Dad29: Tommy Thompson's Tired Old Tricks

Friday, February 12, 2021

Tommy Thompson's Tired Old Tricks

Thompson was Governor for 4 terms because most Wisconsin taxpayers didn't see through his trick.

He borrowed a ton of money and spent like Jimmuh Carter (or Donald Trump.) Tommy got away with that because he did not TAX; he borrowed.

A few months back, Tommy--now in temporary charge of the UW system--made noises about borrowing money to make up for a Covid shortfall.

Notice that "spending cuts" were not featured in the article linked above? That's because Tommy Thompson is Swamp Politician. Serving taxPAYERS is not his business.

Serving taxTAKERS is.

So, with the "borrow money" noise still rattling around, Tommy sent out his surrogates to piss and moan that "We Got No Money!!! Send Money!!!"

Notice that every one of them is Swamp-Critter? Notice not one word about "spending cuts"?

Yah. Owen noticed, too.

...What has happened here is that the UW System has driven up spending despite declining enrollment. State and local lawmakers resisted maintaining the taxpayers’ commitment to the spending and the percentage share declined. For some numbers:
In the 2010-11 operating budget, the UW System spent $5.591 billion to educate 178,909 students. That’s $31,251 per student.
In the 2018-19 operating budget, the UW System spent $6.349 billion to educate 164,494 students. That’s $38,597 per student.
If you want to claim inflation… nope. $31,251 in 2010 inflation-adjusts to $35,988 in 2018. UW is still spending $2,609 more per student for no rational reason at all.
The problem here is just that the UW System spends far too much. They can increase the percentage of public support by just lowering their overall spending. But they won’t… because it’s not about the share of public support. It’s simply about the fact that they want even more money to waste....