Gov Walker to Give $800 Million Surplus Back to the People

[LoneLaugher]

Excellent! The OP bought a bill of goods.

Despite news of 1.8 billion shortfall Alberta Darling says Wisconsin has 443 million surplus PolitiFact Wisconsin

Wisconsin ranks something like 40th among all states in terms of economic growth.

 

[SwimExpert]

responsible officials would keep a rainy day fund precisely because government is not a business

From what I understand Wisconsin still has quite a bit of debt. Responsible officials would focus on paying that off first.

Not necessarily. Besides, dont you believe that "money in the hands of comsumers drives the economy"?

Absolutely I believe it. But I also believe in fiscal responsibility and paying the bills.

 

[RoshawnMarkwees]

I goggled it and the left wing sites talk about a deficit and the right wing sites point to a surplus. The only mainstream report is an AP report on a local page suggesting a surplus. Since there are no NYT, CBS, ABC, NBC links it must be a surplus.

 

[SwimExpert]

I goggled it and the left wing sites talk about a deficit and the right wing sites point to a surplus. The only mainstream report is an AP report on a local page suggesting a surplus. Since there are no NYT, CBS, ABC, NBC links it must be a surplus.

Deficits and debt are not the same.

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

I goggled it and the left wing sites talk about a deficit and the right wing sites point to a surplus. The only mainstream report is an AP report on a local page suggesting a surplus. Since there are no NYT, CBS, ABC, NBC links it must be a surplus.

Deficits and debt are not the same.

most every person and every company in America carries debt. they also borrow other people's money

 

[The Rabbi]

Excellent! The OP bought a bill of goods.

Despite news of 1.8 billion shortfall Alberta Darling says Wisconsin has 443 million surplus PolitiFact Wisconsin

Wisconsin ranks something like 40th among all states in terms of economic growth.

Legacy of progressive policies.

 

[kiwiman127]

It should be interesting what cuts Walker will have to make to accomplish his $800 million giveaway, considering a 1.8 billion projected shortfall.
Wisconsin state budget shortfall projected at nearly $1.8 billion
Madison — The expected shortfall for the next two-year state budget starting in July has risen to nearly $1.8 billion, or about half of what it was when Gov. Scott Walker took office in January 2011.
Meanwhile, the state's projected gap in its current budget ending June has risen to $396 million — or about 1.2% of the spending planned for the 2013-'15 budget.
The Republican governor resolved a more than $3 billion budget shortfall in the months after taking office, but the latest projections show the state is running through the resulting surplus. The state is again facing a gap in the 2015-'17 budget because of tax cuts enacted by Walker and lawmakers and lagging growth in other state taxes in recent months.
The projected weakness in the state budget matters because it eventually could lead to cuts in spending on priorities such as schools or increases in state taxes or fees.
The latest estimates by the Legislature's nonpartisan budget office jumped by more than $1.1 billion over the previous estimate of a $642 million gap released in May. The projections from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau were released Monday for the budget beginning in July 2015 and ending in June 2017.
Wisconsin state budget shortfall projected at nearly 1.8 billion

In other news, I didn't know that Joe the Plummer had a website? Thanks to the OP, I learned something today. If you're looking for something fair and balanced,,,,,,,,,
Joe For America

The usual lib talking point: if we cut anything children will go without education and criminals will proceed with impunity.
How did that work out for Detroit?

There you go again Rabbi, no substance just bullshit. Why don't you prove the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau wrong?
But no, just the usual weak-minded bullshit from one of the most shallow goose-stepping posters on USMB.

Sez the guy who cant read a chart to save his life.
There is no deficiit, moron. You'd have to be able to read an article to find the truth. That is clearly as beyond you as reading a graph.
Despite news of 1.8 billion shortfall Alberta Darling says Wisconsin has 443 million surplus PolitiFact Wisconsin

What a dumb shit! you didn't read the link you posted!
From yopur link:
A surplus?

Darling's office pointed us to a Legislative Fiscal Bureau memo issued five days before the $1.8 billion memo. The bureau is a nonpartisan agency that both political parties regard as the gold standard on budget matters.

That earlier memo says 2014-’15, the second year of the current two-year budget, started on July 1, 2014 with a balance of $443 million.

So, it’s true that at this moment in time -- the midpoint of the two-year budget -- the books are in the black.

But the same memo also projects the budget picture for the second year of the cycle.

That is, it shows what money is expected to come in, and how much is expected to go out. It shows the entire $443 million surplus being swallowed up and the state facing a "revenue shortfall" of nearly $116 million -- since revised to $396 million -- by the end of the fiscal year -- June 30, 2015. That's because tax collections have been lower than expected.

As we mentioned, the state cannot run an actual deficit. Accordingly,the fiscal bureau said the state might need a budget repair bill by June 30, 2015 unless revenue comes in higher than currently expected and/or spending is reduced.

It’s also possible, depending on how large the revenue shortfall turns out to be, that the Walker administration could reduce spending -- by not filling open positions, for example -- enough to eliminate the need for a budget-repair bill.

So, as of now, the state budget has a $443 million surplus, but that is expected to become a $396 million shortfallby next June.

Now to the $1.8 billion "out-year commitment" or shortfall estimate for 2015-’17, which is what prompted Darling to make her claim.

The $1.8 billion

There are two key things to know about the new number from the fiscal bureau:

1. The projected $1.8 billion shortfall -- -- about 5.8% of the spending expected in the 2015-'17 state budget -- is an educated guess about future tax collections and demands for services. Shortfalls occur in large part because of changes in how much money comes in through income and sales tax collections, which are dependent on the economy, among other factors.

2. Again, the projection is not for the current budget cycle, but rather for the 2015-’17 biennium. A budget for 2015-’17 is what the winner of the Nov. 4, 2014 gubernatorial election between Walker and Democrat Mary Burke will have to devise.

Rather, the shortfall is an imbalance between ongoing revenues and spending. It assumes no changes in revenue and no changes in spending -- in other words, continuing the operations of state government as they are now.

The state has been here before.

When Walker took office in January 2011, he faced a $2.5 billion "out-year commitment" or shortfall, plus an increase of roughly $1.1 billion in funding requests from state agencies. That amounted to a $3.6 billion "deficit," which Walker addressed through funding cuts and the Act 10 collective bargaining law.

Here’s the currentsituation in a nutshell:



Budget period

Dates

Budget condition

2013-’15 cycle -- Year 1

July 1, 2013-June 30, 2014

Ended with $443 million surplus

2013-’15 cycle -- Year 2

July 1, 2014-June 30, 2015

Projected to end with $116 million (later revised to $396 million) shortfall

2015-’17 cycle

July 1, 2015-June 30, 2017

Projected to start with $1.8 billion shortfall



Our rating

Darling said: "Wisconsin does not have a deficit. Thanks to Republican reforms, the 2014 budget will begin with a $443 million surplus."

The second year of the current 2013-’15 budget -- what Darling refers to as the 2014 budget -- did begin with a $443 million surplus.

But the year is expected to end with a $396 million shortfall, and the next biennium -- 2015-’17 -- is projected to start with a $1.8 billion shortfall.

Darling’s statement is partially accurate, but leaves out a lot of context. Our rating is Half True.

 

[RoshawnMarkwees]

I goggled it and the left wing sites talk about a deficit and the right wing sites point to a surplus. The only mainstream report is an AP report on a local page suggesting a surplus. Since there are no NYT, CBS, ABC, NBC links it must be a surplus.

Deficits and debt are not the same.

That I am totally aware of that as opposed to many democrats. What does that have to do with a reported surplus?

 

[ogibillm]

Whether or not there is a surplus returning the surplus to the taxpayers would be idiotic.

 

[RoshawnMarkwees]

Whether or not there is a surplus returning the surplus to the taxpayers would be idiotic.

Really? You don't expect change when you pay $20 for a $16 item?

 

[ogibillm]

Whether or not there is a surplus returning the surplus to the taxpayers would be idiotic.

Really? You don't expect change when you pay $20 for a $16 item?

You okay with an automatic tax increase the next time there is a budget shortfall?

Plan for the future.

 

[RoshawnMarkwees]

Whether or not there is a surplus returning the surplus to the taxpayers would be idiotic.

Really? You don't expect change when you pay $20 for a $16 item?

You okay with an automatic tax increase the next time there is a budget shortfall?

Plan for the future.

Taxes are supposed to be designed to prorate against expenses. Budget shortfalls result from poor management.

 

[ogibillm]

Whether or not there is a surplus returning the surplus to the taxpayers would be idiotic.

Really? You don't expect change when you pay $20 for a $16 item?

You okay with an automatic tax increase the next time there is a budget shortfall?

Plan for the future.

Taxes are supposed to be designed to prorate against expenses. Budget shortfalls result from poor management.

So you dont think there's ever a scenario where deficit spending by the government is acceptable?

 

[RoshawnMarkwees]

Whether or not there is a surplus returning the surplus to the taxpayers would be idiotic.

Really? You don't expect change when you pay $20 for a $16 item?

You okay with an automatic tax increase the next time there is a budget shortfall?

Plan for the future.

Taxes are supposed to be designed to prorate against expenses. Budget shortfalls result from poor management.

So you dont think there's ever a scenario where deficit spending by the government is acceptable?

Only in the case of national emergency or natural disaster. Not for 'programs'.

 

[NYcarbineer]

Wisconsin has billions in long term debt and is paying millions in interest on that debt. That's where the surplus belongs,

paying down the debt. Walker is making exactly the same error GW Bush made in 2001. Not surprisingly.

 

[ogibillm]

Whether or not there is a surplus returning the surplus to the taxpayers would be idiotic.

Really? You don't expect change when you pay $20 for a $16 item?

You okay with an automatic tax increase the next time there is a budget shortfall?

Plan for the future.

Taxes are supposed to be designed to prorate against expenses. Budget shortfalls result from poor management.

So you dont think there's ever a scenario where deficit spending by the government is acceptable?

Only in the case of national emergency or natural disaster. Not for 'programs'.

So you must think the surplus, afain if it exists, should only be used to pay off debt.

And who would want to live in a state with instability like you are suggesting?

 

[RoshawnMarkwees]

Really? You don't expect change when you pay $20 for a $16 item?

You okay with an automatic tax increase the next time there is a budget shortfall?

Plan for the future.

Taxes are supposed to be designed to prorate against expenses. Budget shortfalls result from poor management.

So you dont think there's ever a scenario where deficit spending by the government is acceptable?

Only in the case of national emergency or natural disaster. Not for 'programs'.

So you must think the surplus, afain if it exists, should only be used to pay off debt.

And who would want to live in a state with instability like you are suggesting?

Nothing more unstable than having your property, state and local taxes raised repeatedly on whims. Some of us like to be able to budget.

 

[rdean]

It should be interesting what cuts Walker will have to make to accomplish his $800 million giveaway, considering a 1.8 billion projected shortfall.
Wisconsin state budget shortfall projected at nearly $1.8 billion
Madison — The expected shortfall for the next two-year state budget starting in July has risen to nearly $1.8 billion, or about half of what it was when Gov. Scott Walker took office in January 2011.
Meanwhile, the state's projected gap in its current budget ending June has risen to $396 million — or about 1.2% of the spending planned for the 2013-'15 budget.
The Republican governor resolved a more than $3 billion budget shortfall in the months after taking office, but the latest projections show the state is running through the resulting surplus. The state is again facing a gap in the 2015-'17 budget because of tax cuts enacted by Walker and lawmakers and lagging growth in other state taxes in recent months.
The projected weakness in the state budget matters because it eventually could lead to cuts in spending on priorities such as schools or increases in state taxes or fees.
The latest estimates by the Legislature's nonpartisan budget office jumped by more than $1.1 billion over the previous estimate of a $642 million gap released in May. The projections from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau were released Monday for the budget beginning in July 2015 and ending in June 2017.
Wisconsin state budget shortfall projected at nearly 1.8 billion

In other news, I didn't know that Joe the Plummer had a website? Thanks to the OP, I learned something today. If you're looking for something fair and balanced,,,,,,,,,
Joe For America

The usual lib talking point: if we cut anything children will go without education and criminals will proceed with impunity.
How did that work out for Detroit?

One city victimized by GOP fiscal policies as opposed to the entire south and Midwest also victimized by GOP fiscal policies.

You can't find a state that has benefited from GOP fiscal policies. They make their money from either farming or digging something out of the ground. They have lots of minimum wage jobs and food stamps. Their states are subsidized by the Federal government, meaning Blue States and somehow, they still insist their fiscal policies are "good". It's a fucking delusion.

 

[rightwinger]

Wisconsin has billions in long term debt and is paying millions in interest on that debt. That's where the surplus belongs,

paying down the debt. Walker is making exactly the same error GW Bush made in 2001. Not surprisingly.

Walker is doing the same scam that Bush pulled

Use a temporary or on paper surplus as justification for a permanent tax cut

 

[AvgGuyIA]

We should make gov Walker our next President. I would love a tax refund for only those of us who paid in taxes, of course.