Finally, a Win for Taxpayers

The State Legislature has given its approval to an amended version of Governor Scott Walker’s 2011-13 state budget proposal.  The new fiscal plan was approved by margins of 60-38 in the Assembly and 19-14 in the Senate, and now awaits Governor Walker’s consideration.

The budget plan approved by the legislature is a long-awaited win for Wisconsin taxpayers.  Instead of raising taxes and fees, the new budget eliminates a deficit exceeding $3 billion by ending Madison’s spending addiction and making smart cuts in government.  As a result of the legislature’s action, taxpayers can look forward to permanent property tax caps – and even a surplus at the end of the two-year biennium.

Republicans are keeping the promises we made during last year’s campaign – to control taxes and spending while preserving core services for the poor, the elderly and the disabled.

The Assembly floor debate on the new budget was emblematic of Democrats’ and Republicans’ differing viewpoints on the direction of Wisconsin.  While Republicans worked hard to engineer a budget that controlled costs for taxpayers, Assembly Democrats proposed over three dozen floor amendments that, by some estimates, totaled over $2 billion in new and increased spending. 

Knowing the condition of our state’s finances and the desire for our citizens to close the book on fiscal recklessness, such budget-blowing negligence is simply incomprehensible.  This exact type of carelessness is what got us into the mess we’re in today.

It has become habit in Madison over the last several years to postpone tough decisions, sticking future legislatures, governors and citizens with the responsibility to clean up today’s problems.  Our elected leaders, in their desire to keep their jobs, took a band-aid approach to this mounting crisis.  Budgets were “balanced” with unsustainable gimmicks like segregated fund transfers, use of one-time federal funds and credit card borrowing. 

This thinking earned us the third-worst credit rating among the 50 states according to Moody’s Investor Service, ahead of only California and Louisiana, and completely ignored the reality of the crisis we faced.

But the new Republican budget does not ignore reality – it confronts it head-on.  By making tough decisions, we are cleaning up a serious mess and leaving our state government in a better financial position for future generations of Wisconsinites.

This week, we restored sanity to Wisconsin’s finances and turned the tables on the suffocating burden of government on private sector job growth.  By living within our means, we are sending a message to the rest of the country – and to the world – that we have turned the corner and are ready to fulfill our potential as the best place to live, work, build a business and retire.

To contact me with any questions or comments or to sign up for my regular e-updates, please send an e-mail to Rep.Knodl@legis.wi.gov or call me at (608) 266-3796.