UW-L Professor Emeritus, Dr. Heim, sees bipartisan compromise on Wisconsin spending plan

Coming together to find common ground isn’t a thing thought of much in Wisconsin politics, but one political scientist thinks it can happen.

Despite a Democratic governor and Republican-controlled Legislature, UW-La Crosse Professor Emeritus Dr. Joe Heim, thinks the two parties can reach an agreement on spending plan.

“The governor is proposing a couple hundred million dollars more for local governments, and the Republicans are proposing less, but they’re still proposing a certain amount of money,” Heim told WIZM’s La Crosse Talk on Monday. “So, the result is, if one wants $300 million more and the other wants $100 million more, they can compromise in between.”

Heim added that if the legislature gives some of the $7.1 billion budget surplus to local governments, the Republicans will want to control how that money is spent.

Although government waste is a concern for many voters, Heim said the amount of wasteful spending depends on the level of government. He argues that citizens will find less waste at the local level than in state or federal government.

Heim think Gov. Tony Evers and Republican lawmakers ought to find agreement as long as they’re both willing to give money to cities and counties.