CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Yesterday’s budget proposal from Tony Evers is political theater.
It is the legislature, controlled by large Republican majorities, that will write the budget. The Governor may veto what he wishes, and it’s likely that those vetoes will be upheld. But it is a GOP document. Evers will take credit for the parts of it that he likes. And he will use the dodgiest rhetoric possible where the legislature rolls back his proposed spending increases. He will dishonestly refer to that as a “cut”.
The governor has a tax cut proposal that should be rejected. He proposes an increase in the state’s earned income tax credit. It’s designed to encourage the poor to get off welfare and get to work. The federal earned income tax credit is worth up to $6,900. The state’s earned income credit could be as much as $2,300, depending on how many children are in a household.
What’s the problem with this? There are no poor families in Wisconsin who owe a combined $10,200 in tax. They would get a refund that is far beyond the taxes they pay. This isn’t a tax credit. It’s welfare. It’s a giving away of tax dollars to people who haven’t paid anywhere near that much tax. And it means that less is available to refund to people who do pay into the system; they should be at the front of the line when taxes are cut.
How to spend a $7-billion state surplus will be the issue in this budget cycle. I would propose the following: two-thirds of the surplus should go back to the taxpayers. The very definition of a surplus is the amount you were overtaxed to pay for government. And it should go back on a dollar-by-dollar basis to who paid in. Those who didn’t pay state tax should not get refunds from the surplus. Of the remaining one-third, 20-percent should go to the state’s rainy day fund. The final 13-percent, the smallest share, is available for new spending. Why such a small slice of the pie? Because a surplus can’t be counted on from one year to the next. To begin new, ongoing, government programs with one-time money is reckless.
Republicans in the legislature should stand their ground on these budgeting principals. After all, they’re the ones who will put the budget together.
Chris Conley
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