Wisconsin actually happens to be one of the more fiscally sound states in the nation right now. In fact, any financial problems they're experiencing in Dairyland these days (by "these days" we mean since Governor Scott Walker took office last month) come as a direct result of his own policies.
In its Jan. 31 memo to legislators on the condition of the state's budget, the Fiscal Bureau determined that the state will end the year with a balance of $121.4 million.
To the extent that there is an imbalance -- Walker claims there is a $137 million deficit -- it is not because of a drop in revenues or increases in the cost of state employee contracts, benefits or pensions. It is because Walker and his allies pushed through $140 million in new spending for special-interest groups in January.
So when you hear the governor or his representatives or the talking heads on the TV talking about the pensions and salaries of government employees driving the state into bankruptcy, keep in mind that the current fight is really about one thing and one thing only: Putting an end to collective bargaining. That's how you break a union. That's what they are aiming to do. And that is why workers in Wisconsin are making a stand at this moment in history.
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