Walker's Millions

This probably isn't going to be a long dissertation. And, as often becomes the case, I've ended up with more questions than answers in researching my original question.

I started out perusing the expenditures of the July 2012 GAB campaign finance filings for Friends of Scott Walker. There's a lot of money on those pages. The year to date column shows $27 million plus in and out with a cash balance of $1.6 million. The campaign spent $6.8 million in that filing period.

If you go through the itemized expenditures (Sorry — you'll have to drag up the report for yourself as I can't figure out how to link off the GAB site.) you'll find a remarkable chunk of that was spent on advertising. When I say the media makes money off keeping you angry, I'm not kidding. If you step back to the filing required prior to the recall election you will also find some very large media buys in addition to the expected staff and consulting expenses.

And more than $47,000 for a chartered airplane.

And $100,000 to his legal defense fund.

Fine. Walker took money in and spent it to fight the recall. There is, as I said $1.6 million remaining.

Now, technically that's not Walker's money. He's running a business with it - the business of his campaign. But, and I doubt this surprises anyone, the GAB has always been very generous in what can be allowed. Need $500 gala tickets? That's getting your name out. Need a box seats at your favorite sporting event? Shucks. Who doesn't do business at a game here and there. (These are not specific to the Walker report. The first one is a known expenditure from another candidate.) So while it's not Walker's money, it's very much available to him.

My big surprise in my bit of research was Walker's personally declared wealth. As in there is none.

I'm not kidding.

I mean from Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch's July 2010 filing one can glean interesting details like she owns/owned a business that produces chicken wing sauce with James Bender, Steven Foti, and Thomas Godfroy called Conspiracy. (Gosh I love that.) It's also easy to discern there's money in the bank of somewhere between $20,000 and $200,000. (The range is very general.) There are loans: one for over $50,000 and one for under that amount.

Mark Neumann's statement for the same period shows the man is loaded. (Power to him! Rich people need not apologize in my book.) The link is shown to provide detail contrast for Walker's reports.

Here are the Walker reports. The first one is prior to the 2010 November election for the year 2009 filed in July 2010. This is the calendar year 2010. This is for calendar year 2011.

That first statement shows between $5,000 and $50,000 in a mutual or money market fund. It also reveals a couple of loans. The next year is identical. The most recent filing doesn't have a single entry for "stocks, bonds, limited partnerships, Wisconsin governmental securities, and mutual and money market funds." It does show additional loans. (Oh, and the beauty of this report are those funky governor gifts! Go chocolate covered coffee beans.)

But back to my point. Governor Scott Walker's most recent statement of economic interest shows him without money where one generally sees money and with considerable loans.

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Housewife analysis: Dude's either living paycheck to paycheck or he's hiding something. Ok, I concede there are a number of possibilities, but given the other examples, what the heck?

Political slant housewife can't resist: This is the kind of statement of economic interest that would make any Democrat proud. They often complain all those Republicans are too rich to be in office.