Surprising Details Expose Governor Walker’s Plutocratic Cronyism in Wisconsin — Economist Paul Krugman Found this Gem Hidden in the Legislative Bill that the Governor Proposed

© 2011 Peter Free

 

25 February 2011

 

 

I was on the fence, until Dr. Krugman highlighted this piece of Governor Walker’s skullduggery

 

Jaded though age and experience have made me, I am still sometimes surprised at the lengths to which dishonest and manipulative politicians will go to directly or indirectly feather their nests with money and personal power.

 

It is as if the ethics of appropriate public service have completely left political life.

 

Economist Paul Krugman found this plutocrat-friendly gem hidden in the budget bill that Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has asked the legislature to pass:

 

“Notwithstanding ss. 13.48 (14) (am) and 16.705 (1), the department may sell any state-owned heating, cooling, and power plant or may contract with a private entity for the operation of any such plant, with or without solicitation of bids, for any amount that the department determines to be in the best interest of the state.

 

“Notwithstanding ss. 196.49 and 196.80, no approval or certification of the public service commission is necessary for a public utility to purchase, or contract for the operation of, such a plant, and any such purchase is considered to be in the public interest and to comply with the criteria for certification of a project under s. 196.49 (3) (b).”

 

What’s that about?

 

The state of Wisconsin owns a number of plants supplying heating, cooling, and electricity to state-run facilities (like the University of Wisconsin). The language in the budget bill would, in effect, let the governor privatize any or all of these facilities at whim.

 

Not only that, he could sell them, without taking bids, to anyone he chooses. And note that any such sale would, by definition, be “considered to be in the public interest.”

 

If this sounds to you like a perfect setup for cronyism and profiteering — remember those missing billions in Iraq? — you’re not alone.

 

© 2011 Paul Krugman, Shock Doctrine, U.S.A., New York Times (24 February 2011) (paragraph split)

 

 

Citation to the legal language that Krugman quoted

 

See page 24 of Wisconsin Senate Bill 11 (State of Wisconsin 2011-2012 Legislature, January 2011 Special Session) § 44 (proposing to add §16.896 to the Wisconsin Statutes)

 

 

 

My assessment — Governor Walker appears to be just another plutocratic toady

 

Speaking as a former corporate and government attorney, the section of the budget bill that Krugman and I have cited is no less than an attempt to steal taxpayer paid-for state property, without oversight of any kind.

 

Probably worse, because the plants in question would very likely continue to deliver services to the state institutions they were designed to serve, the new no-bid, non-supervised owners could escalate costs to the public beyond that which a fairer process would.

 

So taxpayers would lose twice.

 

Governor Walker has to have known the section authorizing the theft of state property was contained in the legislation he proposed (ostensibly for the purpose of removing public employees’ right to collectively bargain).

 

His political ethics do not look good.

 

Governor Walker appears to be no more than another politician in Plutocracy’s conjugal bed.

 

Discovering money-sucking, public-screwing tactics changes one’s perception of a politician’s integrity.