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Scott Walker on Welfare & Poverty |
For those living above poverty, we transition them into the marketplace. I believe Medicaid is for those living in poverty, and our goal should be to help lift more and more people out of the depths of economic despair.
Our Wisconsin Plan is unique as we are able to cover everyone living in poverty, reduce the number of uninsured, and still not expose Wisconsin taxpayers to the uncertain potential cost of the federal Medicaid expansion.
Helping more people transition from government dependence to true independence is not only good for the taxpayers, it is good for employers, too. Most importantly, it is good for the people, who can now control their own lives and their own destinies.
Today, thanks to these reforms, the $3.6 billion deficit we inherited has turned into more than a half-billion-dollar surplus. Unemployment is down. Our bond rating is solid. For the first time in state history, we set aside money in 2 consecutive years for the rainy day fund. And WI's pension system is the only one in the country that is fully funded.
Seems like common sense, right?
At the end of 2012, I notified the federal government that Wisconsin would no longer be asking for that waiver. Instead, we established a training program for the 75,878 food stamp recipients in our state who are childless, able-bodied, working-age adults. Today, these individuals need to be either working part-time or signed up for one of our employment training programs in order to receive food stamps.
The new program is part of a $100 million plan to expand and revitalize workforce development in Wisconsin.