The state has partnered with the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association to produce and distribute brief radio address once a week. Audio files and a written transcript of this radio address can be accessed online. To download an mp3 file you can visit Walker's website, right click the radio address link and click “save link as.”
Here is the transcript from this Thursday’s radio address, which is titled State of Our State.
Hi, this is Scott Walker.
On Wednesday, I reported on the State of our State.
We looked back to last January and remembered that during the three years before I took office, Wisconsin lost 150,000 private-sector jobs. The unemployment rate a year ago was 7.5 percent. And after years of tax increases and budget tricks, Wisconsin faced one of the largest budget deficits in the country.
Now, our unemployment rate is down from a year ago. In fact, it's the lowest it’s been since 2008.
During the past year, we added thousands of new jobs. And we balanced the state budget. In fact, we balanced it -- without raising taxes; without massive layoffs; and without budget tricks; all of which allowed us to put more than $1.2 billion of new state money into Medicaid programs like Badgercare and FamilyCare.
Not only did we invest in important programs, but we also protected the taxpayers. Property taxes across the state are the best they’ve been in 15 years, and the K-12 property tax rates are down for the first time in years.
In my State of the State address we laid out plans to help the people of Wisconsin create more jobs, to keep our budget balanced and to insure that every kid in the state has access to a great education. A year from now, I hope that I can report on how these plans helped improve the lives of all of our citizens in this great state.
Working together, we can move Wisconsin forward.
- Mark Maley, Regional Editor
$$andSense - Mighty tough words for someone who's quoted as having said earlier: "Are you 12 years old or reading comprehension challenged? Dope smoking and acid dropping will do that to your brain sir." Just make sure to thoroughly wash the bong after you've used it! BTW - Hoffa is 100% drug and alcohol free. Many on Patch can confirm this as being true! Have a great evening, as I'm sure you're dead tired after a long hard day of being productive, unlike the rest of us knuckleheads!
1st Amendment doesn't apply here. Patch is a privately owned website and has a 'terms of service' limited use license that all commentators must agree to before being allowed to post here. If the editors, such as Mark, deem that certain comments don't live up to those terms, then they will delete them. Case closed. For further confirmation of this policy, just ask poor old Angry White Dude, if he's even around any more. Pretty simple, yes? BTW - Welcome to the internet!
And yeah, I know that you never called us 'knuckleheads,' that's a term that I reserve for those who constantly go back and forth on Patch without any sort of resolve - including myself! I try to stay away from calling names, so if I've offended you in any way, I do apologize for that, as it wasn't ever intended to be personal. Cheers!
And are you peeing your pants again?
Just so we're perfectly clear, it's important to you that we immediately implement the deep spending cuts and significant tax increases necessary to wipe out the states long term debt estimated at approximately $6 billion over the next two years. If Scott Walker keeps those promises by every means possible you are thereafter 100 percent in the tank for him?
Adam, I'm on record as calling for a measured, multi-year approach to resolving our state's fiscal issues. Right now we're "throwing the baby out with the bathwater" so to speak. I can't support Scott Walker in his present course, cutting education etc., and because I can't accept "we're broke" while millions are spent on pet projects that aren't "his" because he's following a multi-state agenda.
Rest in bed, drink plenty of liquids and call your doc in the morning. You should be back to your old self soon. hehehehehe ;-) knucklehead :-) LOL
Town of Hudson property taxes increased overall by 6.9% from 2010 to 2011 for residential properties that had identical assessed values in 2011 and 2010. The percentage increase in property taxes for specific purposes from 2010 is shown on the 2011 property tax bill (state portion +1.8%, St. Croix County portion +8.0%, Town of Hudson portion +0.1%, Hudson School District portion +7.5%, and WITC portion +5.4%). The decrease in state aids for specific purposes from 2010 is shown on the 2011 property tax bill (-7% for St. Croix County, -7.3% for Town of Hudson, -6.7% for Hudson School District, and -30.6% for WITC). The facts are that property taxes went up in the Town of Hudson in 2011 as a result of Governor Walker's "reforms".
Governor Walker has repeatedly asserted claims about his accomplishments that are factually inaccurate. For example, regarding the state budget he is quoted in the article above as saying: "we balanced it -- without raising taxes . . . and without budget tricks". But fact-checking reveals that Governor Walker's claims are false. The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau classified the changes made to the Homestead Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit as $69.8 million in tax increases, totaled the $133 million fee increases, found the $400 million in fund shifting, and calculated that the state will have a deficit of $3 billion by 2012-13. You can make your own analysis, but not your own facts. (See, 11/16/11, PolitiFact, at http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/promises/walk-o-meter/promise/561/require-use-of-accepted-accounting-principles-to-b/; Budget in Brief, Table 7 on page 33, at http://www.doa.state.wi.us/debf/pdf_files/bib1113.pdf; 11/17/11, PolitiFact, at http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/promises/walk-o-meter/promise/563/never-raid-special-state-funds-for-other-program/; 7/1/11, PolitiFact, at http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2011/jul/01/jeff-fitzgerald/no-fee-increases-wisconsins-2011-13-state-budget-w/; 12/12/11, PolitiFact, at http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/article/2011/dec/12/inside-walker-tax-debate-ws-budget-increase-or-cut/)
So far in this thread Celeste has (wrongly) said Walker's budget repair bill caused property taxes to go up, raised taxes and fees, raided special funds, failed to create jobs and either balanced the budget using gimmicks or not balanced the budget using generally accepted accounting principles (you pick it.) Jim Doyle and the democrat's bread and butter was raising taxes, raiding segregated funds and adding to our future liabilities. I guarantee you Celeste has absolutely no issues with anything done by the tax and spend democrats over the last 8 years. We can debate if redistributing income from one group of Wisconsin citizens to another at tax time (called the Earned Income Credit) is pure socialism or just welfare and if taking it away is a "tax increase" but the hypocrisy remains the same. For the Celeste's of the world there will always be another problem or injustice to fund with other people's money; there is no amount of income confiscation they consider "fair."
He(walker) did say that they were running a 3 Billion deficit. This after he claimed a $300million surplus. This after having a $3 Billion deficit. I get confused, which is it?
I like that you use an atheist fiction writer to support the right wing religious political beliefs. I am not trying to discredit him, I just might use his quotes to defeat jesus loving political movements.
When Walker first took office the estimated cash shortfall was about $3 billion, after his budget reforms the state's general fund probably showed a $300 million surplus while the Comprehensive Annual Fiscal Report (CAFR) prepared by the legislative audit bureau using GAAP showed approximately a $3 billion deficit. To keep things in perspective the state's financial statements have been in the red ever since it began using GAAP in 1989.
I would liken your quote of this fictional writer to that of those who quote the bible on "an eye for an eye". The greater works as a whole might be more important. Or maybe, its just plain outdated.
Gov Walker will prevail and his ideas and direction will move Wisconsin forward.