Hours after winning election as Wisconsin governor, Republican Scott Walker began work on what may prove a harder task — following through on his campaign promises. There were a lot of them, and most involve cutting taxes when Wisconsin is already facing a $2.7 billion budget shortfall over the next two years. Todd Berry, president of the Taxpayers Alliance, said Walker needs to think big and rework the most expensive state programs — school aid, Medicaid, university funding and the prison system — to move the state forward in a more sustainable way. Without change, the state must increase school aid or local property taxes will go up 6 percent to 8 percent, Berry said. Tuition at the University of Wisconsin also is likely to go up, and there?s not enough money to sustain Medicaid and the prison system.
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