This Just In ...

"Just doing my job"

Posted by Kevin Fischer on Jan. 18, 2012

The following appears in the latest edition of the Wisconsin Conservative Digest and is re-printed here with permission of the publisher.


"Just Doing my Job"
Budget is balanced, taxes are down, reforms are working
By State Senator Alberta Darling

Last summer, in the middle of the attempt to recall me, a man came up to me, shook my

hand and said, “Thank you for doing your job.”

That story always reminds me how ridiculous these recalls really are. We simply did the job we were elected to do. We balanced the budget without raising taxes and it is working!

In Wisconsin, things were dire. We faced a $3 billion deficit. Jobs were leaving. Taxes were rising. Unlike other states, Republicans here didn’t kick the can down the road. We grabbed the bull by the horns and made tough decisions.

Some state employees didn’t like the reforms we passed. Unlike most working families, the recession hadn’t affected them. The state picked up most, if not all, of their lavish health care benefits and did the same with their pensions. The contracts they locked in forced taxpayers to pay for perks that wouldn’t even occur to the average private sector worker. Perks like bus drivers earning six-figure salaries, employees calling in sick and still getting time and a half pay and teachers getting exclusive Cadillac health care plans offered by a provider created by their own unions.

Things had to change. Especially in a recession, Wisconsin taxpayers couldn’t afford having us kick the can again. The reforms we passed in Wisconsin Act 10 led to protests, threats and recalls. They also led to a balanced budget, lower taxes and no layoffs. Despite the claims, the sky didn’t fall.

The Wauwatosa school district is using the tools passed in Wisconsin Act 10, the budget repair bill, to have employees contribute more to their health care and pensions. With those savings they are launching a new second language program, opening a Montessori school and exploring hybrid classes which combine online learning with classroom instruction. They are doing all of that without raising taxes. In fact, some residents will see their bill go down. The Wauwatosa Superintendent told WauwatosaNow: “All of these things would not be possible, if we weren’t able to get those types of concessions.”

The truth is Wisconsin is better off now than it was a year ago. The state budget is balanced, the deficit was filled and schools were not destroyed. Two hundred sixty nine school districts lowered their property tax rate thanks to the reforms Governor Walker and the Legislature approved.

Wisconsin taxpayers are being forced to pay for another round of needless and expensive recall elections because Republicans did what they said they'd do:  plug a $3 billion deficit, balance the budget and do it all without raising taxes.

Instead of making tough decisions, 14 Democrats fled to Illinois. Ironically, or perhaps not, Illinois went in the opposite direction of Wisconsin.

In January 2011, newly elected Illinois governor Pat Quinn imposed a 67% income tax increase on citizens and a sharp increase in the corporate tax rate. Only a month later, the state issued $3.7 billion in bonds just to make payments to unfunded state pensions. Despite following the Democrats playbook, Moody’s lowered their bond rating. The agency rated Illinois as the worst credit risk in the nation.

Illinois is still has a $5 billion deficit. Many homeowners there are seeing double digit property tax hikes. State employees are being laid off. Raising taxes didn’t work.

The Chicago Tribune remarked:

“Illinois hasn't got the money to play. The state has failed to pay its bills. It has racked up tens of billions of dollars in debt. It has tens of billions more in pension and healthcare obligations for its workers and state retirees. Quinn already jacked up taxes, and irate employers are threatening to leave the state. That tax increase will bring in more money, but public employee pensions soak up every dime of that tax hike.”

The recalls are also making it harder for legislators to work together to find solutions. It has created a divisive attitude in the capitol. Protestors are fewer now, but the hatred they spew is real. There have been threats against me and countless death threats toward Governor Walker and his family. If the recall is successful, these people win. If recall organizers are able to force another round of elections, taxpayers will have to decide if they want Wisconsin to go backward like Illinois and Washington D.C. or continue to lead by example on reforming government. Every dollar wasted on these needless recalls is a dollar that could be used to repair a road, cut taxes or protect our citizens. Taxpayers elected us to make the tough decisions. I did my job and I’m proud to represent you in Madison.

Sen. Darling represents portions of Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha Counties.

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About this time, after the elections, is when conservatives go to sleep, zip up their billfolds and say: "We elected them do all of the hard lifting.” That is why we win battles and lose wars. The campaigns must go on. Conservatives have to keep working and keep giving. Politics is a blood sport; we have seen that in Madison this past year.

Ronald Reagan said once: "When you pull all of those snouts away from the trough you are going to get a lot of oinking.” That is what is happening. The left is apoplectic. They might lose 25% or more of their contributions. That can kill some of them. The left lives off the rest of us. Public employees and many public agencies depend on our money, tax money, to pay for their political activities. We Conservatives must go out and get money from hard working people. Most of the rich people have become liberals. Conservatives are the people that are out there every day busting their butts.

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Bob and Jean Dohnal, Publishers/Editors, Wisconsin Conservative Digest

11324 W. Potter Rd.

Wauwatosa, WI 53226-3407

(414) 258-1719

rdohnal@earthlink.net

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