Quid Pro D'oh

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Walker Enriching Dutiful Cronies

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation also known as WEDC is a public-private agency created in 2011 by Wisconsin governor Scott Walker. Governor Scott Walker created the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to replace the Wisconsin Department of Commerce. WEDC grants loans that would give assistance to a company's attempts to grow and employ more workers within the state of Wisconsin. [source]

Scott Walker’s WEDC in Full Meltdown

In May 2014, One Wisconsin Now ran the numbers on WEDC loans and found that nearly 60 percent of some $975 million in assistance distributed by WEDC since 2011 went to firms that had contributed to Walker or the Republican Governor’s Association. 

"This new audit confirms that WEDC is the embodiment of the cronyism, corruption and incompetence of the Walker administration,” One Wisconsin Now’s Scot Ross told CMD.

WEDC made 27 awards totaling $124.4 million without proper review

Gov. Scott Walker’s flagship job-creation agency has made at least 27 awards totaling $124.4 million to companies without conducting a formal staff review, the agency reported Friday afternoon. 

The new information comes on the heels of a State Journal report last month that found the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. awarded an unsecured $500,000 loan to a struggling Milwaukee construction company at the urging of Walker’s top cabinet secretary.

And, from a Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau report:

WEDC did not consistently follow statutes or its policies when making financial awards. WEDC did not comply with all statutory requirements related to program oversight. Staff did not consistently comply with policies established by WEDC’s governing board. Additional efforts are needed to help ensure that WEDC administers its state-funded programs effectively.

And, now, WEDC identifies priorities for economic growth. 

Industry clusters, workforce training and a new, competitive grant for organizations assisting start-ups are the biggest winners in what is essentially a flat 2017 budget proposal by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. 

WEDC's budget, the first that top executive Mark Hogan has overseen since taking the helm in October, was approved by the agency board's finance committee earlier this month. It will be presented to the full board in July for approval. 

Under the proposal, about half of WEDC's expenditures for services delivered around the state — $18.2 million — would go to businesses and communities for redeveloping contaminated sites, job creation and job and workforce development. Another 20%, or $7.3 million, would go to entrepreneurship and innovation efforts. 

The rest of the spending is divided among advancing key industries (19%, or about $7 million), building export capacity (9%, or $3.5 million) and attracting businesses to the state (3%, or just under $1 million).

I think we can safely say that these clowns, apparatchiks of the Walker regime, have no clue on economic growth. To some degree, I don't really think they care. This is just another way of funneling public dollars to private accomplices. Yet, again, we have Republicans (in this instance, the Scott Walker administration) using the government as a slush fund for their private excursions, paybacks and cronyism.

For Further Reading:
Complete Legislative Audit Bureau Report on WEDC

Walker Happy To Keep His Boot On The Throat Of The Poor

The Journal Sentinel reports, Scott Walker Vows To Fight Public Aid Fraud.

Saying his actions will speak louder than his words, Gov. Scott Walker on Thursday vowed to step up oversight of public assistance programs, ordering the state health department to implement six strategies to combat fraud.

Sticking it to the poor is a recurring theme in the Journal Sentinel (and the media, in general). When the poor and near-poor manage to scrape a few extra slices of the economic pie (and undoubtedly sometimes this involves less than scrupulous tactics), the fourth estate and the privileged class crow on and on, vowing to stop this affront to the status quo.

The U.S. spends twice as much annually on corporate welfare than it does on social welfare programs. Why don't I hear the same fervor and passion from these people about corporate welfare? Right here in Milwaukee, the same people that drone on about how teachers make too much and food stamps must be cut, they're pounding the drum trying to whip up support for the public financing of another sporting arena.

Lets pay particular attention to Walker's epic hypocrisy as he bellows against public aid fraud while simultaneously enriching his cronies in a calculatingly obscure manner. As the Journal Sentinel also recently reported, Three More State Workers Got Raises After Phantom Job Transfers.

Gov. Scott Walker's administration used phantom job transfers this year to give double-digit pay raises to two employees and a smaller raise to a third, quickly switching them from one post to as many as three others and then back to their original jobs. 

The biggest pay increase — $14,416 a year — went to a longtime state economist who helped expose flaws in jobs statistics that were hurting the governor's recall election chances, a Journal Sentinel review has found.

Not only do we have underhanded embezzlement taking place, we have a governor rewarding his lackeys and sycophants for their dutiful (if not illegal, surely highly improper) service. This seems like quite a bit of fraud with public dollars. Doesn't this also conflict with Walker's transparency pledge?

Embezzlement

Have you been paying attention to Scott Walker's initiative to supposedly spur job growth? Transforming the Wisconsin Department of Commerce into the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation? Yes, even though Republicans always claim government doesn't know what it's doing and must get out of the way. When Republicans are in office, suddenly an entity of their making is the answer for explosive job creation.

In January 2011 Good Job First released, Public-Private Power Grab: The Risks in Privatizing State Economic Development Agencies (which I wrote about in February 2011).

The idea is far from new but it is not a common or standard practice. Economic development PPPs date back more than 20 years, but only seven states currently allow private entities to control their business recruitment functions: Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming. 

Several other states previously employed PPPs but abandoned them because of performance problems. Most of the seven states that currently make use of economic development PPPs have experienced a variety of performance problems. These include the following:

• Misuse of taxpayer funds (Rhode Island, Florida and Wyoming);

• Excessive executive bonuses (Virginia, Florida, Michigan and Wyoming);

• Questionable subsidy awards by the subset of PPPs that have a role in that process (Michigan and Rhode Island);

• Conflicts of interest in subsidy awards (Florida, Utah and Texas, which makes limited use of PPPs);

• Questionable claims by the PPP about its effectiveness (Wyoming, Florida, Utah and Indiana); and

• Resistance to accountability (Florida and Michigan).

I followed up on my initial posting with more critiques, ending with Wisconsin Economic Development: Walker's Untraceable Slush Fund. This is what Republicans do. They use government to enrich themselves and their cronies. They really have no concern for public policy and governing. The government is simply a means to easy-money for their pilfering and pet projects.

And now the verdict is in...

More evidence of corruption and misappropriation:

State Jobs Agency A Rule-Free, Fact-Deficient Piggy Bank

State's Flagship Job Agency Failed To Follow Law, Track Loans, Audit Finds

Report Had Warned Of Problems With WEDC-like Agencies