Budget watchdog: Conservative Wisconsin budget puts Gov. Evers in box
(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s new state budget will spend more money than ever before, but one budget watchdog says it is still a conservative budget.
CJ Szafir with the Institute for Reforming Government told The Center Square that while Wisconsin’s new spending plan comes in at $87.5 billion for two years, $4.5 billion more than the current state budget, not all of the new spending is bad.
“Due to the lingering economic impact of the pandemic and over 100% increase in funding from Washington DC in the name of COVID relief, the Wisconsin state budget was always going to grow in size. To make matters worse, some of the federal COVID funding forces Wisconsin to spend more on K-12 education in order to receive it,” Szafir explained. “Coming out of a pandemic, there’s justification to ensure access to healthcare through targeted spending on mental health, substance abuse, reimbursements, and nursing homes. The Republican budget does this.”
Szafir and the IRG released a new analysis highlighting just what the Republican budget does.
“Republicans put together a budget that increases funding on key priorities for education and healthcare, cuts taxes by more than $3 billion, puts money in the rainy day fund, and creates one of the smallest structural deficits in over 20 years,” Szafir said.
He calls Gov. Tony Evers’ original $91 billion budget proposal “completely unserious and unrealistic.”
That isn’t stopping Democrats at the Capitol from complaining Republicans didn’t spend as much as the governor wanted.
“As we heard on the legislative floor, Democrats will never have enough in spending. They want to grow the size, scope, and power of government and today’s Democratic party is reflective of that philosophy,” Szafir said. “It will never be enough.”
But Szafir is quick to point out four Assembly Democrats voted with the Republicans to support the budget. That, Szafir says, helps put the governor in a box.
“Many households will receive lower income taxes and lower property taxes,” Szafir explained. “It’s a very solid governing budget and Governor Evers would be wise to sign it.”
The Wisconsin Senate is scheduled to vote on the budget on Wednesday. It then heads to Evers’ desk after that.
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