August 5, 2011
Don’t Go Wobbly, Don’t Go
Back
Earlier this year, I offered
a number of columns which
focused on new initiatives
and ideas to rebuild
Wisconsin’s economy and
create jobs, as well as the
Republican Majority’s desire
to bring finality to a
number of important
statewide issues. We
pledged to hit the ground
running in January and
tackle the difficult issues
as the voters asked us to
do. Even in the face of one
of the most tumultuous times
in state history, we
remained focused on getting
the job done and making good
on our word to the people of
Wisconsin to significantly
reform state government.
First, and most importantly,
we produced a balanced state
budget. For more than a
decade, Wisconsin has been
plagued with multi-billion
dollar deficits with
virtually no end in sight.
The previous Administration
used a myriad of budget
gimmicks to deal with those
deficits – such as massive
tax increases, excessive
borrowing, and raids of
protected funds – but none
of those produced any
long-term stability for the
state. The new
Administration and
Legislature, however,
recognized that real budget
reform was necessary through
spending reductions and
much-needed austerity
measures, which are now in
place. The decisions we
made were difficult to be
sure, but will lead to not
only a balanced budget, but
a budget surplus of more
than $300 million.
Second, we paid off old
debts. As I noted, the
previous Administration
raided hundreds of millions
of dollars from various
protected state accounts in
order to balance its
budgets. One of the more
infamous raids was taking
$200 million from the
Injured Patients and
Families Compensation Fund,
which is used to assist
health care providers with
medical malpractice claims.
Physicians pay into the
fund, but the former
Governor used it as slush
fund. Eventually, the
Courts found that action was
illegal and directed the
state to pay it back.
Recently, we did just that
and made the fund whole
again; in addition, we made
good on our obligation of
$60 million to the state of
Minnesota for tuition
reciprocity, another debt
left over from the previous
Governor.
Next, we advanced a number
of pro-jobs initiatives to
help businesses of all sizes
to grow and expand in
Wisconsin, while at the same
time, offered incentives for
companies looking to open up
shop in Wisconsin. These
bold ideas recognize the
value and need for our state
to remain competitive in a
regional, national, and even
international economy by
helping the private sector
do what it does best: create
jobs. Already there are
signs of such growth, as
Wisconsin’s unemployment
rate has dropped about two
points lower than the
national average, and nearly
40,000 new jobs have been
created. In fact, Wisconsin
had a net job creation of
9,500 in June while the
other 49 states – in total –
created only 18,000 jobs.
In the last six months
alone, Wisconsin has
restored more than a quarter
of the jobs lost during the
recent three-year
recession.
While job creation and the
economy were and continue to
be centerpiece items, we
also addressed two
long-standing and
hotly-debated issues which
most citizens of all
political stripes generally
support: Voter ID and
concealed carry legislation.
The Voter ID bill has been
around for many years, and
now finally, Wisconsin will
join 29 other states which
require some type of
identification in order to
vote. Other states are
looking to do likewise, as
there is a growing concern
of protecting the sanctity
and integrity of a person’s
right to vote. The
concealed carry bill is now
law, and after numerous
attempts, Wisconsin becomes
the 49th state to allow
law-abiding citizens to
protect themselves from harm
and carry a firearm in
whichever manner they
prefer.
The last six months have
been nothing short of
extraordinary, regardless of
how you may view it. But
through it all, we stayed
true to our commitment to
carry out the will of the
electorate and forged ahead
with the policies we believe
will bring economic
stability back to the state,
create good paying jobs for
those who need them most,
ensure elections are not
diminished by incidents of
voter fraud, and reaffirm an
individual’s constitutional
rights and personal
freedom. During these tough
and uncertain times, the
people of Wisconsin demanded
leadership and results from
us, and our efforts to date
have led to the many
positive results we see
today. This is certainly no
time to go wobbly – as the
famous line goes – and
definitely no time to go
back.
-30-
Sen. Kedzie can be
reached in Madison at P.O.
Box 7882, Madison, WI
53707-7882 or by calling
toll-free 1 (800) 578-1457.
He may be reached in the
district at (262) 742-2025
or on-line at
www.senatorkedzie.com
