On the heels of the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Burea releasing a scathing report on lax controls at Gov. Scott Walker’s economic development agency, Republicans in the Assembly are circulating that would replace the Legislative Audit Bureau with inspectors within each of the state agencies.
Democratic leaders pounced on the proposal, pointing out that it comes on the heels of a highly critical audit bureau report on lax controls on tax dollars distributed to businesses by Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s economic development agency.
A State Journal investigation revealed that top Walker aides pressed the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. for an unsecured loan to a Walker campaign donor that cost the state half a million dollars without creating jobs. In another case, WEDC gave $686,000 to a company that promised to manufacture a jet-powered helicopter even though it had no experience building aircraft, the newspaper found.
Under the bill, the audit bureau would be replaced by system of inspectors general working within state agencies. The proposal’s lead author, Rep. David Craig of Big Bend, wasn’t available to discuss his assertion that the inspectors would be better at getting ahead of problems.
Presumably the inspectors that Rep. Craig’s legislation would embed in each state agency would be appointed positions, so they’d no doubt do the bidding of the Republicans who appointed them.
That sounds like a recipe for disaster, but then again there’s not much Republicans in the Legislature are doing that doesn’t sound like a recipe for disaster.
They really have no shame at this point. How can any average conservative say that eliminating something that maintains legislative and fiscal accountability is possibly a good thing?
The average conservatives are not speaking yet. The average fascists are the ones moving their lips to the ALEC script. And the band plays on.
Exactly, NQ. I don’t blame the fascists for wanting to eliminate checks and balances. I blame the “decent people ” and low-info voters who pulled the lever and allowed it to happen, along with a paid-off media that sees this going on, but refuses to call out these autocrats for who they are.
Being nice and hoping for better angels isn’t the way to go with this group. Federal charges and forceful pushback is.
Thanks Jake, for your comment and for your excellent blogging elsewhere.
If the alarm bells of blatant corruption do not go off on this one for most people, I do not know what will.
Sure sounds a lot like 1937 Germany. Eliminate all over site and those who advocate against the party are silenced and disappear. All hail Walker!!!!!!
Walker and his fellow fascist legislators are well on their way to removing all the governmental and public checks and balances that would reveal their crimes, fraud, corruption, and mismanagement.
Their goal is for the public to: “See no evil; speak no evil; hear no evil.” regarding the abuse of power and failures of the Walker regime.
The legislature already has all the oversight it needs. Just ask anyone trying to promulgate a rule these days. Just because they are too lazy to exercise that oversight is no justification to put a Soviet-style Political Officer at every agency. And who is going to pay for these legislative spies? My guess is the legislature WON’T.
Or as Senator Vinehout stated recently in her June 10, 2015 column, ‘Kicking Controls out of the Window, ” regarding the annual LAB audit of the UW system: “This action kicked out the watchdog and replaced it with a goldfish.” She also says it is a “…Recipe for Corruption.”
This is a “cover up” of epic proportions by Walker and his goose stepping GOP majority budget committee.