Contact: Tom Evenson, (608) 266-2839
Madison – Governor Scott Walker released his Weekly Radio Address today titled “We Are Working and Winning for Wisconsin.”
Hi. This is Scott Walker.
More people were employed last year in Wisconsin than at any point in history. We have one of the highest percentages of people working of any state in the nation. And our unemployment rate is the lowest it’s been, well, since Tommy Thompson was Governor back in January of 2001.
We are Working and Winning for Wisconsin.
The rainy day fund, with our increased deposit in this new state budget, is now 178 times larger than it was when we took office. Our outstanding long-term debt is some of the lowest in the country. Our state has one of the only fully-funded pension systems in the country. And our budgets continue to end with surpluses.
We are Working and Winning for Wisconsin.
The common-sense reforms that helped build this healthy economy and strong management of our state resources created our positive budget outlook. We call it the Reform Dividend.
Now, we are investing the Reform Dividend into our priorities: student success through strong schools, reduced college costs, care for the truly needy, maintenance of our roads and bridges, ways to reward work, and lower taxes.
The state budget I introduced this week does all of that and more. It is a solid budget built on a strong foundation. The Reform Dividend gives us plenty of ways to support our priorities. I ask lawmakers – Republicans and Democrats alike – to support this budget so, together, we can move Wisconsin forward.
