CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – The non-partisan Legislative Audit Bureau issued a report on how the Biden bucks that flowed into Wisconsin have been spent.
It was critical of Governor Tony Evers for a lack of transparency. And that’s not by accident, it’s by design.
The U.S. and Wisconsin constitutions give the power of the purse to the legislature. But COVID money flows directly from the Biden Administration to the governor. Tony Evers can spend it however he wishes without approval from Republicans who control the state assembly and the state senate. So under this scheme the Governor can get money to programs that would never get enough votes for approval in the state house.
Why has the governor gone more than a year without even meeting with legislative leaders? Because he doesn’t have to. He has a giant pile of money that he alone controls. There is no need for give-and-take between political rivals to come up with a compromise spending plan. The governor has spent the last two years touring the state with a giant cardboard check, telling communities “I’m giving this to you.”
And, of course, many of these items have nothing to do with COVID. Wausau will spend some of its money to install new LED streetlights. Other communities will build new walking trails. Some have offered money to redo downtown storefront facades or to add cobblestone streets and sidewalks.
The audit also notes that Tony Evers has another $1.9-billion in COVID cash that hasn’t been spent yet. It means he’ll continue to be the cardboard check governor well into his second term.
There is no possibility that Evers will share his spending decisions with the legislature. So here’s what Republican lawmakers should do: The state is sitting on a huge $6.5-billion surplus. Two years ago, with a much smaller surplus, the state passed $3.5-billion in tax cuts. That should be the baseline for tax-cutting in the new budget. And the legislature should tell the governor, every unaccountable dollar spent from the COVID fund, we will insist on another dollar in tax cuts. It’s a good and reasonable deal. Remember, the COVID money, eventually, will run out. Tax cuts will have a much longer shelf-life.
Chris Conley
Comments