Proposed state budget holds $37 million in pet projects

Talk about it

The Assembly’s version of the proposed state budget contains almost $37 million in pet projects for the districts of majority Democrats.

That’s according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, which lists a $0.5 million for an opera house in Oshkosh, another $0.5 million for a shooting range, and $46,000 to give a town new recycling bins.

Critics call it pork designed to make incumbents look good when they run for re-election. But Democrats call them “targeted investments” aimed at giving goodies to those lawmakers who don’t serve on the finance committee that re-writes the budget.

Both parties have done this for years.

University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Charles Franklin calls it a necessary evil that’s required to get reluctant members of the majority party to vote for the budget their leaders want.

Some favors don’t cost money. For example, the Assembly’s budget grants three more liquor licenses than the normal state limit in the Milwaukee suburb of St. Francis.

Jay Heck of the watchdog group Common Cause says Democrats couldn’t resist the temptation after being out of power for 14 years.

He said the only difference this time was that there’s less money available, because of the massive deficit.

Finance co-chairman Mark Pocan says the earmarks total just 0.03 percent of the budget.

Governors in the past have vetoed some of the most controversial earmarks, even from members of their own party.

Tags: state budget, pet projects, wisconsin