Gov. Scott Walker’s Foxconn Effect Includes $56,000 in Taxpayer-Funded ‘Walker Air’ Fly Arounds

MADISON, Wis. — Gov. Scott Walker’s agreement with foreign electronics manufacturer Foxconn could cost taxpayers up to $4.5 billion in payments and subsidies. As part of the continuing investigation of Walker’s misuse and abuse of public resources, One Wisconsin Now has found the frequently flying Governor’s air travels to promote the deal are adding over $56,000 to the taxpayer tab.

“Under the disastrous deal Gov. Walker made with Foxconn literally billions of dollars that could have been used for our schools or to help Main Street businesses instead would go to boost the bottom line of a foreign corporation,” commented One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross. “So it’s no wonder the same guy who thinks that’s a good deal is also sticking us with a $56,000 bill to fly around the state to tell us about it.”

According to new flight records obtained by One Wisconsin Now covering May through July of 2018 and a reviews of schedules, official communications and social media, Walker charged taxpayers over $23,000 for flights on state owned planes on days he was promoting the Foxconn deal.

Included in the total was over $12,000 charged for a flight to Washington D.C. to appear at a summit with a Foxconn executive, over $1,700 to travel to Green Bay for an announcement Foxconn would buy a building and $1,800 to visit a business in the Wausau area, owned by a family that has donated $67,000 to his campaigns, that received no-bid contract Foxconn work.

Previously One Wisconsin Now reported taxpayers picked up a nearly $33,000 tab in 2017 alone for Foxconn related fly-arounds by Wisconsin’s leading air travel aficionado, bringing the total tab for Walker Air’s Foxconn fly arounds through July 2018 to $56,153.95.