MADISON – Representative Joel Kitchens (R – Sturgeon Bay) released the weekly radio address on behalf of Wisconsin Legislative Republicans.
Hi, this is Representative Joel Kitchens.
I attended Governor Evers’ budget address where he laid out his proposal for the biennial budget.
The way it works is that over the next few months, the Legislature will go over it line by line, we’ll hold public hearings, we’ll take things out, we’ll put things in and in June or so, we’ll send it back to the governor where he can use his line-item veto power.
Like his previous two budget proposals, it was bloated with massive spending increases and tax increases. Like the other two times, the Legislature will be the responsible party, we’ll trim it down and come up with a budget we can afford.
Our economy is in a strong position, our rainy day fund is the highest it’s ever been, and we have a large budget surplus. That’s misleading, however, because much of the surplus is spoken for. This is not the time to go on a spending spree.
Governor Evers proposes numerous new programs with ongoing costs, and that’s not the way to spend our one-time money. It will leave us with a structural deficit that will burden us in the future.
We agree with the governor on many priorities, the difference is in how we address them. Both sides agree on the need for income tax reduction. Our plan will be larger and broader. We need to make Wisconsin a more affordable place to raise a family, live and retire.
We agree on the need to increase shared revenue for our local governments so they can afford to repair roads and provide services. We also agree on a need to increase spending on education, although many of his proposals are unrealistic.
Over the next few months, I’ll fight for the priorities of our area, but I’ll work with the governor wherever I can.
I’m optimistic about the future of our great state, and I hope the governor realizes we can accomplish so much more together.
Thank you.
