The facts have been overshadowed by rhetoric at the Wisconsin Capitol, where protesters and politicians have been engaged in a tense standoff over the governor?s proposal to strip most public employees of their collective-bargaining rights. Gov. Scott Walker insists the state is broke and must make drastic spending cuts. Walker says his plan is needed to ease a deficit that is projected to hit $137 million by July and $3.6 billion by mid-2013. Not raising taxes and not tapping federal aid leaves Walker with few alternatives other than reducing the money the state gives to schools and local governments or reducing Medicaid to the extent allowed under federal law. Aid to schools and local governments is more than half of the entire state budget. Medical assistance programs are 9 percent, as is funding for the state prison system and money for the University of Wisconsin system. Walker won?t make cuts to the prisons, but he?s expected to make deep reductions in higher education.
Office of Strategic Communication