returns instead of paying on what you owe (which is nothing) the people of Wisconsin pay you. This is a refundable tax credit.

And then the budget proposal takes away a few of the rules.

For example, under the ‘qualified new business ventures’, your company would not have to comply with one or more of the current rules: you would not have to be a Wisconsin company, you would not be required to have 51% of your workforce in Wisconsin, and you would not have to commit to keeping your business in Wisconsin.

Reminder: the public purpose of the current rules is to grow good paying Wisconsin jobs.

The public wouldn’t know if you followed the rules or even received the grant because the budget changes the open records laws so the company can never be identified. No data in the agency’s record keeping software can be made public.

I wondered how the auditors would do their work. But then I learned the budget also says the watchdog Legislative Audit Bureau (LAB) won’t complete a program evaluation audit until 2017 and won’t complete a financial audit at all.

An independent private auditor will be hired in 2016. But an outside auditor won’t give us the information we receive from the LAB.

To perhaps add an incentive to companies to play nice with the people in charge of the cookie jar, the Governor takes away any oversight on the creation of a nonprofit company to accept private gifts and grants.

It’s not a big stretch to see companies giving gifts to the nonprofit arm and receiving tax credits from the other arm.

I explained all this to my constituent in Buffalo County. He said, “They took the cookie jar from the dark pantry and put it in a dark castle with a moat around it!”

The sign in front of the moat reads, “Just trust us.”

"If I can take on 100,000 protesters, I can do the same across the world," he said. Walker has been trying to exaggerate the 2011 peaceful protests and subsequent recall election into some kind of noble stand against "union thugs" for years.

WASHINGTON - Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is trying to give himself some chops in foreign affairs at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington this week. Speaking on Thursday, Walker criticized President Barack Obama's handling of the threat of "radical Islamic terrorism", but gave little substance on how he'd address the challenge himself.

But then, the Presidential hopeful Walker got carried away with himself.

"We need a president, a leader, who will stand up and say, we will take the fight to them and not wait until they bring the fight to America's soil, to our children and our grandchildren," Walker said.

Later, when asked by an audience member about how he'd deal with the threat of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, Walker responded that he gets FBI threat briefings from his adjutant general and that "without divulging confidential information," he's been concerned about the group for years.

But he didn't offer a specific answer to how he'd take on the group, instead pivoting back to his experience in Wisconsin.

"If I can take on 100,000 protesters, I can do the same across the world," he said.

It was a reference to Walker's attack on labor unions in Wisconsin, where his move to strip public employees' collective bargaining rights caused months of protests in 2011, and turned him into a rock star on the right. His Republican supporters in the state legislature are continuing his agenda with a so-called "right-to-work" bill this week.

Reporters were quick to jump on the Wisconsin Governor with no foreign policy experience. Did he really mean having some protesters with picket signs outside his office was similar to an attack by terrorists? Walker is still trying to clarify his statement.

Walker has been trying to exaggerate the 2011 peaceful protests and subsequent recall election into some kind of noble stand against "union thugs" for years. But, ISIS?

Will the national press and conservative voters let this one stand? Only time will tell.

The three Republican members showed little interest and asked few questions. The public hearing turned into a complete mockery when chairman Nass said he was cutting off the meeting because of what he called a "credible threat" that turned out to be a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report saying union demonstrators were planning to peacefully disrupt the committee vote.

MADISON - Nothing usually gets decided at public hearings. They are mostly an exercise to make the public feel heard. But the GOP majority failed Tuesday to even do that at the Senate Labor Committee public hearing they had hurriedly staged for the so-called “Right to Work” Bill.

About 2,000 demonstrators showed up outside the Capitol earlier in the day to keep the politicians honest and the “hearing” had proceeded peacefully for about six hours. Committee chairman Sen. Steve Nass (R-Whitewater)introduced several witnesses from Bradley Foundation and Koch Brothers funded Republican think tanks to support the legislation and a long parade of small businessmen and labor union representatives, mostly from the Building Trades, to oppose it. Other private citizens, almost all opposed, then gave their testimony.

The three Republican members on the committee showed little interest and asked few questions, leaving that work up to the Democratic Senators Bob Wirch of Kenosha and Chris Larson of Milwaukee.

The public hearing turned into a complete mockery shortly before 6:30 p.m. when committee chairman Nass said he was cutting off the meeting abruptly because of what he called a "credible threat". What Nass called a "credible threat" turned out to be a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report that said union demonstrators were planning to peacefully disrupt the committee vote by raising their voices if Republicans didn't let everyone from the public testify.

Nass called for a quick vote on the measure and the fearful Republicans exited the room. The vote was 3-1, with all three Republicans voting for the bill to prohibit requiring workers to pay union dues and one Democrat, Sen. Wirch, voting against. The other Democrat on the committee, Sen. Chris Larson, did not cast a vote as he and people in the room argued unsuccessfully for Republicans not to take the vote at that moment.

Afterwards, hundreds of business owners, union members, veterans, and just plain concerned citizens sat in stunned silence in the room waiting to speak. Many have been waiting since eight in the morning.

"There was no threat," Bruce Colburn of the Service Employees International Union state council said. "We wanted to ensure that people had a right to speak."

"They used it as a straw man to get out of a very uncomfortable position," AFSCME Council 48 Executive Director Boyd McCamish added. "It's an act of political cowardice."

The so-called “Right to Work” Bill now moves on the Republican controlled Senate and Assembly where quick passage is expected.

The bill has also spotlighted Governor Scott Walker's stance on the measure. In May 2012, the governor said he would do "everything in my power" to keep the legislation from getting to his desk. But Walker, who is now eyeing a run for the presidency, has said in recent days he would sign the bill.

In a statement released earlier today, Senator Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) commented on the events in Madison saying:

“Senate Republicans once again have shown their disdain for those who disagree with them by shutting down the public hearing this evening on legislation that will cost Wisconsin families over $5,000 a year in lost wages, increase child poverty and create more dangerous working conditions.

“As Wisconsin business owners, workers and veterans waited to testify Senate Republicans chose to shut the hearing down early rather than continue listening to the overwhelming testimony against the bill.

“Senate Republicans talk about less government intrusion but the fact is Senate Bill 44 is one of the most intrusive bills of all because it denies Wisconsin employers the right and freedom to run their businesses as they see fit.

“It is unfortunate that at a time when our state needs to work together to move our economy forward governor Walker and Senate Republicans have chosen to continue their attempts to “divide and conquer” Wisconsin families.”

Assembly Democratic Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) released the following statement after Republicans shut down a committee public hearing on their so-called "Right to Work" bill:

"I am deeply disappointed that Senator Nass and Republicans did not at least live up to their promise of holding the public hearing until 7:00 tonight. Slamming the door on public testimony and silencing the hundreds of people who have come all day to testify is just another abuse of power by Republicans and an affront to our Wisconsin values of open, honest and transparent government.”

Senator Kathleen Vinehout writes about drastic changes to Family Care and IRIS included in the Governor’s budget. If these changes become law, many frail elderly and disabled persons would be put at risk of losing the services that help them stay in their community and out of expensive institutions.

MADISON - “You have got to be kidding!” a Chippewa Valley advocate responded when I told her about a plan to potentially turn Family Care over to a for-profit insurance company.

Family Care and its fee-for-service sister, IRIS, provide thousands of Medicaid-eligible frail elderly and disabled people the help they need to remain in their homes. Services could include help getting places; keeping a job; managing money; preparing meals; keeping healthy; bathing and dressing.

People who benefit from Family Care or IRIS might easily end up in an expensive institution. Personal care and other workers help them stay in their own home – and many times – stay gainfully employed.

If the current version of the governor’s budget becomes law, it will mean big changes to care for frail elderly and disabled people of modest means. For the rest of us, it could mean many more of our neighbors and family members end up in expensive institutions. Worse yet, folks could be stranded at home without the services they need to independently live and work.

Buried in the mammoth state budget is the elimination of IRIS as we know it. IRIS serves more than 11,000 people statewide. The philosophy of the program is in its name: Include, Respect, I Self-direct. People hire their own workers who perform many tasks including meal preparation, bathing, and getting people to work.

As Jason Endres of Eau Claire told me, “Without these services, the way IRIS provides, it would prevent us from being part of our community.”

Also eliminated are local centers to assist elderly and disabled people find services. Known as Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs), these publically run centers would close and their citizen oversight boards disband. They could be reopened by a private company but with no requirement to be conveniently located or to tell people about all the services for which they may qualify. For example, the woman I wrote about in last week’s column who is served by SeniorCare, said without the help of local ADRC staff she would not have known about SeniorCare.

Family Care is a managed care program serving over 40,000 elderly, physically disabled, and developmentally disabled folks. A large number of developmentally disabled people use Family Care in the Chippewa Valley because of the closure of Northern Center. Services such as residential homes, mental health services and job coaches help folks stay in the community. Local providers work with non-profit Managed Care Organizations that oversee service delivery.

Services are tailored to the needs of the individual as determined by an independently completed functional assessment. This way services are based on the needs of the individual and not on what the provider has available.

Changes in the budget would eliminate most of the Managed Care Organizations. Their job could be taken over by a very large for-profit insurance company. Budget language gives the state Department of Health (DHS) authority to hire the insurance company in a no-bid contract and removes any legislative oversight of the contract between DHS and the insurance company.

This new insurance company could become the gatekeeper for all medical, rehabilitative, personal living and employment services for over 50,000 people (DHS enrollment numbers from 2014).

In essence, every service needed by the disabled or frail elderly person of modest means would need approval by potentially one for-profit insurance company.

“This takes the personal choice right out of it,” an Eau Claire woman told me.

It also makes it more likely people will not receive the care they need. Insurance companies are very good at denying care and shifting the cost of care to patients and families.

Jason said to me, “One for-profit, national insurance company in a no-bid contract? It makes me very sad. It’s no longer about local choices. It’s about big business making decisions about very personal things.”

Advocates are working hard to save these important programs. People can learn more at www.saveiris.org. Jason reminded me to thank Amber and Nancy for this awesome website. Check it out. You’ll see Amber, Jason and read many more amazing stories.

MADISON - Today Republican leaders in the state legislature announced plans for an extraordinary session of the legislature next week to pass so-called "Right to Work"  legislation.

Is this rushed discussion of such a controversial subject necessary? Many in the Assembly and Senate, especially Democrats, do not appear to think so. The move is seen as a distraction by many in Madison, an attempt to talk about anything but Scott Walker’s proposed budget.

Walker’s Budget has stirred up a hornet’s nest all over Wisconsin. As we get into the budget’s details, we have learned it mean a tough road ahead for local schools, the UW and our children who will inherit increased state debt.

"Right to Work"  legislation will do little to solve any of these problems. It does not even have anything to do with the right to work. It is merely a political argument between Republicans and the unions over the collection of union dues.

Scott Walker’s first term has left Wisconsin with a lagging economy and a $2.2 billion deficit. His administration has drained needed funds from public education and state agencies and given it to the wealthy few in the form of a huge tax cut. And now, with Scott Walker a part time governor gone much of the week to campaign for President, the bill to pay for all of this has fallen on the legislature.

Is it any surprise the Republicans would rather talk about “Right to Work” ?

When asked for his response on the Extraordinary Session, Assembly Democratic Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) said in a prepared statement:

"Governor Walker has called so-called `Right to Work' legislation a distraction and apparently that's exactly what he wants. By rushing to pass Right to Work in less than a week, clearly the governor and Republican legislators want to distract from how destructive their budget is for Wisconsin's workers, students and middle-class families.

"Wisconsin is already lagging behind most of the nation in jobs and wage growth and `Right to Work' would only make things worse. In fact, the average worker in Right to Work states makes between $5,000 and $6,000 less than the average worker in other states. And calling an extraordinary session will make the budget disaster Republicans have created worse since we're already scheduled to be in session the following week anyway. What's the emergency?

"There is broad agreement among workers, businesses and everyday citizens that Right to Work is wrong for Wisconsin. Yet the governor and Republican lawmakers have proven they will do anything to change the subject from their mismanagement of Wisconsin's economy, including driving down wages for our workers and further dividing our state."

Our local Senator Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) went on to say:

"How unpopular is the Governor's budget? Apparently so unpopular that Republican leaders feel the need to hide their members behind RTW to help them avoid having to answer to the voters about their $2.2 billion deficit, their plan to eliminate SeniorCare and assistance for the elderly and disabled, their continued cuts to our public schools and their attack on our UW campuses.

"This is bait and switch politics at its worst that will cost the average Wisconsin family $5,000 - $6,000 per year in lost wages and that will limit the freedom of employers to run their businesses as they see fit.

"Rather than owning up to their failed policies, they are desperately trying to change the subject rather than defend what is proving to be an indefensible budget that puts the Governor's presidential ambitions before the people of Wisconsin."