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Can some of the locals clear this up, did Wisconsin have a budget surplus? was it projected to have a surplus to the tune of $120 million?
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No, that is a myth perpetuated by the left who apparently don't know that (a) While Wisconsin's budget is biennial, it does not make concessions to debt, (b) you actually have to read a document completely to understand it, (c) Walker's tax breaks for businesses haven't even begun yet.
Here's a breakdown:
http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/...ve-budget-sur/
(For the record, I personally think Politifact tends to go soft on the left, but they've generally gotten it right.)
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There is, indeed, a projected deficit that required attention, and Walker and GOP lawmakers did not create it.
More on that second point in a bit.
The confusion, it appears, stems from a section in Lang’s memo that -- read on its own -- does project a $121 million surplus in the state’s general fund as of June 30, 2011.
But the remainder of the routine memo -- consider it the fine print -- outlines $258 million in unpaid bills or expected shortfalls in programs such as Medicaid services for the needy ($174 million alone), the public defender’s office and corrections. Additionally, the state owes Minnesota $58.7 million under a discontinued tax reciprocity deal.
The result, by our math and Lang’s, is the $137 million shortfall.
It would be closer to the $340 million figure if the figure included the $200 million owed to the state’s patient compensation fund, a debt courts have declared resulted from an illegal raid on the fund under former Gov. Jim Doyle.
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Emphasis mine.
This memo has been circulating for awhile, well before Maddow proved her ignorance via sensationalizing it without completely grasping the situation.