Today, the Department of Administration received a strongly worded letter from the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development telling it to quit writing checks it couldn’t cash. As Gov. Scott Walker’s administration plays the finger-pointing game, it’s unclear
what the funds in limbo will mean for the Wisconsin public.

The DOA oversees a newly formed corporation (yes, corporation) called the Wisconsin
Economic Development Corporation. Did I mention it’s a corporation? Near the beginning of his administration, Walker created WEDC as a half-private entity to absorb the former Department
of Commerce. This already makes me want to tear my hair out. I want to separate big business and
government like you’d separate two kids pinching each other in the backseat of a car.

And surprise surprise: Apparently this restructuring has lead to some snags. In a
May 17, 2012, letter, the Feds warned WEDC’s powers must be limited because the attorney general could not even certify that it was an “instrumentality of the state.”
This little hang-up would make me happy, except that the WEDC had already handed
out $9.6 million in grants. Whoops! Most of us would not spend that much money if we
didn’t know we had it, but that didn’t stop the Walker administration.

The funny thing is, though, that the Feds outlined 15 more problems with WEDC in this strongly worded letter. And not even just little problems: They’re
critical problems. Furthermore, the CEO of WEDC jumped ship to
become president of a Madison-based non-profit. Coincidence? My mom says not to
believe in coincidences.

The best thing for WEDC and Walker to do in a situation where $9.6 million is just
kind of missing is hang their heads low, eat crow and try to work it out quietly before
anyone notices. That’s what I, ahem, had to do when I spent the money my parents
gave me for textbooks on cute swimsuits.

But is that what Walker is doing? Not a chance. 

“Routinely, the federal government sends letters back to every state government
about a variety of things, back and forth, and the Legislature doesn’t convene a
special session on those, nor do other entities,” Walker said, according to WisPolitics.

If anything, he makes it sound as if his
administration and the federal government are grade school pen pals sending letters.

Somehow, even though Walker is not concerned, everyone else is. Sen. Julie Lassa,
D-Stevens Point, said in a Wednesday statement it was “inexcusable that this letter was not shared with WEDC Board at its meeting last week, even though
the administration received it in August.” Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, pointed out in the same statement that “the Republican Legislature made
the hasty decision to create WEDC without having a business plan in place.” Even WEDC CEO Paul Jadin, now an ex-employee, said he was concerned about “the fact that someone could do that without
the leadership signing off from either department,” reported WisPolitics.

But I’m not even most concerned about the questionable legality of this entity. Nor am
I most concerned DOA’s website looks like something a fifth-grader made in an
HTML summer school class.

What I’m most concerned about is something I’m becoming acutely aware of in college: The money has to come from somewhere. WEDC is funding some great stuff. But
I’d hate to see the Global Business Development Program or the Hispanic Chamber
of Commerce see their money trickle away because Walker didn’t
do his homework before he decided to wipe out an entire branch of government and
turn it into a corporation. And unfortunately, as we continue to see in this administration,
Walker’s lack of follow-through is to the detriment of Wisconsinites.

Taylor Nye ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in archaeology, biology and Latin American studies.