Madison–State Representative John Nygren (R-Marinette) and Senator Alberta Darling (R-River Hills), Co-Chairs of the Joint Committee on Finance released the following statement after the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau revealed Governor Evers’ budget spends the state into a nearly $2 billion structural deficit:
“Governor Evers’ taxing, spending, and borrowing is not taking our state in a new direction, but moving us backward. Over the last eight years Wisconsin has seen tremendous growth, it is disappointing that Governor Evers is choosing this path.
Thanks to Republican reforms, Wisconsin starts the budget process with more than $2 billion in additional funding. Governor Evers spends that and a whole lot more. He’s not just spending the money we have, Governor Evers is spending billions we don’t have.
It’s worth noting that the $1.8 billion in additional revenue in this budget, which is one of the highest in 20 years, wouldn’t cover the Governor’s nearly $2 billion deficit if we saw similar revenue growth in the next budget. This is a dangerous path to be on.
The Governor’s liberal wish list spends $83 billion dollars – $6 billion more than the last budget. That equals an extra thousand dollars of spending for every man, woman, and child in Wisconsin. And he doesn’t stop there.
The Governor broke his promise to taxpayers that he wouldn’t raise taxes. His budget hikes taxes more than $1 billion, borrows more than $2 billion, and includes the largest property tax hike for the typical homeowner in a decade.
Luckily for taxpayers, Republicans are willing to do the hard work and deliver a budget that doesn’t raise taxes, invests in priorities like education, and doesn’t max out the credit cards.”
