Some in Iowa question Scott Walker's Kohl's story

Republican Scott Walker uses anecdotes about discount shopping at Kohl's to illustrate his frugality, but doesn't bring up the multimillion-dollar taxpayer subsidy he helped channel to the Wisconsin-based retailer in 2012.

It's an apparent contradiction that doesn't sit well with some likely GOP caucusgoers in Iowa.

When asked about it this week, Walker dismissed criticism about the state incentives package, arguing that Democrats made similar deals when they controlled the governor's office in Wisconsin.

Bloomberg Politics reported on Sunday that Walker, who describes himself to presidential voters as very thrifty and a good steward of tax money, gave Kohl's incentives worth as much as $62.5 million when department store officials said they might build a new headquarters out of state.

In an interview Tuesday, The Des Moines Register asked Walker if he thinks he should have disclosed that deal when telling voters that his Kohl's coupon-clipping helps explain his obsession with low taxes.

"Why?" Walker answered.

He added: "My predecessor did the same thing. He actually did a big incentive."

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Walker replaced Democrat Jim Doyle as governor of Wisconsin in 2011.

"You're talking about thousands of jobs," Walker continued. "It's not unlike what we do with the package the state has available for any number of employers out there. The dollar amount's only bigger because instead of a hundred jobs, you're talking about thousands and thousands of jobs."

Independent voter Mike Wing, a 29-year-old beer brewer from Iowa City, said it frustrates him when fiscally conservative politicians like Walker say they want to spend less money and minimize government intervention in markets but then "don't stay true to their values."

"I don't think we should be giving tax breaks to make a company come into an area, even with the promise of jobs. And they don't necessarily always follow through with that promise," Wing said.

Bloomberg reported that of the 3,000 jobs Kohl's promised, about a third have materialized.

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Walker told the Register the tax incentives for Kohl's were pro-rated based on actual jobs created. "Detractors from us often say that this company got this or that," he said, "and I always say, 'They only get what they've earned.' "

Margaret Stoldorf, chairwoman of Iowa's Montgomery County GOP, was in the audience at the Iowa Freedom Summit in January when Walker gave the speech credited for skyrocketing him to the top of the GOP presidential field.

Walker, in the section of his speech that captured some of the loudest claps and the most national news coverage, said: "Sometimes people say, 'Why do you obsess so much with taxes?' Well, I've got to tell you a simple story why."

He said his wife of 23 years, Tonette, long ago trained him to look for the sales rack at Kohl's, the Kohl's coupons in the Sunday newspaper and the store mailers. "And if I'm really lucky, I get that flier with 30 percent off — right? Right?" he said. "And the next thing you know, they're paying me to buy that shirt!"

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Walker has used that story, interpreted as an every-man pitch, in New Hampshire, too. Bloomberg reported that Kohl's has a concentrated presence in Iowa and New Hampshire, two states with outsized roles in the presidential nomination voting, which begins 10 months from now.

Stoldorf told the Register: "Now it comes out that there were tax incentives. ... What was he doing to us caucusgoers, us straw poll voters? Was he just giving us half the story? Was he withholding information that would've changed people's opinions?"

Stoldorf said she's particularly sensitive about this topic because of the debate over the nearly $20 million in tax breaks the state of Iowa is giving Google in exchange for a $1 billion expansion and 35 new jobs at its Council Bluffs location. She said she's not opposed to all government incentives, but there must be real economic development value.

The problem with Walker's sales pitch, she said, is that he didn't tell voters the whole truth.

Story County GOP chairman Brett Barker remembers Walker's Kohl's story, too. Barker said he understands why some Iowa conservatives get riled up by what they consider corporate welfare, but he's willing to cut Walker a break.

"I understand on the back end how competitive it is," said Barker, 31, who has served on the Nevada City Council and the board of directors of the Nevada Economic Development Council. "If you're not willing to be competitive, another state or another town is going to be."

"It's a necessary evil," he said.