Walker tries threats to pass risky scheme

Milwaukee County Exec Scott Walker just hasn't gotten any respect for his plan to sell $261-million worth of bonds to plug the county's financial hole.

He couldn't sell the idea to the newspaper, which editorialized that it was a risky scheme that could have serious long-term impacts. Editorial.

He couldn't sell it to the county board, which turned it down for the same reasons. Story.

Now he is trying to sell it to the voters in a referendum on Tuesday. He is pushing hard for passage, and suggesting he will continue to push it even if the voters say no, as everyone else has. Walker blames the fiscal problem all on the county pension scandal, which is what he blames for every problem. The Journal Sentinel urged a "no" vote in its latest editorial.

And he's trying to frighten people into supporting his plan, saying the county will have to make drastic cuts -- like closing the Mitchell Park Domes -- if his scheme doesn't get approved. Story

It's an old trick, one that bureaucrats at all levels have mastered long ago. Asked to cut their budgets, they offer up the most popular programs, knowing the public will not allow them to be cut.

Walker presents a false choice, because there is another way to balance the county budget without raising taxes. That's to eliminate duplication of services, and do something to get county health insurance costs under control. Walker's failure to tackle the health insurance issue has already cost taxpayers millions, as county costs increase two or three times as fast as those for the city of Milwaukee or the state of Wisconsin.

But that would involve some heavy lifting. Posturing is so much easier.