Filed under: Sen. Harsdorf
According to a press release, our own Sheila Harsdorf has teamed up with two other state senators in offering amendments to strip all non-fiscal items and all pork from the state budget.
According to the press release:
“The non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) has identified 88 non-fiscal policy items which have typically been removed in past budgets. LFB has also identified 91 earmarks contained in the budget. The amendment from Hopper, Harsdorf and Kapanke will eliminate 179 items identified by LFB as non-fiscal policy or earmarks.”
While the budget is still far from perfect, this is at least a small step in the right direction when it comes to fiscal responsibility and reigning in government run out of control in Madison.
A big thumb’s up for Sen. Harsdorf here. While I suspect that the Dems will reduce her efforts to nothing more than a show of principle, it’s still the thought that counts.
Filed under: Sen. Harsdorf
From Sen. Harsdorf’s website:
The budget bill as passed by the Democratic-controlled budget-writing committee is reckless. The common criticism is that this budget bill will cost Wisconsin taxpayers billions, but the most alarming parts of the budget bill extend beyond tax increases.
The budget bill has been loaded up with provisions that have nothing to do with the state’s budget, but will most certainly affect our lives. It includes new rules that will dramatically increase the cost of auto and liability insurance, changes to allow illegal immigrants a driver license and discounted tuition, giveaways to political supporters that will escalate the costs of education and local government services, and new restrictions on public access to stewardship lands that are a setback to hunters and outdoor enthusiasts.
Some Democratic State Representatives have raised concerns about the consequences of the bill put forward by the budget writing committee. Example number one deals with the rhetoric for years that we should “tax big oil” and prohibit them from passing tax increases onto consumers. This rhetoric has been used for years. Democratic leadership is now indicating that they may have to allow the pass through to consumers for the new tax they want in order to stand up in court. The argument that you could tax oil revenues and not have these taxes passed onto consumers through higher gas prices is simply disingenuous.
Thankfully, State Representative Bob Ziegelbauer (D – Manitowoc) is proposing amendments to remove some of these policy provisions. This is a step in the right direction. Short of a big overhaul to this budget bill, Wisconsin citizens will face increased auto insurance premiums, higher health care costs and gas prices, less government services for their tax dollar, and less access to publicly purchased stewardship land.
