CLUB FOR GROWTH NEWSLETTERS

Home > Club for Growth Newsletters

April 01, 2009

The Wednesday Update

April 1, 2009  Volume 3, Issue 12   IN THIS ISSUE:  Breaking up MPS; Unemployment for Thee, Not for We`

April 1, 2009 Vol 3, Number 12	Wednesday Update
In This Issue:         1. Breaking up MPS 2. Unemployment for Thee 3. What Recession?	Breaking up MPS For years now, the Milwaukee Public Schools have been a national embarassment.  MPS is notorious for low test scores, high illiteracy rates, abysmal graduation rates and an unconscionable mismanagement of taxpayer funds.  Now two Milwaukee-area legislators are offering to solve MPS’ ills – by breaking the district up.  State Senator Ted Kanavas and State Representative Leah Vukmir have offered a plan to divide MPS into eight separate school districts with each district better able to address the specific needs of their students.   On Kanavas’ personal blog, he made the case for the dramatic change: Supporters of the district argue that MPS struggles because class sizes are too large, it doesn’t have enough teachers or money, or that the students have different social needs and backgrounds than the rest of the state.   Both sides use MPS to make an argument and meet their agenda, but in the end teachers continue to get raises in salary or benefits, board members get re-elected, taxpayers statewide get the tab and children pay the price.  It’s a seemingly endless cycle, and it’s our job to break it. People have been playing this game for generations and we’re all losing. The failure of Milwaukee Public Schools can no longer be seen as a “Milwaukee problem” to the rest of Wisconsin. It’s time for a game-changer. It’s time for action. It’s time to tell the children of Milwaukee that failure is unacceptable. As much as the rest of the state is loathed to admit it, Wisconsin is dependent on Milwaukee as its economic engine.  State taxpayers have simply spent too much money on MPS to allow it to fail. Everyone has a vested interest in solving the MPS problem,  but simply spending money in the same fashion the state always has cannot be the answer. It will take bold actions like the ones Vukmir and Kanavas are proposing to turn things around.       Unemployment for Thee, Not for We     Last year was terrible for Wisconsin workers.  The state lost nearly 73,000 private sector jobs, pushing the unemployment up to 9%.  Recent numbers show that unemployment has reached double digits in over 12 Wisconsin cities, with Beloit leading the way at a whopping 16.9%. Yet despite the ailing economy, one sector actually gained jobs in 2008 – the government sector.  According to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, at the same time the private sector was hemorrhaging jobs, the state was adding 900 new government workers.  Clearly the same people who claim to be “feeling our pain” are fattening up at our expense. As new budgets are drafted for the upcoming year, local officials are beginning to address the need to bring government spending in line with the taxpayers ability to pay.  Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker has proposed a budget that reduces county workers by 230 jobs while Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has proposed cutting over 1,000 jobs at the city level. But state government workers don’t appear to be worried.  Governor Doyle’s proposed budget actually increases spending nearly 10% over the next two years. While Doyle claims to cut spending, he is actually using $4.5 billion in one-time federal stimulus revenue to plug budget holes and save the jobs of his government workers.  It’s a neat trick that will leave Wisconsin with a multi-billion dollar hole in the next budget, when taxes almost certainly will be raised to make up the difference. Doyle promised to eliminate 10,000 government jobs in his first term, but instead of making good on his promise, he’s raising taxes and fees on Wisconsin families and businesses in order to hold state workers harmless.  So when you hear the Governor talking about the need to sacrifice in tough times, he’s only referring to the poor saps that aren’t lucky enough to have a state funded job.      What Recession? School districts around the state have figured out how to fix the recession – by taking over two-hundred million dollars of your money.  Next week, 30 Wisconsin school districts will ask voters for massive spending increases, including a referendum of nearly $68 million in West Bend and $70 million in the Middleton-Cross Plains district. The Middleton referendum will increase property taxes on the average homeowner by more than $350 per year. Add that to the Governor’s estimated increase of more than $100, and families could be facing nearly $500 more in property taxes.  The average West Bend homeowner could see increases of nearly $400 per year when the Governor’s estimated increase is included. When the economy is strong, government thinks it’s a good time to spend more of your money. And when they economy is bad, government thinks it’s a good time for them to spend more of your money.  Notice a trend? Below is a summary of referendums from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.