October 18, 2007

Clearing Up State Budget Myths

As the impasse over the state budget continues to drag on, the rhetoric flying around it continues to heat up. To help you cut through the hyperbole and get to the facts, let’s debunk some budget myths.

MYTH: The State of Wisconsin is operating without a budget right now.

FACT: That is false. While it is true that the 2007-2009 state budget technically should have passed over 100 days ago, the state is simply operating under the terms of the last state budget. The new budget isn’t done yet, but the old one is working fine for now.

MYTH: The State of Wisconsin is on the verge of a government shutdown.

FACT: This is a completely false scare tactic that was recently trotted out by the Governor. He should be ashamed of himself for misleading the people of Wisconsin.

The Governor has suggested that, unless the Legislature passes his tax-raising budget immediately, it will be “a disaster” that will cause a government shutdown “in the next month or two.” He suggests UW-System campuses won’t be able to open for the second semester and there won’t be any money left to house dangerous criminals in prison.

Again, that is completely false. At this writing, the state has $13.45 billion in available revenues and $13.27 billion in commitments. The state has more than enough money to continue funding state programs well into the next calendar year. The Governor is trying to bully lawmakers into accepting his huge tax plans.

MYTH: Republicans are obstructionists who are holding up the budget’s passage.

FACT: If not for the billions of dollars in controversial tax hikes Democrats have been demanding, the Legislature could have passed the overdue budget months ago. In fact, it has been the Republicans who have been the ones making the efforts to break the logjam.

As was noted above, state government can operate just fine for a long time without a new budget. However, some existing priorities like public schools need to know right away how much money they can expect from the state – or else the result will be a major property tax increase. In a show of good faith, Republicans agreed to the Democrats’ public school funding increase plan and it passed out of the Assembly as a bill separate from the stalled budget. Unfortunately, Democrats who control the Senate are choosing not to even vote on their own public school funding plan! Instead, they are using public schools and property taxpayers as hostages until their demands for a budget with billions of dollars in tax hikes are met.