Walker will Use Taxpayer Funds on Lawsuit to Keep
Taxpayer Funds Out of County
MADISON – Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker is threatening to sue his own CountyBoard if it uses federal money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to create new jobs and projects for MilwaukeeCounty’s struggling residents.
Walker’s unbelievable threat was made during an interview this week regarding a new county task force designed to bypass Walker’s roadblock to new jobs and projects. (Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 3.4.09.)
“Scott Walker has launched a crusade to keep new jobs out of his county,” said Joe Wineke, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. “Walker is actually threatening to use taxpayer funds on a lawsuit to keep taxpayer funds and jobs out of his own county.”
Walker has already forbidden county staff from applying for Federal aid or new job projects for MilwaukeeCounty. He has also banned staff from working with the new county task force or with the state Office of Recovery and Reinvestment on any efforts to restart the county’s stalled economy.
“This is one of the most absurd crusades I have ever seen a politician embark on,” said Wineke.
This is not the first time Walker has put his anti-jobs crusade on display. The likely gubernatorial candidate took to the pages of the Wall Street Journal last weekend to rally against new jobs and to promote his status quo economic policies that can only be described as “Walker-Bush Economics.”
According to the Federal government, funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will create or save 70,000 jobs in Wisconsin, while increasing access to quality education and health care. The funding will be used to support long-term job growth to benefit hardworking Wisconsin families well into the future.
The act will create or save an estimated 12,000 jobs for Walker’s own constituents in MilwaukeeCounty.
