| 11/12/2009 11:00:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Our View: Fiscal tricks put Wis. in precarious spot
Congratulations, Wisconsin.
We made a top 10 list released Wednesday. Unfortunately, it's a list we'd rather not be associated with.
The Pew Center on the States announced the 10 most fiscally challenged states in the country. Not surprisingly, California topped the list. Michigan, Florida and Illinois probably should not be surprised to be on that list, either, ranking fifth, seventh and ninth, respectively.
But sitting right on the fringe of the dubious top 10 list, right behind Illinois is - Wisconsin.
The report, "Beyond California: States in Fiscal Peril," does not paint a pretty picture of Wisconsin's financial situation. The recession has cost the state 140,000 jobs and one-eighth of its manufacturing workforce, the report says. A steep drop in state revenue and budget shenanigans have exacerbated the problem.
The report points to questionable fiscal decisions by Wisconsin leaders before the recession - raiding money from the transportation fund to pay for education spending and general operations, and running negative balances in the general fund for five straight years.
"It's practically a textbook case of how not to engage in fiscal policy and budget-making," Mordecai Lee, professor of government affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee says in the report. "Structurally, we are around the corner of becoming like California."
That's not a compliment.
Republicans have been criticizing the Doyle administration's budget sleights of hand for years. They've been right. Even in this most recent 2009-11 budget process, Doyle and Democrats bridged a $6 billion shortfall with smoke and mirrors. Tax and fee increases accounted for $2.1 billion of the difference, more than $2 billion came from likely one-time federal stimulus funds, and a slew of spending cuts shifted financial burdens to local governmental bodies.
Of course, things could be worse. California has been forced to make a staggering $60 billion in budget adjustments since February. Illinois is facing an $11.7 billion budget gap for its next fiscal year, beginning in July.
But still, clearly, Wisconsin is among the most fiscally vulnerable states in the nation.
Decisions leaders in Wisconsin and elsewhere make "as they try to navigate the recession will play a role in how quickly the entire nation recovers," Susan Urahn, managing director of the Pew Center said.
Fiscal management and economic development are likely to be, and must be, the top issues in the 2010 gubernatorial and legislative campaigns. Voters must demand more responsible budgetary practices, and rule out candidates who can't commit to them.
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Reader Comments
Posted: Friday, November 13, 2009
Article comment by:
Tim
Ah, I feel so much warmer now.
Posted: Thursday, November 12, 2009
Article comment by:
Rex
As a former factory worker, I said back in the 90's that NAFTA would screw American manufactures and now we see the results of Bill Clinton and the then Congress's actions. A lot of huge manufactures couldn't or didn't want to see this coming because they were huge dreamers of some gilded ideology. Folks, we've farmed out our work at a lower pay then Americans would do it for. Great for business owners bad for the USA. Greed won. I seen a lot of our local work go south to Mexico and that includes the now dead company Advance Transformer (locally), and that was loooong before NAFTA. Yes, we've contributed a lot via NAFTA to foreign countries, as well as our typical taxpaying foreign aid in addition, and these countries haven't returned what Clinton expected that they would've returned in this NAFTA agreement. As usual, we’ve been the big player in this past sordid agreement. All of this is just another shot at our dying, imploding country. It’s now over ten years down the road and the sins are coming in to haunt us. Think about it and place the blame where blame is called for. In this instance, Obama isn’t to blame (can’t believe I’m saying it) but what is to blame is the warped liberal agenda of the pathetic minds that dreamed up NAFTA. Then again, Obama wants his deficit busting health care. Welcome to hell.
Posted: Thursday, November 12, 2009
Article comment by:
CommentUs
To be sure, it would be better if Wisconsin were not on the referenced list.
However, the fiscal sleight-of-hand was not the invention of the Doyle Democrats. It was in-place long before they arrived on the scene.
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