Gov. Walker’s common-sense budget proposal

Collective bargaining for government unions, which has been a key factor in driving up pension and benefits costs, will be ended except for salary negotiations. Government employees will get to vote each year on whether or not to keep their union. Fourteen Democratic state senators fled the state to Illinois, hindering any chance for Governor Scott Walker to hold a vote to fix the state’s multi-billion dollar budget deficit.  

From the venomous, shrill reaction of government unions and their allies on the Left, one would think Governor Walker’s proposal portends the end of western civilization.

In fact, the Governor’s budget proposal seeks to end a projected $3.6 billion budget shortfall while also bringing government union salaries, benefits and pensions into line with what Wisconsin taxpayers in the private sector have. Wisconsin families in the private sector have lost jobs, seen their hours reduced and often their pay or benefits cut. They’ve had to tighten their belts. They know it’s time for the government unions to tighten theirs’.

Last November, the people of Wisconsin overwhelmingly elected new Republican majorities in both chambers of the legislature. The dominant issue in Wisconsin was government spending that is limiting job growth and driving up taxes and spending to unsustainable levels. Now, these Republican majorities are poised to pass Governor Walker’s budget proposal. But, 14 Democrat state senators — in the schoolyard equivalent of “if I cannot win I’ll take my ball and go home or to Illinois” – have fled the state to stop the budget from being passed into law.

Last Saturday, Americans for Prosperity joined literally thousands of grassroots activists in supporting Governor Walker and the state senate Republicans in their attempt to bring back fiscal sanity to the great state of Wisconsin. I was at the state capitol that day as government union activists joined by President Obama’s Organizing for America campaign apparatus marched, chanted, banged drums and jeered the Governor and anyone who supports his courageous effort.

President Obama himself has said that we have to face “tough choices” when it comes to handling budget constraints. Then, he turns and brazenly attacks Governor Walker for some supposed “assault” on unions. Mr. President, respectfully we say to you, instead of attacking a state governor for balancing his own state’s budget, go back to Washington, DC and get rid of the $1.6 trillion budget deficit that your own federal budget promises.

Many on the Left have falsely accused Americans for Prosperity of supposedly swooping into Wisconsin to join some kind of conspiratorial attack on government unions. They ignore the facts. On a freezing cold January day in 2005, I met with 15 intrepid grassroots activists in Milwaukee as we founded the Wisconsin chapter of Americans for Prosperity. We hired staff in the state and steadily organized grassroots chapters to support economic prosperity in the state.

We held our first Madison rally in 2008 to oppose then Governor Doyle’s budget that raised taxes and increased the size of government there.  Ironically, Wisconsin government unions protested us that day as well as thousands of their members took a day off at taxpayer expense to attack us for opposing tax increases! From that first meeting with 15 activists in 2005, the Wisconsin chapter of Americans for Prosperity has grown today to over 73,000 activists who are committed to taking their state in a new direction.

And on behalf of these 73,000 Wisconsin citizens, we laud Governor Walker’s leadership on this issue and call on legislators of both political parties to do what is responsible for state taxpayers.

These 14 Democrat state senators, who are hiding out in Illinois to protect their key political allies the government unions, are an outdated symbol of special interest politics in defense of big government policies that voters have resoundingly rejected.

Tim Phillips is the President of Americans for Prosperity.