Quad City Times - Gov. Walker Touts Wisconsin Record

Op-Ed

By Gov. Scott Walker

Some like to talk about growth by discussing trends and statistics, but I want to talk about what is really at stake -- the prospects and dreams of real people.

We need to free up our economy and allow the American people to do what we have always done: out-work, out-invent and out-compete every other nation on Earth.

And while there's no shortage of talk about how to bring about economic growth, particularly in Washington, some states have already seen results by enacting common sense reforms that allow Americans to do what we do best.

With that in mind, I want to share with you some of the things we've done in Wisconsin to move our state forward.

Like many Midwestern states, Wisconsin's economy is driven by agriculture and manufacturing. And like the rest of the nation, we were hard hit in the recession -- manufacturers left the state, and farmers were struggling. The state lost 130,000 jobs and 27,000 businesses. Families were hurting.

We knew that in order to get our economy back on track, and get people back on the job, we needed to reduce the tax burden. We cut taxes across the board for Wisconsin families and eliminated an entire bracket. We cut property taxes over the past four years -- which especially helps young families, seniors and farmers. And we also cut taxes on agriculture and manufacturing. In all, we enacted over $2 billion in tax cuts in four years.

Today, Wisconsin has added 150,000 jobs, property taxes are lower than they were four years ago, last month we were second in the nation in manufacturing job creation and our farm exports are at a record high.

In fact, our agricultural exports were up 13.6 percent last year -- an increase nearly three times the rate for total U.S. agricultural exports.

Common-sense tax reforms work when they put money back into the hands of taxpayers. They've worked in Wisconsin, and in other states that have also boosted their employment and their economies by reducing the tax burden on hardworking taxpayers.

We're making great strides in Wisconsin, but when I talk to business owners, I often hear that they can't find workers with skills for the jobs they want to fill. Like many states, we have a skills gap.

That's why we invested $180 million in developing our workforce -- to close that gap and get people trained for the jobs employers are looking to fill. And we've partnered with our technical colleges and businesses to provide flexibility and target funding to train more workers in high-demand fields.

It's also why, for able-bodied adults without children who are on public assistance, Wisconsin requires job training. Some have said that job training makes it harder to get public assistance, but in truth, it makes it easier to get a job.

Quality training and a solid education are vital components of wage growth and economic mobility. And the affordability of that education is an important consideration, especially for families whose children are heading to college. That's why our last budget committed the highest level of need-based financial aid in state history, and froze tuition at the University of Wisconsin for two years. Our current budget continues the tuition freeze for another two years.

And finally, in order to really free up our economy, we must put an end to stifling financial, environmental and other regulations. This red tape only serves to increase costs for established businesses and prevent new ones from being formed.

In Wisconsin we instituted streamlined permitting processes, ensured bureaucrats consult with the businesses and people they are regulating, and encouraged business growth by deterring lawsuit abuse.

While liberals in Washington seek to pit one group of Americans against another, we want to help everyone get the education and skills that they need to succeed. We want everyone who wants a job to get a job. We want to help everyone to live their piece of the American Dream!

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