Scott Walker's budget implodes. $1.8 BILLION in Wis deficits

[hue]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/28/1325498/-Scott-Walker-s-budget-implodes-1-8-BILLION-in-Wis-deficits#

Well, those Wisconsin revenue numbers we’d been waiting on finally dropped today. And as predicted, we’re now looking at a real and growing budget deficit in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin tax collections are more than $281 million short of estimates, nearly 2 percent less than anticipated.

The state Department of Revenue on Thursday released the figures for the fiscal year that ended in June. Those figures show the state collected $281.2 million less than was anticipated by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau in January.

Huh, who could have predicted something like that?

You can check out the details on this shortfall for yourself by clicking this link. How did we get here? The big culprit is the Koo-Koo tax cuts of 2013 and other reductions passed at the start of this year, which not only reduced tax rates, but also changed the withholding tables, meaning that less money came to the DOR from people’s paychecks. The cynical idea that Scott Walker and company had is that this would make voters more likely to back the Republicans this November with a few more dollars in their pockets (key word- few), and much of these withholding table changes will be counteracted by what you don’t get in tax refunds over the next 2 years (basically, your refund will be less, so the state “keeps” more. Conveniently, this doesn’t happen until after the November elections).

So what does this do for our budget situation? Well, the State Journal rundown has one side of the story.

However, the budget was expected to have a roughly $724 million cushion by July 1, making emergency action now unlikely.

Gov. Scott Walker's spokeswoman Laurel Patrick says the state will finish the two-year budget cycle with a positive balance. She says, "As we have done in the last several years, we will continue to manage the Wisconsin taxpayers' money well and keep the state's fiscal house in order.”

Wisconsin Gen Fund budget after revenue shortfall

2013-14
Opening balance +$759 million
Taxes and other revenues +$14,529 million
Net Appropriations -$14,865 million
2014 ENDING BALANCE +$443 MILLION

2014-15
Opening balance +$443 million
Taxes (3.49% growth) and other revenues +$14,994 million
Net Appropriations -$15,843 million
ENDING BALANCE -$406 MILLION
Required reserves -$65 million
TOTAL TO BE MADE UP BY 6/30/15 $471 MILLION

[Faux pas]

1. ALL

of the rethuglican governors need to go!

[tridim]

2. It will be interesting watching how these idiot Govs try to sell FAIL.

Talk about lipstick on a pig.

I'm not so sure the Repub voters are buying it any more.

[Gothmog]

3. Like Brownback, Walker is proving that GOP economic policies do not work

[blkmusclmachine]

4. Sounds like Walker can use this to impose austerity Shock Doctrine-style to Wisconsin's 99%.

[Hoppy]

5. Add Governor Krispy to that list.

Every money scheme he has initiatd has turned to shit.