Tom Barrett on Budget & Economy Former Democratic Representative (WI-5)

Put Madison on a diet: trim budget without raising taxes

BARRETT: It's true that we have a pending budget deficit of $2.7 billion. So this is not the time to raise taxes. It is certainly the time to cut state spending and I've put forth a plan to put Wisconsin and Madison on a diet. That includes consolidating the ability for local and state employees to purchase health insurance, eliminating the office of Secretary of State, and cracking down on Medicaid fraud. Those are places where I know we can cut spending and that's what I'm looking for. In terms of taxes, I'm not looking to raise any taxes because I think particularly in the first budget, our focus has to be on doing everything we can to get our budget under control.

WALKER: We're going to push a growth agenda, by easing their tax burden, easing their regulatory and litigation burden