Hypocrisy, Cronyism, Scott Walker, Police & Firefighters, And Budget Gimmicks

Jeramey Jannene in a recent article, 10 Curious Details In City's 2019 Budget, made an interesting point, one that I've made here often, regarding Wisconsin Republicans' cronyism and hypocrisy.

The Failure of Act 10 

Outgoing Governor Scott Walker‘s defining policy achievement will likely be the implementation of Act 10. The act, which decimated public unions and reduced take-home pay for most government employees, had one carveout that is still hammering the city. The act exempted “public safety” employees including police officers and firefighters, whose unions had endorsed Walker’s gubernatorial run. 

The police and fire departments are two of the biggest aspects of Milwaukee’s budget. The police department’s $295 million budget is larger than the city’s $281 million levy. The fire department has a $111 million budget in 2019. The city, which contributed $83 million to pensions last year, saw 77 percent of the annual cost of pension benefits accrue to retired police officers and firefighters. 

If Walker was really interested in saving cities money, instead of decimating his political foes, he wouldn’t have exempted public safety employees.