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10/10/2007
Enough of this negative trash
Ok, ok. I’ve had enough. The governor offered his living room – and apparently an open refrigerator – but beyond that he’s been gallivanting around the globe or gallivanting around the state lining up photo ops so he can blast Speaker Huebsch and his supposed caucus crazies.
Yesterday, on reading the news of Doyle’s special session – and Senator Fitzgerald’s reaction to it (via FoxPolitics News), a reader wrote (I think about Fitzgerald’s response) “What an absolutely expected response. When is the public going to get really hacked off about this [budget business]?”
Well, I’m hacked off at the constant hyperbole and posturing used by the Governor. Dang it. Ok, our republic has survived on political rhetoric since before it was a republic. That won’t stop. But dang it, it gets to a point when you skew the truth often enough that folks start believing it.
In just over 1,000 words, the governor managed to swipe at the Republican-controlled Assembly in 900 of them. (Ok, that’s hyperbole – but you get the idea…) He even scares us by threatening delay of sex offender treatment , child sex offender monitoring and forcing lockdowns. Geez.
Here is not the way to make friends and influence enemies: “Extreme Republicans still want to cut the university by $60 million, slash financial aid by $20 million, cut aid to veterans by another $6.5 million, and eliminate our new efforts to reduce smoking in Wisconsin. We need to put this state on a permanent path of fiscal stability, but extreme Republicans are playing politics with our children’s future.”
Governor Doyle got so excited about these couple of sentences that his official press release repeated them, word for word, twice. (And the Governor didn't stop there. The Journal Sentinel reports that Doyle "compared Assembly Republican leaders to a car dealer who won't stick to the negotiated price, to hockey players who have to be 'waved off' a game face-off, and to students who haven't done their homework.") Fact: The Assembly budget increases spending by over 5%. Is that not enough? Why is that “draconian cuts” and “cutting here”, “slashing there,” and “playing politics with children?” Geez.
And lo and behold, the governor wants to settle the Transportation Fund later. He’s whining about children and schools suffering – where has he been the last three weeks? The Senate wouldn’t even take up AB 506 that provides for school aids. No, instead he complained we couldn’t have a piecemeal budget. So now we’ll have a piecemeal budget. And he continues whining about the kids. Geez.
Call to Action from GOP State Chairman Reince Priebus Details of Governor Doyle's second budget have yet to be made public; however, if it looks anything like the latest "offer" made by Senate Democrats last week, the taxpayers are in trouble.
In true form, the Democrats' so-called compromise only cuts $310 million of their $1.3 billion in increased taxes and $433 million of the Senate-approved spending. Their plan still increases taxes by nearly $1 billion and spending by $1.1 billion over the Assembly budget.
It's time for the Democrats to understand what everyone else already knows - Wisconsin does not want more taxes. As soon as they start working for the taxpayers, there will be a budget compromise.
Speaker Huebsch and Senate Majority Leader Robson did not meet yesterday, with Huebsch ironing out details of the Democrats' proposal with the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. With Governor Doyle posing for holy pictures Tuesday morning, the rest of this week's budget negotiation schedule is still to be determined.
The time to act is now - we can't afford to sit back during the process only to complain about the consequences later. If you support Republican efforts to hold down spending tell your legislator, take a minute to call into talk radio, or write a letter to the editor. In short, call your legislators and tell them we don't need $1 billion in tax hikes!Your voice can and will be heard.
COMMENTS
U GO, Jo!
Michael Bina (Wed Oct 10 07:57:34 2007)
Jo, you must understand.
The usual scenario is that when the Democrats don't get what they want they scream, whine and run to their friends in the media with their lies and obfuscations until the Republicans get scared and cave in.
That has not happened this time.
I have no doubt in my mind that it WILL, but the Dems are panicking now and the only trick up their sleeve is to lie, and whine LOUDER than before.
Huebsch is already showing signs of wobble(accepting the cigarette tax etc.).
Yeah - on Huebsch... what would you do in his place? Could you stand on the Assembly budget and not compromise - when UW students are starving in the streets without their WHEG grants? And the governor is putting sex offenders and hard core inmates around your neck? Well, I guess that has to be the power of us taxpayers. We've got to be loud and principled to fight all of that. JE
Daniel Braun (Wed Oct 10 10:57:12 2007)
Well put Jo... Exceptional work.
Fred (Wed Oct 10 11:56:57 2007)
Well put Jo, as usual.
I'm glad I'm not the only person that realized our legislators calling each other "poopyheads" will get us no closer to something you could vaguely call a budget.
My favorite part of this whole story is the LFB's comparison of the Assembly's budget proposal and Doyle's (from WisPolitics - here)
Good get, Adam. Thanks. I love it... the numbers show real slash and burn, don't you think? JE
Adam Delikowski (Wed Oct 10 15:03:38 2007)
To quote John F Kennedy, "We, the people, are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership, be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve." Too bad we can't have a do-over of the November 2006 election knowing what we know now. Mark Green in Tanzania and not in Wisconsin's Governor's mansion is a good thing for our country, but bad for Wisconsin.
We the people need to get involved in this-let those who understand the bigger picture for Wisconsin (higher taxes means less jobs, lower quality of life, etc...) rise to the occasion and fight the good fight.
The only way to stop bullies is to stand up to them. Compromise is good, but compromising on principles and ethics is bad. One side has already compromised on ethics-let's hope the other side doesn't compromise on principle.
Rick Sense of The Inside Scoop (Wed Oct 10 17:01:05 2007)
Given an alternative between cigarette taxes or the alternative I gladly throw the cigarette smokers under the bus. I hate to do it, but we are facing TAX increases one way or another. Maybe we go back to the idea of how appeasement does not work.
The Dems have found a great way to increase property taxes. I bet they get a lot more reasonable after Oct 19 (IIRC that is the date) property tax increases are in place. The only question I have is do I prepare to escrow $300 or $400 a month? Oh well, I am 20 or so lb.s overweight that will help me lose that weight.
The GOP Caucus is doing a great job hanging together on this one and I have personally commended one assemblyman I know and have written mine to express those same sentiments. Have you? DO IT NOW!
Too bad on that deadline. Remember that next time your Dem legislator comes up for election.
Mark Framness (Wed Oct 10 22:54:55 2007)
A few thoughts on some things that seem to have gotten lost in current budget conversations.
1. Best-case scenario with respect to current budget options (from the standpoint of a fiscal conservative) is that the Assembly’s budget is adopted with its "meager" 5% increase. With private sector pay increases averaging between 2%-3%, taxpayers will continue to fall behind.
2. Current budget proposals will increase taxes $650 million on the "low" end, and $15.1 billion on the high end.
There is very little conversation surrounding the fact that, whatever the final number winds up being, it will be in addition to the approximately $1.2 billion in new revenue that will be generated (without any tax increase) as the result of Wisconsin's robust economy.
3. As the Assembly moves into the "compromise" phase of the budget negotiations, taxpayers need to keep in mind two significant facts; (1) businesses don't pay taxes, they are passed on to their customers, and (2) those new tax receipts collected to "create smoking cessation programs and lower health costs," could wind up being transferred into the general fund and be used for whatever the Governor and Legislature see fit. I think of these as “stealth” taxes
One last thought. Raising taxes on constituents isn’t unlike boiling a frog. You throw it into a pot of cold water and turn the heat up slowly. By the time the frog realizes what has happened, he can’t afford to live in his home anymore and he’s making plans to leave his friends and grand-children behind and move to Florida where his disposable income will increase significantly.
Hear, hear. Good stuff. Thanks. JE
Ray (Thu Oct 11 09:25:31 2007)
Let's see . . .whine, cry, tell lies to the media. Sounds like the Bush Administration, Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, and FP readers! Give me a break, you babies.
Whoa! Dave, how do you really feel? Seriously, keep it coming. I appreciate your viewpoint... JE
(Tue Oct 16 20:17:49 2007)
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