Rational Decisions
Lasee’s Notes
People respond to real pressures in real ways. Put another way: people often make rational decisions, based on facts.
The fact in Wisconsin: if you have money and/or the ability to earn money, from a tax standpoint you’re better off somewhere else. You’ll get to keep more of your own money if you live in another state.
According to the non-partisan Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, Wisconsin lost $4.6 billion in net worth and $450 million in net income between 1995 and 2000 due to people moving out of the state. And that was during the good times.
That’s only part of the story: our population saw a net increase due to migration – but the people moving in were far more likely to be middle- or lower-income, while those moving out were more likely to be higher-income.
According to the WTA:
"These figures are not trivial," said WISTAX President Todd A. Berry, "for lost assets can cease to be held in and loaned by Wisconsin banks. They can result in the sale of stock in Wisconsin firms to nonresident investors, less in-state investment capital available for new ventures here, and reduced support for Badger State charities."
What’s going on? We are providing incentives.
We’re providing two types of incentives: first, we provide government programs that are more generous than those in other states. This is an incentive for low-income families to move here. They get more from their government.
Two, because of our high taxes and difficult to deal with state regulations, we create an incentive for higher-income families and business owners to move out.
This has two effects: demand for government services grows, while the tax base which pays for those services shrinks. This puts more pressure on the middle class, which is squeezed more and more over time.
Sooner or later we are going to hit a tipping point, where high taxes and government regulation chase out enough income, wealth, and talent that we no longer have the tax base to support the services we’ve enacted and made more generous over the years, and which people have come to expect.
Wisconsin is in danger of becoming a Wississippi – a state with only middle class and poor, where demand for services outstrips the ability of the citizens to pay for those services.
Someone has to pay for it all. In Wisconsin, our policies chase out the people who can pay, while attracting the people who can’t.
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Lasee’s Notes is a weekly column by Representative Frank Lasee, 2nd Assembly District, covering events in the Legislature and statewide.
People respond to real pressures in real ways. Put another way: people often make rational decisions, based on facts.
The fact in Wisconsin: if you have money and/or the ability to earn money, from a tax standpoint you’re better off somewhere else. You’ll get to keep more of your own money if you live in another state.
According to the non-partisan Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, Wisconsin lost $4.6 billion in net worth and $450 million in net income between 1995 and 2000 due to people moving out of the state. And that was during the good times.
That’s only part of the story: our population saw a net increase due to migration – but the people moving in were far more likely to be middle- or lower-income, while those moving out were more likely to be higher-income.
According to the WTA:
"These figures are not trivial," said WISTAX President Todd A. Berry, "for lost assets can cease to be held in and loaned by Wisconsin banks. They can result in the sale of stock in Wisconsin firms to nonresident investors, less in-state investment capital available for new ventures here, and reduced support for Badger State charities."
What’s going on? We are providing incentives.
We’re providing two types of incentives: first, we provide government programs that are more generous than those in other states. This is an incentive for low-income families to move here. They get more from their government.
Two, because of our high taxes and difficult to deal with state regulations, we create an incentive for higher-income families and business owners to move out.
This has two effects: demand for government services grows, while the tax base which pays for those services shrinks. This puts more pressure on the middle class, which is squeezed more and more over time.
Sooner or later we are going to hit a tipping point, where high taxes and government regulation chase out enough income, wealth, and talent that we no longer have the tax base to support the services we’ve enacted and made more generous over the years, and which people have come to expect.
Wisconsin is in danger of becoming a Wississippi – a state with only middle class and poor, where demand for services outstrips the ability of the citizens to pay for those services.
Someone has to pay for it all. In Wisconsin, our policies chase out the people who can pay, while attracting the people who can’t.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lasee’s Notes is a weekly column by Representative Frank Lasee, 2nd Assembly District, covering events in the Legislature and statewide.
posted by John Q Cheesehead | 11:08 AM
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