"Cost-Cutting" from Wisconsin Bureaucrats

DarthDoyle asked his boyzzz what they would do if required to cut their budgets by 10%. Here are some of the ideas.

Public Service Commission: The agency that regulates utilities said it could save $735,400 by not replacing veteran employees expected to retire by June 2009.

Then it would be re-named "The Incredible Disappearing PSC." After only 10 more years, it would be gone!

Department of Corrections: Save $7.76 million over two years with unspecified cuts in "supplies and services."

Such as permanently-assigned automobiles for wardens who then use the cars to commute to work? And all the gasoline and maintenance thereof? Such as the workout equipment, TVs, and videos provided for Our Prisoners?

Corrections spends a LOT of money-per-prisoner; 40% above the national average!! Obviously, the Corrections Twit doesn't take things very seriously. Wanna get serious? Let's close two prisons (say, Oshkosh and Waupun) and ship the prisoners to the now-underused Iraqi prisons. Use the now-unemployed old-regime Iraqi prison guards. (Fire the Wisconsin staff.) And don't provide transportation back to Wisconsin at completion of sentence. I guaran-friggin-tee you that the crime rate will diminish, rapidly.

Public defender's office: Said it would save $1.2 million over the next two years, if state laws were changed so that first- offense possession of drug paraphernalia and the least-serious drugs were no longer misdemeanor crimes but would instead be violations of local ordinances.

For even more savings, simply eliminate ALL Wisconsin statutes. Another thought: require pro-se defenses from all who are charged with any misdemeanor crimes. Should be a great source of humor.

Revenue Secretary Mike Morgan recommended that he be allowed to hire seven more tax auditors and agents, who each would bring in an average of $1.2 million a year. He also proposed changes he says would boost lottery sales by $29 million.

First off, that smells like a "quota system" to me---$100K/month/agent. Interesting, eh? Secondly, until you've seen some of these folks in action, you have NO idea how much they add to the cost-of-doing-business in the State of Wisconsin--but that's not a concern for Darth's Boyzzz.

Better idea: eliminate DoR field agents altogether. Change Wisconsin tax law so that you simply pay 10% of your Federal tax as your Wisconsin tax. Send in just a copy of your 1040 and a check.

Transportation Department: In addition to no longer printing highway maps, [$232K annual savings] and requiring one license plate per vehicle, [$585K annual savings] DOT said it would cut $8.7 million in engineering contracts in the first year of the budget and nearly $20 million the second year. The department typically spends about $120 million a year on those contracts.

The maps are demanded by Legislators who then give them to constituents, hoping for votes. The reason the maps are printed annually is that Legislators spend BILLIONS to cover Wisconsin's natural ground with asphalt and concrete roads every year. Thus, you need new maps every year, just to find actual ground, trees, and grass in Wisconsin.

So here's the solution:

Make the Legislators personally pave any road they want paved. We can reduce DOT's budget by about 90% instead of piddling around with maps and license plates.

And of COURSE the front-license-plate requirement is a waste of time and money. But it's no worse than (say) the waste of time and money caused by legislators' Daily Allowance of Cash Just To Show Up at Work--also called the Per Diem.

Let's eliminate the front-plate AND the 'per diem' as well. If less Leggies show up to work, so much the better!! No stupid new laws, and no stupid new highways!