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Budget, Daily Bread, Legislature, State Government, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 12.23.24: Four Billion’s a Lot of Money to Be Left Unused

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Good morning.

Monday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 37. Sunrise is 7:23 and sunset is 4:25, for 9 hours, 2 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 43.5 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1688, as part of the Glorious Revolution, King James II of England flees from England to France after being deposed in favor of his son-in-law and nephew, William of Orange and his daughter Mary.

The State of Wisconsin has both a general fund surplus and a rainy day fund, with the surplus now at $4,500,000,000. It is, after all, a lot of money:

Gov. Tony Evers announced Friday that Wisconsin’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, which is published by the Department of Administration, recorded a $4.5 billion positive balance in the state’s general fund at the end of the 2023-24 fiscal year. 

In addition to the general fund, the state’s Budget Stabilization Fund — or “rainy day” fund — ended the fiscal year at the highest level in state history with a balance of $1.9 billion. The rainy day fund has set a new record every year since Evers took office in 2019.  

“For thirty consecutive years, our state’s checking account ran at a deficit. Thanks to our efforts to pay down our state’s debt and work across the aisle to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars, Wisconsin has never had a deficit since I took office,” Evers said in a statement. “This is great news for the people of Wisconsin and our state’s economy.” 

The balance in the general fund — a budget surplus — will likely be a major point of discussion next year as Evers and lawmakers begin work on the state’s next two-year budget.

See Baylor Spears, Wisconsin’s annual financial report records $4.5 billion budget surplus, Wisconsin Examiner, December 21, 2024.

The inability of lawmakers to agree on a plan for the use of the general fund surplus is unsurprising. These are the men who gerrymandered, backed grossly wasteful projects, pretended a pandemic was safe, and endorsed election conspiracies for so long as conspiracists did not level accusations in their own direction.

Honda and Nissan start merger talks in historic pivot:

Honda and Nissan have started talks toward a potential merger, they said, a historic pivot for Japan’s auto industry that underlines the threat Chinese EV makers now pose to some of the world’s best known car makers.

Budget, Daily Bread, State Government, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 4.17.24: Big State Surplus Doesn’t Obscure Ongoing Needs

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Good morning.

Wednesday in Whitewater will be windy with a high of 64. Sunrise is 6:07 and sunset 7:40 for 13h 33m 14s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 67.2 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Parks & Recreation Board meets at 5:30 PM.

On this day in 1970, the damaged Apollo 13 spacecraft returns to Earth safely.

Wisconsin has a large general fund balance, but that multi-billion dollar figure isn’t so big that one can’t see unfilled needs behind it. Jessie Opoien reports Wisconsin’s general fund hit $6.7 billion and other takeaways from policy forum report:

The state’s general fund balance — its largest source of reserves — hit a record high of $6.7 billion by June 2023. That was a 42% increase over the previous year. 

The [Wisconsin] Policy Forum previously found that in 2020, the general fund had closed the fiscal year with a small positive balance for the first time on record — but the news came as the state grappled with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and faced a recession. The report attributes the strength of the general fund to federal aid, a resilient economy and the development of vaccines to mitigate the severity of the pandemic.

As of June 2023, the report found, Wisconsin had nearly 2.5 times more cash and liquid assets than short-term financial obligations — the highest ratio on record since 2002.

….

The percentage of state transportation fund revenues directed to paying off debt rose from 7% in 2002 to 18.9% in 2019. That share is projected to fall to 16.2% by 2025, thanks in part to fee increases and borrowing decreases, but transportation debt remains an issue.

“Going forward, transportation debt will likely remain an ongoing concern for Wisconsin unless lawmakers and Gov. Tony Evers identify additional revenues for the transportation fund, make the general fund transfers permanent, or sharply scale back road projects. None of these options are politically appealing, making this an issue to watch in the next state budget,” the report noted.

A large surplus, ongoing needs for road projects, but beyond that: the surplus as a surplus has only a limited value to residents who have needs and lives beyond the influence of either state budgets or state transportation projects. A surplus for the sake of a surplus isn’t productive.

It’s closer to kleptomania.

See also Wisconsin Policy Forum, A High Water Mark for State Budget?

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Budget, Daily Bread, State Government, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 1.29.24: $3,250,000,000 is Still a Big Number

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 Good morning.

Monday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 40. Sunrise is 7:11 and sunset 5:04 for 9h 52m 31s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 86.9% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1936, the first inductees (Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson) into the Baseball Hall of Fame are announced

 Robert D’Andrea reports Wisconsin’s budget surplus is shrinking but still large:

Wisconsin’s budget surplus will be less than what was projected six months ago. 

The state is predicted to have a surplus of $3.25 billion by the end of the current budget cycle, according to a new estimate of the state’s general fund from the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau. 

That’s nearly $800,000 less than what was projected when the current budget was signed last June. 

Three billion, two-hundred fifty million is still a big number…

French farmers overturn truck carrying red peppers:

Quick replies: (1) Don’t waste food, (2) don’t start fires, (3) don’t overturn trucks.

Budget, Daily Bread, State Government, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 6.30.23: Wisconsin Budget Goes to Governor’s Desk

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Good morning. Friday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 90. Sunrise is 5:20 AM and sunset 8:37 PM for 15h 17m 10s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 88.5% of its visible disk illuminated. Whitewater’s Independence Holiday events begin tonight at the Cravath Lakefront:  Christman Family Amusements Wristband…

Budget, Daily Bread, Government Spending, Legislation, Local Government, State Government, UW System

Daily Bread for 6.25.23: Committee Sends Wisconsin Budget to Full Legislature

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Good morning. Sunday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 78. Sunrise is 5:17 AM and sunset 8:37 PM for 15h 19m 37s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 42.1% of its visible disk illuminated. On this day in 1950, the Korean War begins when North Korea invades South…

Budget, City, Daily Bread, Government Spending, Local Government, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 5.23.23: A Wisconsin Shared Revenue Deal Hasn’t Been Imminent for Months (Obviously)

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Good morning. Tuesday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 83. Sunrise is 5:24 AM and sunset 8:19 PM for 14h 55m 03s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 14.3% of its visible disk illuminated. On this day in  1854, the Milwaukee and Mississippi railroad reached Madison, connecting the city…

Budget, Daily Bread, Local Government, State Government, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 5.19.23: Wait, So It’s WISGOP Assembly v. WISGOP Senate? Hard to Believe These Congenial & Cooperative Politicians Can’t Agree Among Themselves

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Good morning. Friday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 65. Sunrise is 5:27 AM and sunset 8:15 PM for 14h 47m 52s of daytime. The moon is new with nearly none of its visible disk illuminated. On this day in 1780, New England’s Dark Day, an unusual darkening of the day…

Budget, Daily Bread, Local Government, State Government, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 5.18.23: Wisconsin Assembly Passes Revised Shared Revenue Bill

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Good morning. Thursday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 74. Sunrise is 5:28 AM and sunset 8:14 PM for 14h 45m 57s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 1.5% of its visible disk illuminated. Whitewater’s Community Development Authority meets at 5:30 PM.  On this day in 1756, the…

Budget, Daily Bread, Government Spending, Local Government, State Government, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 2.21.23: Will Wisconsin Find a Shared Revenue Resolution?

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Good morning. Tuesday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 32. Sunrise is 6:41 AM and sunset 5:34 PM for 10h 52m 56s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 2.3% of its visible disk illuminated.  On this day in 1947, in New York City, Edwin Land demonstrates the first “instant camera,” the…