Some pieces of legislation will be known as "Christmas tree" bills. That is, they have something for everyone. The Wisconsin Policy Research Institute surveyed a draft of the Wisconsin state budget, and came up with some rather interesting ornaments.

Some of them are outright grants of money, such as $250,000 for "job training" to the AFL-CIO. (The institute's comment: "A good one to keep in mind next time you hear that state government is cut to the bone.")

Other measures in the bill restrict entrepreneurship, such as new restrictions on brewpubs. (Hey, isn't this Wisconsin we're talking about? The land of cheese and beer).

It's possible that some of the items in the budget were pulled before it was finalized, but the list illustrates the absurdity that sometimes afflicts the budget process.