Finally complete state budget has wrong priorities for Wisconsin

They must be exhausted. Members of the Wisconsin Legislature finally wrapped up their work to complete a new state budget. Two and a half months after that work was due to be completed. And once again, our lawmakers took shortcuts, passed pet projects, and put off the difficult decisions. Those we send to Madison have struggled for years to plug the huge hole in the state’s transportation budget. But once again, rather than figure out how to fix it, they simply put hundreds of millions of dollars in road spending on a credit card. That will cost us more in interest, and put off a number of needed road projects. In this latest budget, lawmakers continue their assault on local communities, taking away local decisions on quarries and recreational trails. The budget does nothing to help working families, but does find $4 million for airport improvements so rich guys can play golf in Wisconsin Rapids. Although Wisconsin is last in the nation in business startups, this budget does nothing to help entrepreneurship. And the state is going all in on Foxconn, providing the largest government giveaway to a private foreign company ever. It is good our lawmakers can go back to their districts with their work completed. They have done enough damage as it is.