From here on out, Wisconsin governmental employees would be well-advised to not pocket that set of Post-Its to take home and use -- as Governor Patsy's Star Chamber is going to be looking for them:
Walker pledged on the campaign trail in August that the Governor's Commission on Waste, Fraud and Abuse would find $300 million a year in savings to help close an up to $3.3 billion shortfall projected for the state's 2011-'13 budget.
Walker signed the executive order creating the commission on his first day in office Monday. "Right-sizing state government starts by identifying the areas where state government has not been a good steward of taxpayer dollars," Walker said in a statement. "This commission is the first step in restoring the people's trust in their government."
(Source.) The actual executive order is available online, and it's fun to look at where The Head Cheerleader thinks we'll find all the fraud-- namely, government workers putting in long hours:
According to a report by the Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau, the state paid $66.5 million in overtime wages in 2008, with 25 state employees earning more than $50,000 in overtime.
And the federal government, too:
The Wisconsin voter database required by the federal Help American Vote Act (HAVA) suffered delays and cost overruns, ultimately costing $14.1 million. Once completed, the Government Accountability Board request $1 million annually to maintain it.
Among other suspects. What wasn't discussed in any article I saw was whether this commission will cost anything -- that is, will we be spending money to investigate people spending money? And if so, how much? Should we appoint a commission to oversee the fraud commission?
Also not mentioned in the articles about government waste and fraud was Scott Walker's $6,400 tab for a rental SUV that he billed to the government. From Bill Lueders at The Daily Page:
Scott Walker spent more than $6,400 of the taxpayers' money on his personal vehicle during the two-month period before he took office, Isthmus has learned.
Receipts provided by the state Department of Transportation show that Walker racked up more than 12,500 miles on a brand new 2011 GMC Yukon XL provided by the state for his personal use.
As reported in Isthmus ("Scott Walker's Rockin' New Ride," 12/24/10), the state leased the vehicle for 60 days, from just after the election to just after Walker's inauguration. The state was charged $1,596 per month plus 20 cents for every mile in excess of 3,000.
Lueders notes that Walker's campaign focused on him brown-bagging it and driving his old car to "cut costs" and that Walker said "I think government should do the same."
Strange how that changes once one is the government, right?
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