STATE OF THE STATE – Wisconsin
January 30, 2009 by Capt. Karl
|
|
|
Assembly Update – January 30, 2009 |
|
STATE OF THE STATE Governor Doyle delivered his annual State of the State address this Wednesday. He discussed our state’s economic outlook, $5.75 billion deficit, and briefly touched on his priorities for this budget. This address comes at a time when jobs are being lost, businesses are closing, and consumer confidence is at an all time low. To tackle these problems, I am pleased that the Governor mentioned this is not a time for new big government programs. I agree and think priority one should be creating and retaining jobs by putting more money in the pockets of the people instead of the wasteful hands of government. Unfortunately, I did not hear in the address how the Governor plans on solving our economic problems while both creating jobs and balancing the budget. Wisconsin’s deficit is fourth largest in the nation and number one per capita. How is it that we are in the same category as such states as California and New York? Since Governor Doyle has taken office, government spending has increased by 25 percent. Government credit card borrowing has increased by 60 percent. Doyle has grown the state employee workforce by 4,900 in the last year alone after promising to cut state employees by 10,000 by 2010. This has occurred while private sector jobs have dropped by 66,000. In Governor Doyle’s 2003 State of the State address, he stated, “The simple fact is this: We’re spending too much – and we have been for a long, long time.” At the time of his address, Wisconsin had a $454 million deficit and we were staring at a $3.2 billion budget shortfall. This sounds similar to today. Since that time, Governor Doyle has requested increased spending and borrowing of over $7 billion. Now we face a $594 million deficit and a $5.75 billion projected shortfall. The Governor praised some accomplishments in his address. He took credit for Republican initiatives such as making health insurance premiums tax deductible and eliminating the tax on social security. He also lauded himself for bringing Wisconsin out of the top-ten taxed states. Something that would have never happened if the Republican controlled Assembly had not eliminated 98 percent of the Governor’s tax increases in last session’s budget. The priorities of this legislative session should be addressing our economic downturn, creating and retaining jobs, and expanding business development. By realizing how we arrived at this point, we can hopefully not repeat the same mistakes. We should reduce spending, lower taxes, and put more money in the pockets of Wisconsin residents. That is how we will create jobs and pull out of this economic recession. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * MAKE STIMULUS DOLLARS TRANSPARENT AND ACCOUNTABLE Wisconsin is expecting to receive billions of dollars from the federal stimulus proposal currently making its way through Congress. When this money arrives it should be spent on projects and services that put people to work, create new jobs, and truly do stimulate our state’s economy. To make sure this happens I joined my Republican colleagues in proposing a bipartisan legislative panel to approve stimulus spending. This panel would make sure the money is spent wisely and keep government accountable to the taxpayer paying the tab. This would also make the process more transparent and easily scrutinized by Wisconsin residents. The name of the panel would be the Joint Committee on Economic Stimulus Accountability, or JCESA and would consist of ten legislative members. The proposal to form this oversight committee was resisted by the Democratic majority and did not pass. However, I will continue to fight for openness and accountability. Wisconsin is expecting billions in stimulus dollars that will be paid for by future generations. We need to make sure this money is “timely, targeted, and temporary.” To make sure this is the case oversight is needed. I will keep pressing for this type of accountability. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TWO BILLS PASS ASSEMBLY The legislature held its first day of session this week. Two bills were passed. I supported Assembly Bill 1 which was titled the “Wisconsin First Act.” The bill sets a ‘goal’ for state and local units of government to buy a minimum of 20 percent of their goods and services from local businesses. Republicans improved the bill by increasing the original 2 percent ‘goal’ to 20. Even though local and state governments already purchase a large portion of goods from local businesses, setting a ‘goal’ of 20 percent is laudable. We should attempt to purchase goods from in-state when possible and fiscally prudent. However, this bill will not create jobs or spur business development in a way that will turn our economy around; more must be done. The second bill brought forward by the new Democratic majority was the “American Jobs Act.” The title sounds great, but what does it do? The bill would require state contracts be performed by businesses operating in the U.S. That means that Wisconsin would no longer award contracts to the lowest bidder. This would increase costs to state taxpayers. Additionally, our state doesn’t currently track this information which would add even more costs to taxpayers if we wanted to form a system and track this information accurately. The non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau suggests that the “American Jobs Act” proposal may put Wisconsin in violation of the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement which we are a signer of. The passage of this bill also raises the question; why is the governor and commerce secretary traveling overseas on trade missions spending taxpayer money if we as a state have no intention of trading our goods with the goods of other nation’s? Marinette Marine has been shedding jobs due to our recent economic downturn. They are a subsidiary of an Italian enterprise, Saputo Cheese in Lena is a Canadian company, Carver of Pulaski and Cruisers in Oconto sell yachts throughout the world. My point in mentioning these local businesses is that we live in a global marketplace. This proposal may adversely affect these businesses and others at a time when we should be fostering their growth, not burdening them further. Our state exports totaled over $20.3 billion in 2008 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is a number we should be trying to increase, not decrease which would kill more Wisconsin jobs and businesses. If we put up walls around the state, cutting off our businesses from foreign markets, we can only expect them to do the same. Losing over $20.3 billion is something our state businesses can not afford. Wisconsin needs bold and educated action to address our recession and create jobs. These bills are neither and I hope the new Democratic majority takes a more realistic and expansive approach moving forward. Our families deserve it. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Please know that I am always happy, and in fact look forward to hearing from constituents. Therefore, if you know of someone who might find this E-newsletter of interest, please feel free to forward it to them. Also, please have them contact me at Rep.Nygren@legis.wisconsin.gov and state “add to E-Mail Updates” in the subject line. If at any time you want to be removed from this list, simply send me an e-mail asking to unsubscribe. |
|
State Representative John Nygren |
[...] the rest of this great post here [...]