So, DID the Wisconsin Legislature Spend $140 Million Dollars for "Special Interests"? Politifact says NO - but there is more to it!

This came out about the alleged ties Governor Walker has to the Koch brothers, and a possible end run to slip this past the legislature while everyone else is paying attention to the union bashing.  It appears to give some credence to the allegations of special interest pandering / payoffs.

While, politifact.com gave the claim, made in a "One Wisconsin Now" press release it's most sever rating for factually inaccurate statements a 'pants on fire' rating for this statement:

"Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican-controlled state legislature have added over $140 million in new special interest spending"

Politifact.com did note that this was not totally something new that was just 'made up' by the Democratic opposition to the recent legislation:

"David Riemer, who was budget director under Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, said the concept of a "tax expenditure" dates back some 50 years to Stanley Surrey, an assistant U.S. treasury secretary. The idea, Riemer said, is that tax breaks with a particular purpose that could be accomplished by direct spending should be considered expenditures."

So, this is not an apparent attempt to deceive anyone.  I would like to note here that based on multiple news sources which referenced 'special interest spending', I too am guilty of incorrectly using that term - and will be more accurate going forward.

In response to the challenge by politifact.com, they made a change in how they describe the spending, which still amounts to $140 million dollars that the Wisconsin legislature doesn't have, and is seeking to recoup by attacking unions:

Update: ... One Wisconsin Now executive director Scot Ross modified the way he described the three tax break bills. Rather than calling them spending, he said in a news release issued by the liberal Citizen Action of Wisconsin that the bills are "deficit-hiking corporate giveaways."

Here is the link to that press release, and the most salient paragraphs:

Most of the bills being rushed through the Legislature have no direct connection to jobs, and the ones that do are costly corporate tax breaks which are too small to encourage job creation. According to the Fiscal Bureau
[note, DG - the Fiscal Bureau is the Wisconsin state non-partisan equivalent to the CBO, the Congressional Budget Office]
the tax credit for companies moving to the states only provides $2700 per year, which is not enough even for one person to relocate let alone a business. The tax credit for job creation only provides between $79 and $269 net credit per job, not nearly enough to encourage job creation. Yet the initiatives will cost millions of dollars that could of have been used to fund real job creation measures.

“The job creation claims for the legislative package careening through the State Legislature are preposterous on face. Proponents cannot even meet the most minimal public standards of proof that any jobs will be created,” said Robert Kraig, Executive Director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin. “No evidence has been offered that this harmful mix of corporate give-a-ways and meager tax credits can put a dent in the Wisconsin jobs crisis, let alone put us on the road to creating 250,000 jobs.”

"Wisconsin was promised by Gov. Walker and the new conservative majority that job creation would be job one,” said Scot Ross, Executive Director of One Wisconsin Now. “Instead, we have gotten deficit-hiking corporate giveaways and elimination of basic protections for Wisconsin citizens."

“The biggest issue for our members in Wisconsin is jobs – jobs that pay a family sustaining wage and include job quality supports that ensure workers can care for themselves and their families without fearing loss of that job,” said Amy Stear, Wisconsin Director for 9 to 5, National Association of Working Women. “Our elected leadership should be focused on creating jobs and supporting people who desperately want work. Instead, time is being spent on an agenda inspired by business lobbyists who don’t represent the interests of most people in our state.”

It does however appear to still be correct that without the legislation referenced above, there would be no need for a budget 'repair' bill that disadvantages the members of unions, and that there is no actual budget change created by the attempts to remove the collective bargaining privileges granted in prior legislation and that this is a largely Republican contrived budget crisis.

About this [politfact.com] statement:  Published: Tuesday, February 1st, 2011 at 9:00 a.m.
Subjects: Health Care, Small Business, Taxes
Sources:
One Wisconsin Now, news release, Jan. 28, 2011
Interview, Scot Ross, One Wisconsin Now executive director, Jan. 28, 2011
E-mail interview, Cullen Werwie, Gov. Scott Walker spokesman, Jan. 28, 2011
Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau, Health Savings Accounts bill memo, Jan. 18, 2011
Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau, job creation tax breaks memo, Jan. 20, 2011
Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau, economic development tax credit, Jan. 7, 2011
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Walker signs bill limiting court awards in injury cases, Jan. 27, 2011
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Walker signs HSA measure; budget repair bill planned, Jan. 25, 2011
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Tax cut for job creators advances, Jan. 25, 2011
Wall Street Journal, Why I’m not lining up for stimulus handouts, Feb. 28, 2009
The New York Times, The stimulus plan: How to spend $787 billion, Jan. 29, 2011
Interview, Ron Shanovich, Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau analyst, Jan. 31, 2011
Interview, Rick Olin, Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau analyst, Jan. 31, 2011
JSOnline.com, Walker signs bill that eliminates taxes for relocated businesses, Jan. 31, 2011
Congressional Budget Office, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
Interview, David Riemer, former state budget director under Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, Jan. 31, 2011
Interview, George Lightbourn, former State of Wisconsin Department of Administration secretary under Republican governors Tommy Thompson and Scott McCallum, Jan. 31, 2011
Written by: Tom Kertscher, Researched by: Tom Kertscher, Edited by: Greg Borowski