State lawmakers once again faced a tough job with few easy answers when Gov. Jim Doyle handed them his state budget request four months ago.
Credit the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee for resisting a borrowing binge and for slapping Doyle’s hand when he reached for pots of money he shouldn’t touch.
The committee’s worst decision was to tinker with tax cuts instead of investing more money in the University of Wisconsin System and public schools. These institutions educate tomorrow’s workforce and, in the case of UW, prime the economy with dynamic research and spin-off, high-salary businesses.