Black is white and up is down in Gov. Scott Walker's response to a dire report from Wisconsin's Legislative Fiscal Bureau. The nonpartisan agency projects (PDF) that Wisconsin will have a $143.2 million budget deficit by 2013.
Adding to the problem, the agency finds, is a $272.8 million decrease in estimated tax collections.
In response to this bad news, Walker is all smiles: "The numbers from the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau show that our tough choices have us heading in the right direction." Walker also glides over the fact that Wisconsin has lost jobs for six straight months, insisting that "we've added thousands of jobs this year."
Is Walker's statement a bit of Orwellian distortion? Or merely proof of a can-do optimism that would put Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm to shame? Decide for yourself by reading his press release here.
