Budget

Walker 2008 Budget: 1.4 Percent to Overtime; State 2008 Budget: 0.2 Percent to Overtime

MADISON, Wis. — Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker is calling for a commission to study state overtime spending, citing the overtime costs for the state of Wisconsin in 2008. Records show Walker spent a substantially higher percentage of Milwaukee County tax dollars on overtime than did the state of Wisconsin in the year he cited, […]

Walker Vetoed Public Works County Building Inspection Engineer Position in 2008

MADISON, Wis. — Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, as part of his 2008 budget, vetoed an engineering position for the Milwaukee County Department of Public Works to handle county building oversight and inventory, claiming the move would result in a “tax levy savings of $150,000.” In light of the tragedy at the county’s O’Donnell Park […]

Walker’s Lack of Constitutional Knowledge Rivals His Budget Incompetence

“As governor, I’ll find ways to do more with less …and sign an amendment that will protect funds like these from future raids.” “¢ Walker Statement, 7/20/10 (Note: Since One Wisconsin Now accessed the press release at 9 a.m., Walker has changed the word ”sign’ to ”support.’ A link to Walker’s original release is available […]

Budget Deficit Grows, Walker Still Refuses to Say How He’ll Pay for Tax Cuts, Shifts

MADISON, Wis. — Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker still refuses to say how he will finance a budget-busting $3-billion tax cut and shift scheme that would slash funds from education, health care, and police and fire protection “¢ even after the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau says the state deficit is an even-larger $2.5 billion for […]

Walker Unpaid Tab Grows to More Than $5 Billion

MADISON, Wis. — Milwaukee County Executive County Scott Walker has added more than $1 billion to the price tag of his tax cuts, tax loopholes and tax shifts, which combined with the state’s $2-billion-plus deficit, would require more than $5 billion in drastic cuts to education, health care and police and fire protection – threatening […]

Walker’s Legislative Finance Team Called for More Spending than Governor

MADISON, Wis. — Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker’s self-appointed tax and spend team in the state legislature, Republicans Robin Vos and Alberta Darling, both called for more General Purpose Revenue funding than requested by Gov. Jim Doyle in state budgets in the past several years. Over the weekend Walker claimed Vos and Darling, who have […]

One Wisconsin Now Will Ask DPW Convention Goers to Sign ‘Responsible Budget’ Petition

MADISON, Wis. — Attendees at this weekend’s Democratic Party of Wisconsin convention will be given the chance to sign a One Wisconsin Now petition, in which participants can offer their support either for responsible budgeting that focuses on the state’s critical priorities, or give their support to exploding the deficit with unpaid tax cuts that […]

New Ad Shows How Milwaukee County Taxpayers Left Holding Bag for Walker’s Mismanagement

MADISON, Wis. — Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker’s failed leadership and the disastrous outcome is the subject of an online video produced by One Wisconsin Now as part of its “Scott Walker Failure Files” timeline and information warehouse. The ad is available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFmYpUbsGE0. “Scott Walker’s skewed priorities and incompetent leadership have been a disaster […]

One Wisconsin Now Fact Checks ‘Facts-Free’ RPW Walker Ad

MADISON, Wis. — The first television advertisement for Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker’s campaign for governor paid for by the Republican Party of Wisconsin not only is full of distortions and exaggerations, but also ignores the impact of his policies which have been disastrous for Milwaukee, a fact-check conducted by One Wisconsin Now concludes. “The […]

Walker Ad Fact Check Shows Exaggerations, Falsehoods Throughout

MADISON, Wis. — Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker’s latest campaign ad is riddled with falsehoods, distortions and half-truths about his disastrous record for Milwaukee County, according to a fact check of the ad conducted by One Wisconsin Now. “Just last summer Scott Walker was repeating his call to abolish county government because he had made […]

One Wisconsin Now Launches ‘Scott Walker Failure Files’ Timeline

MADISON, Wis. — Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker’s eight years of failed leadership are highlighted in an interactive timeline documenting his misdeeds, mismanagement and incompetence created by One Wisconsin Now and available at www.ScottWalkerFailureFiles.com. “The people of Milwaukee County have endured unprecedented harm due to the failed leadership of Scott Walker,” said Scot Ross, One […]

WMC Partner Begins Statewide Ad Campaign for Walker

MADISON, Wis. — A special interest group that calls itself a partner of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) will begin spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on television starting Friday to promote Scott Walker in the Republican primary for governor. The statewide ad buy, estimated at over $200,000 over two weeks, is being paid by […]

Neumann Finds Ally in Gard for Irresponsible Tax Cuts Paid for By Health Care Cuts

MADISON, Wis. — Former GOP Madison U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann has found a willing advocate in former divisive GOP Madison Assembly Speaker and twice-failed congressional candidate, John Gard, for his irresponsible tax plan that would slash income taxes only for the top one percent of income earners and reopen the corporate loophole for bankers and […]

Walker Ignores Elephant in the Room on Harley-Davidson

“In response to Harley’s news, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, a Republican candidate for governor, claimed that the state’s move to combined reporting for corporate taxation had hurt the company. But Harley officials have said in the past that combined reporting…had nothing to do with its cutbacks. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5/3/10] MADISON, Wis. — Milwaukee […]

One Wisconsin Now Statements on Leinenkugel, Wisconsin Recovery Efforts

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements calling on former Gov. Doyle Commerce Secretary Dick Leinenkugel to oppose regressive taxation plans for Wisconsin as the state continues to work through the national economic collapse due to the failed policies of the Bush administration and the Republican Congress.

Walker’s Record of Massive Spending Hikes Is in the Bag

MADISON, Wis. — Contrary to calls for fiscal restraint in his latest television advertisement, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker voted to increase state spending 84 percent as a member of the state Assembly and has proposed 35 percent in increases to county spending since 2002. Walker voted for $200 billion in total state budget spending, […]

Will $2 Billion Buy Walker a Standing Ovation from WMC?

MADISON, Wis. — At Tuesday’s Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce lobbying luncheon Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker will likely find support from the corporate lobby for his $2-billion, budget-busting, deficit-doubling plan for tax breaks that mostly benefit corporations and the wealthiest Wisconsinites. What is less likely, is that Walker will explain which drastic cuts he would […]

One Wisconsin Now Statements on the Success, Anniversary of the Recovery Act

MADISON, Wis. — One Wisconsin Now released the following statements from Executive Director Scot Ross on the one-year anniversary of the successful America Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). ARRA has provided $2.76 billion to Wisconsin for job creation, schools, transportation, health care, energy and public safety among other critical needs. Over 44,000 Wisconsin jobs have […]

Walker Takes $120,000 from Health Industry, Opposes End to Health Insurance Stranglehold

MADISON, Wis. — Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker has strongly opposed measures to provide more Wisconsin children, pregnant mothers and uninsured adults have affordable health care, at the same time taking more than $120,000 in campaign contributions from the health care industry in just the last six months alone. “The health insurance industry knows they […]

Walker’s Plan for State’s $2 Billion Deficit: ‘Let’s Make It $4 Billion’

MADISON, Wis. — Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker wants to double Wisconsin’s projected $2-billion state budget deficit with a series of tax breaks that mostly benefit corporations and high-income people. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau reported Wisconsin faces a $2 billion deficit in 2011-13, making Walker’s budget-busting tax breaks for the rich a doubling of the […]

Walker Spending Increase Eclipsed Doyle, Barrett

MADISON, Wis. — As Milwaukee County Executive, Scott Walker proposed budgets to increase spending 35 percent, far ahead of the more modest spending plans of Gov. Jim Doyle and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, according to an analysis by One Wisconsin Now. “Walker poses for holy pictures when discussing taxes and spending issues, but the devil’s […]

Why Would Walker Want to End Children’s BadgerCare Safety Net?

MADISON, Wis. — Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker’s recent call for limits on critical BadgerCare health benefits for low-income or displaced workers and repeated criticism of state spending raises concerns he may favor cuts to BadgerCare programs that cover children and expectant mothers. “Scott Walker’s message is that the nationally-recognized BadgerCare health care program for […]

WISTAX out to scare schools, public

The conservative Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance issued a release yesterday regarding their recent report titled, ‘€œState budget woes mean school, taxpayer problems’€ that’€™ll probably scare the bejesus out of, well, schools and taxpayers.The guv and legislature had a difficult task of making over $3 billion of cuts in the budget in the midst of a nationwide […]

One Wisconsin Now Launches Redesigned WMC Watch Website

MADISON, Wis. — One Wisconsin Now launched an update and redesigned version of its WMC Watch – a comprehensive watchdog website of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce. Located at www.WMCWatch.org, the site includes new contributions, revenue and expenditure totals, as well as additional research and analysis of the influence of Wisconsin’s most powerful pro-corporate lobby. “Wisconsin […]

Leah Vukmir Nabs ‘Award’ by Anti-Health Care, Right-Wing Corporate Front Group

MADISON, Wis. — The awarding of ultra-conservative Rep. Leah Vukmir with the American Legislative Exchange Council’s “Legislator of the Year” reflects her embrace of extremist policies which increase pollution, hurt workers and prevent access to affordable health care for all. “For the right-wing fringe, Leah Vukmir is the total package,” said Scot Ross, One Wisconsin […]

WMC’s ‘Astounding’ $6.6 Billion Budget Deficit Solution: Tax Cuts for the Rich

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) has launched a newspaper ad campaign which argues the solution to the state’s $6.6 billion budget deficit is tax cuts for the rich “¢ the same economic plan enacted by George W. Bush and Congressional Republicans, which caused the nationwide economic crisis that plunged 47 states into […]

Conservative Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance Silent on $6.6 Billion Budget Deficit

MADISON, Wis. — After months of insisting the state budget crisis was smaller than official estimates, the conservative Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance has turned silent in light of decreased revenue collections putting the budget deficit at $6.6 billion. “Todd Berry and the conservative Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance tried to convince us there was no looming budget deficit […]

GOP Budget Architect Ryan Represents Wisconsin’s Three Highest Unemployed Cities

MADISON, Wis. — Despite representing the three cities in Wisconsin with the highest unemployment rates, Rep. Paul Ryan has offered a GOP Madison budget plan to continue the reckless Bush economic policies of tax cuts for the rich, privatization and ignoring investment in American infrastructure. “Paul Ryan represents the three cities with the state’s highest […]

Leading Republicans to Wisconsin: ‘Yes We Can’t!’

Wisconsin Republican officials are responding to bipartisan overtures at the state and federal level by Democratic leaders by summarily rejecting efforts to create jobs, invest in infrastructure, reform health insurance and tackle the $5.4 billion deficit.

OWN Debuts ‘McCain & UnAble’ Comic Series to Highlight Bush-McCain Follies

MILWAUKEE — Sen. John McCain has served as a rubber stamp for the disastrous agenda of George W. Bush, and a new comic series created by One Wisconsin Now called “McCain & UnAble,” shows what would happen if the wealthy ideological soulmates were forced to go out into the real world and deal with the […]

Murtha Owes Taxpayers Better Explanation about Tax Payments

MILWAUKEE — State Rep. John Murtha recently made statements to a newspaper reporter that he believes he owed state taxes in 2007 – but he didn’t have any additional details to offer or know the amount paid. Given that he has paid no state income taxes during the last five years, Rep. Murtha’s inability to […]

Leaders Agree: McCain More of the McSame

As Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin come to Cedarburg to make their first stop together in Wisconsin, progressive leaders from across Wisconsin agree: McCain is more of the same.