Scott Walker in 2015 Governor's State of the State speeches

On Budget & Economy: Wisconsin Comeback: lower unemployment and lower tax burden

The Wisconsin Comeback is working. There are now 7,600 more private sector jobs in Wisconsin than there were before the recession. The unemployment rate that peaked at 9.2% in January of 2010 is now down to 5.2%. Trends show it will continue to drop this year. Budget reforms over the past four years reduced the burden on the hard-working taxpayers of this state by $2 billion.

On Education: Choose schools based on objective info, not Common Core

No need for bureaucrats or politicians to make that choice--I trust parents. Give them access to objective information and they will make the choice that is best for their children.

And speaking of what is best for our students, I call on the members of the state Legislature to pass legislation making it crystal clear that no school district in the state is required to use Common Core standards. Going forward, I want to eliminate any requirement to use Common Core.

On Education: Over past 4 years, graduation rates & ACT scores are up

We empowered local school boards to hire and fire based on merit and pay based on performance, so they can keep the best and the brightest in the classroom. And it's working.

Over the past four years, graduation rates are up. Third grade reading scores are up. ACT scores are up--and Wisconsin now ranks 2nd in the country.

On Energy & Oil: Lawsuit against new energy regulations: save jobs & rates

According to recent reports, we could lose tens of thousands of jobs in our region, and ratepayers could see an increase of up to 29 percent. We will fight to protect Wisconsin's hard-working families.

Instead of fighting with states like Wisconsin, the federal government should work with us to find reasonable alternatives. We can be both environmentally and economically sustainable.

On Foreign Policy: Terrorists are cowards who are afraid of freedom

They are afraid of those who have the freedom of the press. They are afraid of freedom of speech. They are afraid of freedom of religion. Tonight, we must stand together--Democrat and Republican--and denounce those who wish to threaten freedom anywhere in this world. We need to proclaim that an attack against freedom-loving people anywhere is an attack against us all. And we will not allow it. When we take a stand, we will make it easier to work for freedom and prosperity--right here in Wisconsin.

On Homeland Security: Support for our military transcends partisan differences

Here in America, support for our military transcends those same differences. That wasn't always the case, but thankfully, we learned from our past transgressions. We support our men and women in uniform and we thank our veterans. Red, white, and blue runs even deeper.

On Tax Reform: Reduced property taxes by $141 in 4 years; more coming

If property taxes had grown over the past four years at the rate they did between 2006 and 2010, a typical homeowner would have paid $385 more in property taxes this past December. Over the last four years combined, the cumulative difference is more than $800. That's real money.

We heard you loud and clear. Thanks for all of the nice notes and emails and calls to tell us how your property taxes went down. My pledge to you is that property taxes four years from now will be lower than they were in 2014. We reduced income and employer taxes, too. And we started taking less out of paychecks for withholding last April, so you could keep more of your hard-earned money.