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Wisconsin plans to use about $26 million of its $140 million share of a national mortgage settlement to help plug the state's budget hole — a move Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett on Friday called "unconscionable."

Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen's office made the decision in consultation with Gov. Scott Walker to use most of the $31.6 million paid directly to the state to balance the budget rather than to help the thousands of Wisconsin residents who have lost their homes to fraudulent mortgage practices.

Local homeowner advocates also were reeling from the decision Friday. "I'm disappointed that the much-needed funds will not be used as intended for programs that are on the front lines, working with homeowners who are trying to save their homes from foreclosure," said Ellen Bernards, a nonprofit financial educator and co-chair of the Dane County Foreclosure Prevention Taskforce.

Walker said Thursday that the foreclosure crisis had a "direct impact on the economy," lowering tax collections. The $26 million from the settlement will help defray that fiscal damage, the governor said.

A new projection released Thursday shows the state faces a $143 million budget shortfall by July 2013, due in part to lower-than-expected tax revenues.

Van Hollen on Friday defended the decision, saying that the settlement reached between five large banks and 49 attorneys general "recognized that states, as well as individuals, were harmed by the foreclosure crisis, and it was contemplated from early on that a portion of the funds might be allocated to a state's general fund."

But Barrett said none of the money should be used for budget relief.

"This is money that clearly was intended for families and neighborhoods devastated by this foreclosure crisis," Barrett said. "These are families that were victims of a bait and switch, and what the governor and attorney general are doing is their own bait and switch."

Democratic state lawmakers Friday circulated a bill that would require legislative approval before any of the money could be used to balance the budget. Republicans have majority control of the Legislature, so the proposal is unlikely to go anywhere.

And U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, on Friday sent a letter to Walker and Van Hollen urging them to reconsider.

"It is crucial that the settlement money go to relieve actual mortgage fraud victims and prevent future foreclosures, rather than plug the state budget deficit," Baldwin wrote. http://host.madison.com/wsj/business/barrett-others-rip-plan-to-use-pa
rt-of-mortgage-settlement/article_253b8bdc-53fb-11e1-b9e3-001871e3ce6c.html#ixzz1mEUIDKo6 agenda was obvious at the time he attacked the unions, and other Republican governors were clear that they were looking to him as the "trial balloon" for their intent to break unions nationwide. So obviously he'll do whatever he can to make his plan work, including ripping off homeowners to shore up his budget.

But remember Walker's promise?

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...will "get government out of the way of employers ... who will then help Wisconsin create 250,000 jobs by 2015, and as we create those new jobs, we will be able to add 10,000 new businesses.”

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Hasn't worked out too well for him:

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Here's the job creation tally for Gov. Scott Walker's first year in office: 13,500.

That's the number of net new jobs that the state has added under Walker, according to the state Department of Workforce Development. The preliminary report for December was released on Jan. 19, 2012 and it showed that the state lost 3,900 private sector jobs that month.

The report included the "final” revised figures for November 2011. Preliminary reports had said the state lost 11,500 jobs in November -- the worse single month job loss since April 2009. The revision put the November job loss at 10,600.

That puts November just behind July in terms of the worst jobs loss. The state lost 10,800 jobs in July 2011.

The last report showing an increase in jobs came in June, when there were 14,800 jobs added, according to the monthly report.

Walker's first year was evenly split in terms of monthly jobs reports. There was a monthly gain for the first six months, for a total of 41,200 jobs added. The second six months were all losses, for a total decline of 27,700. The difference is 13,500.

As a candidate, Walker promised that the state would have 250,000 private sector jobs by the end of his four year term. Our calculations show that he has 236,500 jobs left to go.

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http://www.jsonline.com/news/128099318.html

Oops.

Here's a bit of a breakdown of Wisconsin's situation:

$137 million - Current deficit for the 2010-2011 fiscal year
$174 million - Current deficit facing the state"s Medical Assistance program
$22 million - Deficit facing the Department of Corrections
$3.5 million - Deficit facing the Public Defenders Office
$58.7 million - Amount WI owes the state of Minnesota for income tax reciprocity
$200 million - Payment WI owes the Patients Compensation Fund after the raid on the fund ruled illegal
$1.5 million - Amount WI owes the feds for an unemployment compensation fund loan
$14 trillion - Current federal debt (further state bailouts unlikely)
$3.6 billion - 2011-2013 State Budget Deficit (Estimated tax revenues - state agency spending requests)

On the "plus" side:
$2 billion - Amount of one-time stimulus funds that WI used to balance its 2009 - 11 budget
$30 million - Savings in the current year if state employees pay more for their pension & health care
( http://maciverinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/WI_Fiscal_Crisi
s_Fast_Facts.pdf)

So even with $2 billion(!) in stimulus funds from the fed, they're in a deep, deep hole. And at the same time, have lost 155,600 jobs since December 2007.

Yeah, that Republican plan is work reeely great! It's not about saving money, it's about an agenda, no matter who it hurts.