Monarchy......The King of Wisconsin, and we the Slobs

Monarchy......The King of Wisconsin, and we the Slobs





Last Edited By: Fred Herrera on Mar 7, 2011 at 07:38 AM MT -->

Fred Herrera - Mar 7, 2011 View | Edit | Delete | Viewers

Perhaps taking his cues from the sniveling and dismissive State Sen. Glenn Grothman, who called the Wisconsin protesters "slobs", Gov. Scott Walker has sought a bid to clean up the Capitol building. His figures are a little dumbfounding:



Department of Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch said the original $7.5 million estimate to repair marble damaged by tape was a "high-end“ estimate. An updated report from DOA says a majority of the nearly $350,000 would cover a crew to perform "very limited“ restoration on marble as well as landscape restoration.



DOA originally said it would need $7 million to repair damage and between $60,000 and $500,000 just to assess the condition of the building.



$7.5 million for removing tape? Holy FSM. No wonder the guy has trouble balancing the budget. Turns out that even the $350,000 downgraded estimate is more than a little ridiculous too.



Like many, [the Center for Media and Democracy] was stunned to hear that Walker's lawyers told a court that it would cost over seven million dollars to clean up the tape on the stone walls and railings. After criticism, the state's lawyers acknowledged that this absurd figure was on "the high end" and then suggested that the cost could be "as low as $347,500," if "restoration specialists" were not needed. The state asserted that its figures were "an educated guess." Based on whose education is unknown.



The Wisconsin State Journal contacted a local art conservator to see how Walker could have possible derived such ridiculous sums. But she had a hard time making the numbers make sense.



[..]Middleton art conservator Meghan Thumm Mackey assert[ed] that at $100 an hour it would cost $6 million to clean up the inside of the capitol, plus a million for the outside, in addition to a $500,000 initial assessment fee, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. Mackey noted that painter's tape that is left on too long can require the use of acetone (the main ingredient in nail polish remover) and cotton swabs.[..] Mackey did note that the state's initial estimate of $7.5 million seemed "high."



Luckily, the janitorial staff who actually has extensive experience cleaning the marble walls and floors and metal railings at the Capitol have weighed in. According to Sean Heiser, the Association of Federal, State, County, and Municipal Employees field supervisor who oversees an eight-person team that keeps the Capitol clean, the clean-up can be accomplished with readily available solvents and the damage claimed is "just not there."



The mendacity of Walker truly knows no bounds.



UPDATE: Actually, more of a clarification. The article above quotes art conservator Meghan Thumm Mackey's interpretation of the Walker clean up estimate. Mackey is not the originator of the estimate, nor would she be in charge of or profit from said clean up. As the CMD wrote in their update:



In response to her request CMD wishes to make extra clear that Ms. Mackey was not involved in the initial estimate of the clean-up costs by the state. Ms. Mackey was simply asked by the WSJ what the cost per hour of such expertise was, after-the-fact. We regret the error based on the print version of that story that the extrapolation of that rate with the size of the building and assessment was attributed to her based on the proximity in the WSJ article between her estimate and the story's discussion of the extrapolation of the cost of restoration and assessment for such expertise. To be absolutely clear, Ms. Mackey was not consulted by the state in its estimate.


Ahhh...so much for that transparency on which Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker campaigned. When Walker claimed to have received thousands of emails supporting him on his union-busting collective bargaining hardline, the Associated Press and the local publication the Isthmus asked to see proof. When Walker refused, they filed FOIA requests for them. Think that a legally binding document compelled Walker? Guess again:



Over the past month or so, Governor Deadeyes has been spinning a narrative in which he’s been receiving “overwhelming” support for his budget-slashing measures. He has frequently cited receiving emails from “a single mother” or “a small-business owner” or “a laid off autoworker from Janesville.” As he continues to find ways to get on to TV to make his case, he keeps relying on this “overwhelming” support.



In an attempt to find out what level of support he really has received, two local media outlets filed Freedom of Information Act requests, seeking the emails that Walker has received over this period of time. They want to see exactly who is supporting him and what they are saying.



Apparently, the law not being on his side, Walker decided to ignore the requests. Bill Lueders of the Isthmus noted that he had not received a formal response to his request. AP reporter Todd Richmond received an email from the governor’s lawyer, noting his request would cost more than $31,250 and that amount of money had to be paid in advance. Or, he could just come on down and camp out at the Capitol and read until his heart was content.

The men filed a suit in Dane County on Friday, as their requests weren’t being taken seriously.

The Freedom of Information Act for the state of Wisconsin is listed here. Note that it says that we’re supposed to have as much openness as possible. Also note that fees can be waived “if the material requested is of public interest.” Governor might be making sh*t up? Yeah, seems like this request fits the bill

Thirty-one thousand dollars for copying? C'mon. I can get a flash drive for $50 and you can put all of the files on that. I guess that's too easy an answer.

I'm curious how much of the precious Wisconsin tax dollars are being used to defend Walker's desire not to share with the public how much support he is actually getting.

Walker proposed a budget repair bill on February 11, 2011 that would save the state an estimated $30 million in the current fiscal year, and $300 million over the next two years.The bill would require additional contributions by state and local government workers to their health care plans and pensions, amounting to roughly an 8 percent decrease in the average worker’s take home pay. The bill also would eliminate most collective bargaining rights except for wages. Unions would be unable to seek pay increases above the rate of inflation, unless approved by a voter referendum.Under the bill, unions would have to win yearly votes to continue representing the workers, and could no longer have dues deducted from workers' paychecks. Law enforcement personnel and firefighters would be exempt from the bargaining changes.



In announcing the proposed legislation, Walker said the Wisconsin National Guard and other state agencies were prepared to prevent disruptions in state services ] He later explained that police and firefighters were excluded from the changes because he would not jeopardize public safety.[49] Walker also said that the bill was necessary to avoid the layoffs of thousands of state employees, and that no one should be surprised by its provisions.Union and Democratic leaders quickly criticized the bill as a power grab by the governor, claiming that Walker had never campaigned on doing away with collective bargaining rights. In a media interview one week later, Walker explained he was not trying to break the unions, and noted that Wisconsin government employees would retain the protections given by the civil service laws. He said that asking employees to pay half the national average for health care benefits was a modest request.



Demonstrators began protesting against the proposed bill in the Capitol in Madison During the sixth day of the protests, leaders of the two largest unions said publicly they were willing to accept the financial concessions in the bill, but would not agree to the loss of collective bargaining rights. All fourteen of the Democratic state senators departed the state on February 17, delaying the passage of the bill by the Republican-controlled legislature by preventing the quorum necessary for a vote. The missing legislators said they would not return to Madison unless Walker agreed to remove the limitations on collective bargaining from the bill. Walker warned that if the budget repair bill was not passed by March 1, refinancing of a $165 million state debt would fall through, and more cuts would be needed to balance the budget.



Walker has not negotiated with unions or the Democratic legislators, saying that the state is broke, and he has nothing to offer in negotiations.] Appearing on Meet the Press on February 27, he said that he did not believe the unions were sincere in offering the pension and health care concessions because local unions had recently pushed through contracts with school boards and city councils that did not include contributions to the pensions and health care, and that in one case, the contract actually included a pay increase.On February 28, the largest public union filed an unfair labor practices complaint with the state labor relations board, claiming that Walker had a duty to negotiate, but had refused.

During the protests, Walker faced intense criticism from pro-union demonstrators one of whom held a sign that showed an image of Walker's face in a crosshairs.

2012–2013 budget proposalWisconsin faces an anticipated deficit of more than three billion dollars at the end of the 2012–2013 budget cycle[41] that must be balanced, according to state law. Walker was planning in mid-February 2011 to propose a budget bill but was delayed by the protests, the Democrats' stalling on the budget repair bill, and the absence of the 14 state senators. He is to announce the details of the budget on March 1, and has confirmed in advance that he will be asking for a 9 percent, $900 million cut in state aid to education. A revenue limit that would reduce the property tax authority by $500 per pupil will also be proposed. [42] The state school superintendent has objected in advance to the budget, saying, "whole parts of what we value in our schools are gone".


Personal lifeWalker is married to Tonette, and they have two children. The family attends a non-denominational evangelical Christian church in Wauwatosa.


During the summers of 2004 through 2009, Walker led a motorcycle tour called the "Executive's Ride" through Wisconsin and parts of neighboring states. The ride was organized to attract tourists to Milwaukee County, with the 2009 ride costing county taxpayers approximately $2,800, mainly for reimbursing hotel rooms and meals for Walker and his staffers.