The Wisconsin Reporter, a conservative news website funded by dark money, credited Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) with reducing unemployment and cutting taxes but failed to note that Walker's policies have resulted in a budget deficit.

In a January 14 article, the Reporter repeated some of the positive economic news Walker mentioned in his State of the State address on January 13, such as growth in private-sector jobs and a decrease in property taxes.

But the Reporter failed to note that the Walker administration is projecting that the state faces a $2.2 billion deficit for the 2015-2017 budget period. As the Wisconsin State Journal has reported, observers say this is partly because of the Walker-supported tax cuts:

Jon Peacock, director of the Wisconsin Budget Project, said the $2 billion in tax cuts enacted in recent years also share the blame [for the deficit].

“If lawmakers insist on making additional tax cuts, that will require even deeper cuts in the traditional sources of Wisconsin's strength, such as our public schools and universities,” Peacock said.

In a January 1 post, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Purple Wisconsin blogger Jimmy Anderson highlighted the fact that the deficit has come “during a period of economic growth.” He continued:

Walker, though, has created a budget deficit roughly half as bad as the one in 2011 but during a time when the stock market has hit record levels, wage and job growth has been moderate but consistent, home prices have rebounded, and consumer spending has never been higher. Nationally, it's been the strongest economic growth we've seen in over a decade. And yet, despite all of the good economic news, we're still staring at a $2.2 billion hole in the state budget.

The Reporter's favorable treatment of Walker's address makes sense, given that the website has ties to Walker through Michael W. Grebe, Walker's campaign committee chair and the top executive at the Bradley Foundation, which has bankrolled the Reporter. When the Reporter relied on dubious sources to attack Mary Burke, Walker's opponent in the gubernatorial election, a Journal Sentinel editorial remarked:

The initial report [critical of Burke] surfaced in The Wisconsin Reporter, a pseudo-journalistic publication bankrolled by conservative foundations. The Milwaukee-based Bradley Foundation gave the Reporter $190,000 in 2012 to help underwrite the website. The Bradley Foundation's top executive is Michael W. Grebe, who also chairs Walker's campaign committee. Consider the source.

While the Bradley Foundation's funding of the Reporter is well known, much of the dark money behind the outlet is obscured by its connection to the Franklin Center, which allows it to take funds from major conservative donors without revealing their identities.