August 31, 2012
Wisconsin in the Spotlight –
Again
Wisconsin has been at the
forefront of the national
spotlight again lately, and
for many good reasons. Ryan
Braun of the Milwaukee
Brewers was voted the
National League’s Most
Valuable Player; Green Bay
Packers’ quarterback Aaron
Rodgers won the National
Football League Most
Valuable Player Award; and
this year’s Miss America,
Laura Kaeppeler, is from
Wisconsin. Certainly the
biggest news of late was the
selection and now nomination
of Wisconsin’s very own
Congressman Paul Ryan as the
Republican candidate for
Vice President.
As Wisconsinites, we have
much to be proud of,
including the reforms
initiated by Governor Scott
Walker and the
Republican-led Legislature,
which first vaulted
Wisconsin into the
spotlight. Early last year,
Wisconsin government set a
course towards fiscal
stability and economic
recovery, which has now led
the way for other states and
the nation to follow. In
fact, compare Wisconsin’s
finances to that of the
nation, and you will
see movement in opposite
directions. While Wisconsin
has gained significant
ground fiscally, our nation
is quickly spiraling
downward, deeper in debt,
with virtually no end in
sight.
Take a look at these
figures: $15 trillion: our
federal debt, actually
$15,989,343,066,191 and
climbing by $3 million every
minute. The United States
now owes more money than its
yearly production (GDP), and
every man, woman, and
child’s share of the United
States debt is $51,018.
$1.2 billion: the amount of
interest our government pays
each day on federal debt.
$1.1 trillion: expected to
be added to the federal
deficit this year alone, the
fourth straight year the
government's shortfall will
exceed $1 trillion. $114.5
trillion: the amount of
money the United States
government does not have in
order to fully fund Medicare, the Medicare
Prescription Drug Program,
Social Security, and
military and civil servant
pensions. AA+: the
nation’s credit rating
downgrade, from the previous
AAA. That has never
happened before in our
nation’s history.
Instead of paying off debt,
the federal government is
rapidly heading into more
debt, devaluing the dollar,
and paying more than $1
billion in interest alone
each day. No American
citizen would live like
that, and neither should our
government. When it comes
to a budget – regardless of
its size – it is not always
easy to make fiscally sound
and tough decisions, but
those decisions must be
made.
Here in Wisconsin, we made
those decisions time and
again and accomplished some
rather remarkable
milestones. This past
session, the Governor and
Legislature balanced a $3.6
billion deficit, nearly
eliminated the structural
deficit, and paid off over
$800 million in debt, all
left over by the previous
administration. Most
importantly, it was done
without asking for more
taxes on individuals or
businesses, while at the
same time, gave the
necessary budgetary
flexibility to local
governments and school
boards in order to balance
their budgets.
Because of it all, Wisconsin
is now ranked 17th
on CNBC’s list of best
states in which to do
business, an improvement
from our number 29 spot in
2010. That is the best
ranking Wisconsin has ever
had. Employment is on the
rise and wages have grown.
Over the last several
months, Wisconsin’s
unemployment rate is the
lowest it has been in years,
and well below the current
federal unemployment rate of
8.6%, which has been above
8% for a staggering 42
consecutive months.
Last year, 23,000 jobs were
added to Wisconsin’s
workforce. Further, in the
last three months, hundreds
of jobs have been added to
our economy, in cities
across the state. For
example, EmbedTek in
Hartland recently added jobs
and plans to add even more
over the next year and a
half. Highly successful,
EmbedTek more than tripled
its’ revenues in 2011 and
plans to triple revenues
again in 2012. Elsewhere,
more than 300 jobs have been
added in Green Bay, Ashley
Furniture in Whitehall is
looking to add 225 jobs, and
jobs are being added in
Peshtigo. In addition,
Bombardier Recreational
Products recently completed
a $15 million renovation of
its facility in Sturtevant
and moved 137 jobs from
Illinois to Wisconsin.
We are improving worker
training in Wisconsin, and
giving veterans a boost in
job employment. Veterans
are now able to use their
military training for state
licenses and have initial
state license fees waived.
We created a Wisconsin Wins
program to allow the
unemployed to gain skills
and training on the job
while continuing to receive
unemployment.
We also
passed a credit positive
budget and increased funding
for healthcare programs by
$1.2 billion. We eliminated
the state tax on Health
Savings Accounts, capped
tuition for Wisconsin
college students, and froze
property taxes for
homeowners across
Wisconsin. In fact,
property taxes decreased for
the first time in 12 years.
Finally, we repealed or
reformed job-killing
regulations, and passed
comprehensive tort reform to
rein in costly frivolous
lawsuits.
Even with those budget
reductions and reforms,
funding for state public
education remains high.
Total state aid equates to
$5,708 per pupil in 2011-12
and $5,791 per pupil in
2012-13. More than 40% of
the state’s general fund
expenditures are directed to
support K-12 education, and
funding for public education
greatly exceeds any other
expenditure area in the
entire $66 billion state
budget.
While we have made great
strides in Wisconsin, and
hope to continue those
efforts in the next
legislative session, the
fact remains what happens at
the federal level
significantly affects the
state economy. There is a
clear contrast between the
federal government’s
devastating debt and
propensity to spend beyond
its means, and Wisconsin’s
decisive and wise budget
choices. Wisconsin has
taken its rightful place in
the national spotlight and
is leading by example with a
new way of thinking for
governments at all levels.
There is still time to fix
much of our national
financial woes, but only if
leaders choose to lead, and
follow Wisconsin’s example.
-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
