Select-O-Matic Wisconsin Budget Facts

Maybe these guys co-ordinated their blogging?

Bruce Murphy:

A Sunday New York Times analysis of state budget deficits shows that Wisconsin is in a bad position but nowhere near as bleak as some states. Wisconsin’s projected shortfall for fiscal year 2012 is $1.8 billion, or about 12.8 percent of the 2011 budget.

Note that the NYT/Murphy take focuses on 'budget shortfall'--as measured by deceptive accounting.

If one uses real-world (GAAP) accounting standards, the NYT/Murphy sunshine is......ahhh........beclouded:

On a GAAP basis, state finances are some of the worst in the country, and that is not hyperbole. In the 2008–09 fiscal year, Wisconsin’s GAAP deficit was $2.71 billion, better than only California, Illinois and New York. (Twelve states had GAAP deficits in 2008–09, according to the WTA.) The state’s GAAP deficit was $479.53 per capita and 1.11 percent of GDP, better than only Illinois. And if you go back to the previous paragraph, you’ll notice that the 2009–10 GAAP deficit is larger than the 2008–09 GAAP deficit.

Now if NYT/Murphy had consulted the vigilantes, he would have found this:

Not surprisingly, the state’s bond ratings have been dropping for years — Moody’s Aa2 rating ranks Wisconsin 34th, S&P’s AA+ rating ranks Wisconsin 26th, and Fitch’s AA+ rating ranks Wisconsin 31st. (Wisconsin Taxpayers' Alliance quoted by Prestegard).

One of the TEA Party's less-known objectives was to try to force Gummint to tell the truth about its operations.

Wisconsin has a long way to go.