Local lawmakers are praising Gov. Scott Walker’s announcement that the state’s controversial budget repair law that significantly limited public unions in collective bargaining has reached $1 billion in savings.
Walker appeared in Manitowoc Monday morning to make the announcement, calling it "a great day for the hardworking people of this state who pay for the expenses of government."
State Sen. Alberta Darling — who represents portions of Milwaukee and much of the North Shore including Shorewood, Whitefish Bay, Fox Point and Bayside — said the governor's reforms mean more money goes directly into the classroom.
"Before the hands of school districts were tied with locked-in costs that kept going up and up," Darling said in a statement Monday. "Now there is flexibility to save money and put school children first. Not only do these reforms save money, they also let local officials use their common sense."
The $1 billion in tax savings was made in less than a year from when the law went into effect, according to a news release from the governor's office.
Melissa Baldauff, research director for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, responded to Walker’s announcement by saying the numbers do not add up.
“Like pretty much everything else Scott Walker says, this claim is a distortion of reality that is a blatant attempt to distract from Walker’s real record of failure and dishonesty,” Baldauff said in a memo to reporters.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who is one of four Democrats running in the gubernatorial recall primary against Walker, said the news is a distraction from the fact that under his Walker, the state has lost 4,300 private sector jobs — more jobs than any state in the country last year.
"What Walker isn't telling the people is that he made the deepest cuts to education in Wisconsin history, our state lost nearly 1,500 teacher positions over the past year, and we still have a $140 million budget deficit even though Walker raised fees on the people of Wisconsin by $110 million," he said. "This isn't a record to brag about — it’s a record that causes failed governors to be tossed from office."
"Falk, Barrett won't say what they'd spend to restore Walker cuts "The two leading Democratic candidates for Wisconsin governor won't say how much they would spend to restore cuts to education, local governments and health care by Gov. Scott Walker or where they would get the money."
The new report puts state private-sector employment at 2,329,500, compared with 2,323,600 when Walker took office -- an increase of 5,900 jobs. That leaves the governor with 244,100 jobs left to reach 250,000. First of all I don't trust Walker's figures -- but even if there were tax savings, it would be important to see where they are and what effect they have had on Wisconsin overall And if the job picture in Wisconsin continues to be as dismal as it is now --- Worst Job Record in the United States --- pretty soon nobody will be able to pay Any Taxes with no job !! That Giant Sucking Sound you hear are the job hunters moving to other states that actually have some chance of finding a job!
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/new-policies-saved-taxpayers-1-billion-walker-says-9354895-148535795.html
Now Walker has no back up. Watch these budgets start to fall apart this year.
"We're very confident that we're in a very good place, we don't have any layoffs coming nor do we have any expected program reductions. " This after they erased a $9.3 million deficit using Gov. Walkers ACT 10. That's $9.3 million in one school district alone....part of the $1 Billion saved in this state. Even Shorewood saved $$$. Instead of facing a nonsense recall, Governor Scott Walker should get a parade in every city, town and village in this state. At least the ones who didn't extend the union contracts before ACT 10 was implemented.
www.reforms.gov www.itsworkingwisconsin.com
I was thinking about these savings this morning --- and it occurred to me that Walker has NOT saved any money, he has SHIFTED the costs from Peter to Paul. In essence he has selected a class of people (primarily teachers and government employees) to pay more so others can pay less. Just like the old game of replacing taxes with fees --- the costs are still there, it is just that only a certain "Class of Citizens" have to pay it. He is trying to do the same thing with medicaid costs --- just because you cut the rolls of medicare recipients, doesn't mean the costs have disappeared. In fact you will probably Raise the Costs, as those in need of medical services go to more expensive ER's than to medical clinics, and without preventive care, costs go way up. I have a friend on medicaid who just had a procedure to increase the blood flow to his legs --- he is fairly young and does not have diabetes. This treatment, paid for by medicaid will prevent his losing his legs, and incurring much greater costs for all of us in the future.