Finding the Right Balance?
Lasee’s Notes
Newspapers, television stations, internet news sites, and many other media outlets and citizen groups throughout the state have been sending out questionnaires to help them decide which candidates to endorse in the upcoming elections. The questions range from healthcare reform to the environment. And of course taxes.
One of the most common questions asked is: Which taxes would you seek to increase or decrease in an effort to balance the budget? What they are really asking is who should be taxed more or are we taxing the right people enough.
My answer has been the same every time.
This question overlooks the problem all Wisconsinites face. The real problem is that we spend too much so we tax too much. We need to reduce the overall tax take from all of our citizens.
If we truly want to make Wisconsin a better place to live, work, and retire then we need bold action.
Ratcheting one tax up just to get more revenue or to lower the burden on someone else isn’t the answer. Accounting gimmicks or budget transfers (made famous by Governor Doyle) will not solve the problem either. It won’t happen by sitting around in a legislative committee talking about which projects deserve more funding.
We do NOT need more revenue we need to prevent our government from spending more. Then and only then will taxes stop being an economic drag on our state.
How do we do this?
The only way to tame the rapid growth in government spending, taxing, and borrowing and give us, the taxpayers, more control is to put another constitutional check into our system of checks and balances.
The Taxpayer Bill of Rights has been my number one priority for many years because I believe that we need a constitutional amendment that will give us the right of referendum on government spending, taxing, and borrowing. We need to have our elected officials explain why they recommend additional spending, have a conversation about why it is needed and whether we the bill payers can and want to afford it. We have done this successfully and popularly with schools spending in this state since 1993.
The Taxpayer Bill of Rights will allow for a reasonable spending growth rate for both state and local governments of inflation plus population growth. If governments want to grow their spending faster, they will have to consult their voters first.
Under our current system, governments spend first and ask questions later. The voters, the stakeholders, the bill payers, are often intentionally left out of the budgeting process. The Taxpayer Bill of Rights will require our government officials to explain, discuss, and convince us that more spending is needed. More importantly, the Taxpayer Bill of Rights will continue Wisconsin’s progressive tradition of giving power over our government back to the citizens and stakeholders.
Why should you care?
Wisconsin is at a crossroads. The present tax and spending situation in our state cannot stand. We cannot afford to continue the pattern of the wealthy leaving and the poorer middle class moving in. People are voting with there feet, they are moving to where it is best for them, their families and businesses.
We cannot afford to ignore the changing world around us. As I’ve said in the past, we are in serious danger of becoming a state where the demand for government services exceeds the citizens’ ability to pay. According to the non-partisan Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, in the last five years we have lost $4.6 billion in net worth and $450 million in net income, due to higher income people moving out.
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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.
Newspapers, television stations, internet news sites, and many other media outlets and citizen groups throughout the state have been sending out questionnaires to help them decide which candidates to endorse in the upcoming elections. The questions range from healthcare reform to the environment. And of course taxes.
One of the most common questions asked is: Which taxes would you seek to increase or decrease in an effort to balance the budget? What they are really asking is who should be taxed more or are we taxing the right people enough.
My answer has been the same every time.
This question overlooks the problem all Wisconsinites face. The real problem is that we spend too much so we tax too much. We need to reduce the overall tax take from all of our citizens.
If we truly want to make Wisconsin a better place to live, work, and retire then we need bold action.
Ratcheting one tax up just to get more revenue or to lower the burden on someone else isn’t the answer. Accounting gimmicks or budget transfers (made famous by Governor Doyle) will not solve the problem either. It won’t happen by sitting around in a legislative committee talking about which projects deserve more funding.
We do NOT need more revenue we need to prevent our government from spending more. Then and only then will taxes stop being an economic drag on our state.
How do we do this?
The only way to tame the rapid growth in government spending, taxing, and borrowing and give us, the taxpayers, more control is to put another constitutional check into our system of checks and balances.
The Taxpayer Bill of Rights has been my number one priority for many years because I believe that we need a constitutional amendment that will give us the right of referendum on government spending, taxing, and borrowing. We need to have our elected officials explain why they recommend additional spending, have a conversation about why it is needed and whether we the bill payers can and want to afford it. We have done this successfully and popularly with schools spending in this state since 1993.
The Taxpayer Bill of Rights will allow for a reasonable spending growth rate for both state and local governments of inflation plus population growth. If governments want to grow their spending faster, they will have to consult their voters first.
Under our current system, governments spend first and ask questions later. The voters, the stakeholders, the bill payers, are often intentionally left out of the budgeting process. The Taxpayer Bill of Rights will require our government officials to explain, discuss, and convince us that more spending is needed. More importantly, the Taxpayer Bill of Rights will continue Wisconsin’s progressive tradition of giving power over our government back to the citizens and stakeholders.
Why should you care?
Wisconsin is at a crossroads. The present tax and spending situation in our state cannot stand. We cannot afford to continue the pattern of the wealthy leaving and the poorer middle class moving in. People are voting with there feet, they are moving to where it is best for them, their families and businesses.
We cannot afford to ignore the changing world around us. As I’ve said in the past, we are in serious danger of becoming a state where the demand for government services exceeds the citizens’ ability to pay. According to the non-partisan Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, in the last five years we have lost $4.6 billion in net worth and $450 million in net income, due to higher income people moving out.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 | 10:24 PM
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