Sorry, Wisconsin, Gov. Walker Just Blew Your Last $400 Million On A Sportsball Arena

Here's a story to do your Fiscal Conservative heart good: Wisconsin governor and super government-spending-cutter Scott Walker signed legislation Wednesday committing the state to helping the Milwaukee Bucks build a fabulous new stadium for their playing of Sportsball. Don't worry, though, because the team owners will chip in half of the stadium's projected costs, currently $500 million. But through the magic of interest payments, the total cost to taxpayers is likely to be closer to $400 million. And even though Walker has been slashing budgets for unnecessary government spending like universities and rural health care, Walker insists that this handout to a bunch of millionaires is a terrific "investment" for the state, since the stadium will allegedly return $3 to the economy for every $1 spent on the thing.

"We think this is a good, solid move, as good stewards of the taxpayer's money," Walker said. "I think anybody investing in the world of small business would say that's a good return on investment."

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Never mind that Walker's pals at the American Enterprise Institute are very skeptical of the "multiplier effect" claimed for stadium spending, or that an increase in the minimum wage would have afar more direct impact on the spending power of more people, especially low-wage workers. Walker doesn't think minimum wage increases are a good thing at all, because they're just so lame. You see, in conservative economics, multiplier effects of public spending only occur when the expenditures are going to rich people who will contribute to your PAC, not when the money goes to unworthy poor people who only waste it on food and rent, after which it has no positive economic impact at all.

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Also, this was a really brave maverick move for Walker, because the stadium spending is opposed by one of the Koch brothers' pet political think tanks, Americans for Prosperity. It's especially wild when you consider that the poor boy is so timid about taking a position on anything controversial, like whether basic science facts are real in his world. But despite this momentary defiance, Walker promises to make poor people more miserable by pee testing them, so it all works out.

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Oh, also, it is of no importance whatsoever that the owners of the Bucks baskets-ball team donated $200,000 to Walker's presidential super PAC. Why on earth would anyone think Scott Walker can be bought?

[ HuffPo / Bloomberg ]