How should Wisconsin fix the budget deficit?

Government budget a complex mechanism

Wisconsin is stuck in a scene from "It's a Wonderful Life." People are demanding their money, and George Bailey explains that the money isn't in the Savings and Loan, it's invested.

Government is not a grocery store where the taxpayers pick what they want. It is a complex system of money and policy that creates a better life for the "whole."

Modern budgeting recognizes that dealing with money absent of public policy, goals and priorities creates a half system. It fails in creating any functional economic or social outcome.

Money in and money out is how Wisconsin state budgets have balanced since 1848 when our constitution was adopted. Has anyone questioned whether the structure of state and local government is working? Has anyone noticed that we are at an economic disadvantage?

The fact is that most of us know something isn't working, but don't know what to do about it. Modern budgeting only comes from a conversation of who we are and what we want from government -- then creating a system that can move us forward.

-- Edward J. Huck, Sun Prairie

Institute referendum for new taxes, spending

Enough with the never-ending tax hikes and spending in Wisconsin. The people who reside in this once-great state need to start a rebellion.

Look at Texas, which took a several billion dollar deficit and turned it into a several billion dollar surplus by cutting taxes and attracting businesses.

Wisconsin's leaders apparently failed Econ 101. The latest budget proposal is a crime; the governor and Legislature should be sued for gross dereliction of duty. They are so fond of lining the pockets of the lawyer lobby that they should appreciate the irony.

In all seriousness, it's time to vote them out and pass a constitutional amendment requiring a referendum to pass any new taxes and spending.

-- Wendy Dohl, Stoughton

Taxing oil company profits won't work

One of the proposals advanced by Gov. Jim Doyle and the Democrat-controlled Legislature to close the over $6 billion budget deficit is to tax oil company profits.

Setting aside the complexity of calculating profits generated in Wisconsin and the fact that some of the proposal's terms may be unconstitutional, the bill challenges credibility when they say they will place the proceeds in a segregated fund for construction and repair of roads, bridges and other transportation infrastructure.

Wisconsin already has a segregated transportation fund, but the governor and Legislature have borrowed over a billion dollars from it since 2003 to balance the general budget.

If history is a guide, we will borrow the money and spend it on watershed initiatives, children's museums, stocking lakes with fish and funding state Supreme Court elections.

In the process, the state (that's us, folks) will charge itself (again, us) interest on the borrowed money. Seemingly, this is all done to make the oil profit tax easier to sell to the public. Do the girls and boys in Mad City really think we are that dumb? Maybe a better question is, are we?

-- Thomas P. Ackerman, Fort Atkinson

Delete policy items and all earmarks

There are three basic things to be done to clean up our state government:

• Remove all policy considerations from the current budget and show integrity by acting on policy items prior to adopting the budget.

• Remove all earmarks -- every one -- from the budget document.

• At the next election, remove from office every "ear marker" who has shown a tendency to be dishonest or to hide actions from the public. This clean-up should include the governor's office if deemed appropriate.

-- Walt Hannan, Livingston

Drop the RTA and scale back the DNR

First, eliminate non-budgetary items like a regional transit authority, which amounts to taxation without representation and could be unconstitutional.

Second, examine that behemoth -- the Department of Natural Resources. They have "managed" our deer herd to the point of them being vermin. Deer now appear in southern urban areas where they weren't seen before, bringing with them the wild predators that feed on them.

And surely there is better use for our tax dollars than paying government employees to ride around our lakes in the summer measuring piers.

-- Ben Logterman, Madison

Distorted liability law is especially disturbing

The return of the Legislature's budget writing committee to the bad old practice of writing policy changes into the draft instead of debating them on their merits is indeed disappointing.

Particularly troubling is the proposed distortion of Wisconsin's liability law. Just as our legislators should make the punishment fit the crime, they should make liability reflect responsibility.

-- David W. Cole, Baraboo

Many minor tweaks add up to major change

Here are a few ideas regarding fixing the state budget:

• Put a higher tax on vehicles with a price tag of over, say, $40,000 (unless used for business), and charge those owners more to register their vehicles. Or put a higher tax on vehicles that don't get a certain number of miles per gallon.

• Raise cost of tickets for offenses like drunken driving, underage drinking, reckless driving and driving at high speeds -- anything driving-related that is likely to cause serious accidents.

• Require prisoners to work (now it is optional). Why should the rest of us have to pay for them to sit idle? I don't mean taking jobs from others, but make them plant and grow trees, or knit scarves, sweaters and blankets for the homeless and unemployed. Less dangerous prisoners could help fix properties of those who would not be able to otherwise afford it.

• Place a slightly higher tax on recreational vehicles such as ATVs, boats, motor homes, etc.

• Require bigger fines for companies that pollute the environment.

All these are minor things, but it's going to take a lot of minor things to make a change in our budget.

-- Caryn Moy, Madison

Trim all programs except basic services

If I were Wisconsin's governor, I'd stop any spending that could wait until our economy improves, for example, a high speed train system. That may be a bad investment anyway.

Next, their would be no special interest groups wasting my staff's time. Everyone in my cabinet would have to make cuts in the help that they get for work they could do themselves. Also I would have term limits put on all state offices -- no incumbents to return to the same old things.

I would check our yearly spending habits and make cuts to programs like vehicle purchase for the state. Items in the budget like schools and basic services would get what they needed to run and keep our children ahead of everyone else.

I would have a group of volunteers to report to me and the public where our tax money is going -- that's called fiscal responsibility. I would also have an Internet site for suggestions and comments.

Any road or building projects would have at least five bids for the work to be done to create competition and lower bids. No more buddy system.

Big, fat government cannot run as well as lean, honest government does. Trim all spending everywhere except where we need it for our citizens and their children.

-- Randy Ree, Stoughton

Need major changes in law enforcement, DOC

This economic crisis, the worst since the Great Depression, makes it difficult to balance any budget. However, our state and county board are still deep in denial, trying short-term fixes to long-term problems and hoping for a quick end to the recession. The secrecy around the budget is also very troubling.

One can't balance the budget entirely on the Department of Corrections, but the DOC is a great place to start because we spend a half billion dollars more on DOC than Minnesota does, for less satisfactory results.

The DOC has become the third largest item in the Wisconsin budge, and sheriff's departments are the largest users of local tax dollars in many counties.

Public safety is much more than law enforcement and incarceration. Many other public services that are under-funded do more to protect health and save lives than law enforcement does.

When one department fails to provide value as DOC has failed to do, it ought to have its budges reduced in proportion to its growth, leaving more resources to the services that provide more value for the dollars they use.

-- Tom Kriegl, Baraboo, member, Sauk County Board

We must stop being a California look-alike

Terminate 10 percent of all public employees and institute a cross-training program. Give terminated employees six months of health care; contributions to benefits terminate, including pensions. This would include the University of Wisconsin.

Do not proceed with providing benefits to gay and lesbian partners. This would and should include heterosexual couples living together. This cost should not be borne by taxpayers.

Consider toll roads from the Illinois to the Minnesota borders. If implemented, this should be self-supporting with minimum bureaucracy. Omit support for light rail projects.

Consider legislative term limits of two four-year terms, with benefits ceasing when the term ends. No employment as a lobbyist for a period of two years after leaving state government.

Let's not make Wisconsin a sanctuary state for illegal immigrants who should not be eligible for any city, county or state benefits. These folks should be deported. There should be special term visas for harvest seasons, as has been a practice for years. No special language classes until they are citizens.

The influence of organized labor will be an obstructive force to change, but these are necessary changes to avoid additional taxes. It's time to bite the bullet - we don't want to be a California look-alike anymore.

-- Donald G. Knapp, Madison

Try short-term and long-term approaches

In order to meet the financial challenges facing the state, we must take a short- and long-term approach. For the short term:

• Declare a tax holiday -- no penalties for paying back taxes.

• Sell bonds to the general public, like certificates of deposit in the 3 percent to 4 percent range, with values from $100 to $1000. Some could be targeted for a need, like education, conservation, health training, etc.

• Increase logging and planting of the states forests. Sell rocks, gravel, sand, and other natural resources off of state land.

Long-term approaches could include:

• Heavier enforcement of existing tax laws in the future.

• Encourage volunteers to assist with all types of state service programs that may be impacted by budget cuts, such as park maintenance, road cleaning, elderly care, food pantries, adopt a neighborhood, etc.

• More part-time and seasonal state hires to save year-round costs, with lower pay until proven results are shown.

There are many common sense actions the public could take if encouraged.

-- Mark A. McCormick, Spring Green

Wisconsin must stop catering to freeloaders

Fixing the budget deficit is easy. Quit giving taxpayer money to people who refuse to work.

Stop buying bus passes for kids who ride the bus two blocks to school -- I know because I give them the rides. They also ride around the city while they should be in school.

Stop the free lunch program. You should see these kids and how many of them are obese.

Finally, we should cut the administrative dead weight that takes up so much money. What do they do besides thinking up new ways to take more money from us anyway?

-- Tim Lovick, Madison