Democrats in Madison were in such a rush to pass one secret deal after another during the budget deliberations that they often voted on packages they had not read.
We’ve worked hard to keep you up to speed with what was happening, mostly behind closed doors, in Madison.
The Conference Committee secret deal didn’t even have the benefit of full vetting by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau before members were forced to vote on it. Fiscal Bureau Director Bob Lang had to resort to augmenting his quick write up with a verbal briefing and best-guess snapshot of the fiscal bottom line.
Now that the awful Budget has passed and has been signed into law by Governor Doyle, the LFB has completed its analysis and we can see the full picture.
It isn’t pretty folks.
So, let’s do the math…
$3.63b increased spending
$2.05b increased taxes, fees, enhanced collections
$3.58b of borrowing
$1.50b allowable local property tax hike
+ $2.05b of a structural deficit
$12.81 billion worth of bad
Moreover, legislative leaders traded in their green eye shades for rose-colored glasses.
This budget is built on overly-optimistic predictions of economic growth in Wisconsin over the next two years.
Given that their economic forecasting has been as poor as their fiscal discipline, The MacIver Institute asks: