Walker privatization plan scaled way back

An attempt by Gov. Scott Walker to privatize the state’s food and medical assistance programs has been largely scuttled, causing Dane County officials to hail the recent move by the Legislature’s finance committee as a victory for the state’s neediest residents. “The gutting of Walker’s proposal to use private rather than public workers to run public assistance programs, including FoodShare and Medicaid, comes after weeks of back-and-forth negotiating among numerous county officials, the Wisconsin Counties Association, the Wisconsin County Human Service Administration, and key Republican members of the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee. (CAPITAL TIMES, 6/9)