Thursday, December 29, 2011
"... what Walker did in his first budget"
Apparently, Wisconsin is now far better off than in the past.
Even so, there is a movement underway to recall Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.
He is being demonized for his efforts to create a balanced budget.
Can you spell "vindictive"?...
Even so, there is a movement underway to recall Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.
He is being demonized for his efforts to create a balanced budget.
Can you spell "vindictive"?...
George Lightbourn, of Wisconsin's Free Market Think Tank, spends time explaining the details of the situation, and what really is happening:
"The unexciting truth is that Walker’s budget represented nothing more than a course correction. The two-year budget he signed into law increased state general fund spending by 2.5%, hardly the scorched-earth budget that has been described as “right-wing social engineering.” Local governments will be raising property tax bills by 1.2% the first year and 1.3% the second year. Again, these are relatively modest increases, requiring belt-tightening, to be sure, but they are still increases, not decreases. Many industries have been forced to make major cuts to their budgets and to their workforces. Neither has happened in state government.
There have been no state employees laid off, and under the Walker budget, furloughs are a thing of the past. All state workers retain their defined-benefit pensions, enviable health insurance and generous post-retirement health coverage.
The noisy defenders of the status quo would have us believe that Walker’s budget is the defining moment in the future of Wisconsin. Well, as a state, we can put down the paper bag and stop hyperventilating. This is not the end of life as we know it; it is just a balanced budget"
