Walker proposes $4.55 billion tax cut

By Zach W On March 11, 2010 · 7 Comments · In Election 2010, The Economy, Those Kooky Conservatives!, Wisconsin Politics

Putting aside the fact that his claim that he’ll create 250,000 new jobs in Wisconsin before the end of his first term is pure fantasy, Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker also seems to have a problem with the math associated with his claim. Walker’s plan for job creation centers on lowering taxes, while Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett’s plan calls for accepting help from the federal government, including $810 million in federal stimulus money to build a high-speed rail line between Madison and Milwaukee. In attacking Barrett’s plan, which the state has projected would create 55 permanent jobs, Walker noted a $1 million tax cut alone would create that many jobs.

So here’s where Scott Walker’s math gets a little crazy. If a $1 million tax cut alone will create 55 permanent jobs, and Walker wants to create 250,000 jobs, that means his tax cut would need to total $4.55 billion. I could be wrong, but that would be the largest tax cut in the history of our state, and no doubt it would create havoc for our state’s finances, given the state’s budget woes.

I just wonder if anyone from the Walker-loving Milwaukee Journal Sentinel will Scott Walker out on his fuzzy math…

Tagged with: Scott Walker • Tom Barrett

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7 Responses to Walker proposes $4.55 billion tax cut

liberalssavetheworld says:

March 11, 2010 at 9:29 am

Did the county mental health facility get tx cuts recently?

http://www.jsonline.com/newswatch/87302857.html
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Nathan says:

March 12, 2010 at 11:08 pm

Zach:

First, your mathematical premise is (perhaps intentionally) intellectually dishonest.

Second, where was your criticism of the President and Congress regarding “fantasy job creation” numbers? Hmmmmmm…..I recall something about 3 million created, then created or saved, then saved, then potentially saved, jobs. Guess you missed that. Might want to give it a look.

Third, the jobs you site as created by the billion dollar boondoggle are public employees. Public employees are paid with tax dollars (even in transit, due to heavy subsidies). Therefore any jobs created in the public sector are an actual net loss to the economy.

Whatever taxes those employees pay is less than the tax dollars they “consume” in pay and benefits. If those 55 people paid a 100% tax on their income, there would still be a net loss to the economy due to the cost of benefits borne by the taxpayers.

Therefore you cannot attribute any real job creation from any public sector growth.

Your 55 jobs are actually more mythical in economic terms than anything Walker has proposed.
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- Zach W says:
  
  March 13, 2010 at 8:23 am
  
  Nathan, that’s Scott Walker’s math, not mine. Scott Walker is quoted as having said a $1 million tax cut would create 55 jobs, so if we extrapolate those numbers to get to the 250,000 jobs Walker promised to create using tax cuts, we get $4.55 billion.
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Nathan says:

March 13, 2010 at 9:39 am

Zach, come on.

The math I refer to is the extrapolation and you know it. That extrapolation is YOUR work, and is intellectually dishonest, as is your reply to me.

We cannot have an intelligent discussion if you are not going to be intellectually honest.
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- Zach W says:
  
  March 13, 2010 at 10:48 am
  
  There’s nothing dishonest about my extrapolation; it’s just an extension of what Walker himself said. If he’s saying a $1 million tax cut will create at least 55 jobs all by itself, then it’s not unreasonable to believe that Walker thinks an even larger tax cut – to the tune of $4.55 billion – will result in the creation of 250,000 jobs.
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Nathan says:

March 13, 2010 at 11:03 am

It is dishonest in that you assume much in your calculation. For example, you assume a linear relationship between the tax cut and job additions.

It is more likely an exponential relationship, meaning there ar more jobs created per dollar of tax cut as the size of the tax cut increases. Most economic models are non linear in practice, and theory, due the the concept of economies of scale, etc.

Furthermore, the type of tax cut is just as relevant as the size of the cut. A tax massive cut in taxes on fishing lures would not have the same impact as one on inductrial equipment or corporate income. You presume all tax cuts are equal in this case, which is clearly not honest.
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- Zach W says:
  
  March 13, 2010 at 11:23 am
  
  Nathan, I didn’t assume a linear relationship between tax cuts and job additions; Scott Walker implied that when he said a $1 million tax cut would create at least 55 jobs by itself.
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