another good article
i love the shepherd..
Fun With Numbers
You can write the state budget, too
By Lisa Kaiser
While the 1,000-page state budget isn’t exactly our idea of beach reading, it should be required reading for all Wisconsin residents. It’s the $50 billion spending and saving blueprint for the next two years, and affects everything from school breakfasts to payouts for new roads. Since you probably haven’t read the budget, we scoured the document for some of the most pressing issues. Then we ask: How would you write the budget?
Question 1:
Southeastern Wisconsin is turning into a mess of unchecked development, decaying infrastructure and environmental problems. To help ensure that communities plan their growth wisely, do you:
A. Provide state funds to local communities so that they can create thoughtful development plans.
B. Kill the existing Smart Growth program, so local communities must go it alone.
If you answered A, you agree with Democratic legislators that the successful Smart Growth program developed during the Thompson administration is best for the state. If you answered B, the Republican legislature is on your side. And guess what-at the moment we’re stuck with Dumb Growth because Republicans killed the Smart Growth program.
Question 2:
Why did Rep. Scott Jensen (R-Waukesha) issue a press release with the headline “The Largest Stewardship Purchase in State History”?
A. Because he voted to provide more money to the bipartisan-supported Stewardship Fund so that it may preserve more land for state parks and forests, recreation and environmental reasons.
B. Because he read George Orwell’s 1984 and learned to distort reality. Jensen is now forcing the Stewardship Fund to buy land that is currently already owned by the state. This, in effect, would tie up all the money in the Stewardship Fund for the next decade so that it would not be able to acquire new land that needs to be preserved.
If you answered B, you’re right. The Stewardship Fund must now buy land already in the state’s possession.
Question 3:
Wildlife poaching is a problem in the state. Plus, Wisconsin has a shortage of game wardens to make sure that sportsmen enjoy safe hunting and fishing. Do you:
A. Delete five warden positions and the funding for their salaries.
B. Delete five warden positions and funding for their salaries, but, after many complaints from hunters and fishermen, add back in the positions but not the money to pay the salaries.
If you answered A or B, then you, too, can be a Republican.
Question 4:
You like to hunt wild turkeys, waterfowl and Great Lakes trout and salmon. To do so, you must purchase an additional stamp for your license. That money goes into an account that’s set up exclusively for projects for those specific species. Right now there’s a surplus for these projects. Do you:
A. Keep the money where it is. If wild turkey hunters or salmon catchers paid the money, they should benefit.
B. Transfer the money to another account.
C. Transfer the money to another account and then, when sportsmen complain, raid an environmental and recycling account to try to repair the damage.
If you answered B or C, you’re on your way to being a Republican.
Question 5:
The state and federal governments partially reimburse schools for offering free or reduced-priced breakfasts to “nutritionally needy” kids. Since Wisconsin is dead last in the proportion of schools that offer these breakfasts and dead last for the proportion of low-income kids who receive school breakfasts, do you:
A. Provide more funding so that more low-income kids can eat breakfast, the most important meal of the day.
B. Sleep well at night knowing that all of Wisconsin’s low-income kids aren’t provided with free or low-cost breakfasts at school.
If you answered A, you agree with Gov. Jim Doyle. Unfortunately, those who prefer solution B won, and kids from low-income families will remain “nutritionally needy” in Wisconsin.
Question 6:
The school choice program in Milwaukee is a giant experiment in which voucher schools receive state money and enjoy little oversight from the government. Since you want to promote excellence in these schools, do you:
A. Require that voucher school teachers have a high school diploma or an equivalent degree.
B. Leave well enough alone.
If you answered A, then you have Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee) to thank. If you answered B, then you are content to use taxpayer dollars to pay for teachers who aren’t required to have a high school diploma.
Question 7:
The child welfare system in Milwaukee was so bad that in 2002 the federal court ordered the Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) to provide better services. DHFS must attain specific outcomes on or before Jan. 1, 2006, just a few months away. Do you:
A. Provide more money for training and support of foster parents, caseworker retention, domestic violence services for families and the creation of an ombudsman to look into complaints.
B. Pick out just one new program to fund, in this case a family safety program, and disregard the other offers on the table.
If you think Plan B will work, hopefully you’re right, because that’s the only new foster care program that will receive additional funding. Gov. Doyle proposed option A.
Question 8:
Landfills charge a “tipping fee” to garbage haulers when they dump their trash. If we charge a low fee, we encourage haulers from Illinois to use Wisconsin as their dump. As a lawmaker, would you:
A. Leave well enough alone.
B. Reduce the tipping fee, which not only makes Wisconsin a more attractive dumping ground for other states’ garbage, but also reduces the amount of money that funds recycling programs created by counties and cities.
Bring on the trash, Illinois. Plan B, the Republicans’ choice, made it into the budget.
Question 9:
According to the Governor’s Task Force on Educational Excellence, the state should begin a program to help schools develop 4-year-old kindergarten (4K) classes, since they have a significant effect on a child’s future learning. Do you:
A. Find $3 million for 4K students.
B. Deny the appropriation, forcing school districts to depend on local referendums for more cash.
If you think option A is wise, then you agree with Gov. Doyle. If you agree with the other option, then you and the Assembly Republicans agree that schools can fend for themselves when finding money for 4K.
Question 10:
Republicans decried what they saw as excessive spending in Gov. Doyle’s version of the budget. Yet Republicans in the Joint Finance Committee actually increased the spending for this program over what Doyle had recommended:
A. Projects that develop environmentally friendly power plants.
B. A statewide health care plan.
C. Health benefits for gay and straight partners of UW system employees.
D. Various transportation projects (excluding the popular Hiawatha line that runs from Milwaukee to Chicago).
The correct answer is D. Republicans decided to shoot the works when coming up with money for the transportation industry, which has well-paid lobbyists.
Bonus question:
Republicans claimed that they had to alter Doyle’s budget so that they could provide Wisconsin residents with property tax relief. And they did. According to estimates, the average homeowner will receive how much of a tax break:
A. Enough money to redecorate a living room.
B. Extra dollars to offset the rising cost of gas.
C. The cost of spending the weekend in the Dells or Door County.
D. Admission to Summerfest.
If you answered D, you’re close. Adult admission to Summerfest is $12, while the estimated property tax break in the Republicans’ plan is $11.
http://www.shepherd-express.com/newsandviews.htm
Fun With Numbers
You can write the state budget, too
By Lisa Kaiser
While the 1,000-page state budget isn’t exactly our idea of beach reading, it should be required reading for all Wisconsin residents. It’s the $50 billion spending and saving blueprint for the next two years, and affects everything from school breakfasts to payouts for new roads. Since you probably haven’t read the budget, we scoured the document for some of the most pressing issues. Then we ask: How would you write the budget?
Question 1:
Southeastern Wisconsin is turning into a mess of unchecked development, decaying infrastructure and environmental problems. To help ensure that communities plan their growth wisely, do you:
A. Provide state funds to local communities so that they can create thoughtful development plans.
B. Kill the existing Smart Growth program, so local communities must go it alone.
If you answered A, you agree with Democratic legislators that the successful Smart Growth program developed during the Thompson administration is best for the state. If you answered B, the Republican legislature is on your side. And guess what-at the moment we’re stuck with Dumb Growth because Republicans killed the Smart Growth program.
Question 2:
Why did Rep. Scott Jensen (R-Waukesha) issue a press release with the headline “The Largest Stewardship Purchase in State History”?
A. Because he voted to provide more money to the bipartisan-supported Stewardship Fund so that it may preserve more land for state parks and forests, recreation and environmental reasons.
B. Because he read George Orwell’s 1984 and learned to distort reality. Jensen is now forcing the Stewardship Fund to buy land that is currently already owned by the state. This, in effect, would tie up all the money in the Stewardship Fund for the next decade so that it would not be able to acquire new land that needs to be preserved.
If you answered B, you’re right. The Stewardship Fund must now buy land already in the state’s possession.
Question 3:
Wildlife poaching is a problem in the state. Plus, Wisconsin has a shortage of game wardens to make sure that sportsmen enjoy safe hunting and fishing. Do you:
A. Delete five warden positions and the funding for their salaries.
B. Delete five warden positions and funding for their salaries, but, after many complaints from hunters and fishermen, add back in the positions but not the money to pay the salaries.
If you answered A or B, then you, too, can be a Republican.
Question 4:
You like to hunt wild turkeys, waterfowl and Great Lakes trout and salmon. To do so, you must purchase an additional stamp for your license. That money goes into an account that’s set up exclusively for projects for those specific species. Right now there’s a surplus for these projects. Do you:
A. Keep the money where it is. If wild turkey hunters or salmon catchers paid the money, they should benefit.
B. Transfer the money to another account.
C. Transfer the money to another account and then, when sportsmen complain, raid an environmental and recycling account to try to repair the damage.
If you answered B or C, you’re on your way to being a Republican.
Question 5:
The state and federal governments partially reimburse schools for offering free or reduced-priced breakfasts to “nutritionally needy” kids. Since Wisconsin is dead last in the proportion of schools that offer these breakfasts and dead last for the proportion of low-income kids who receive school breakfasts, do you:
A. Provide more funding so that more low-income kids can eat breakfast, the most important meal of the day.
B. Sleep well at night knowing that all of Wisconsin’s low-income kids aren’t provided with free or low-cost breakfasts at school.
If you answered A, you agree with Gov. Jim Doyle. Unfortunately, those who prefer solution B won, and kids from low-income families will remain “nutritionally needy” in Wisconsin.
Question 6:
The school choice program in Milwaukee is a giant experiment in which voucher schools receive state money and enjoy little oversight from the government. Since you want to promote excellence in these schools, do you:
A. Require that voucher school teachers have a high school diploma or an equivalent degree.
B. Leave well enough alone.
If you answered A, then you have Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee) to thank. If you answered B, then you are content to use taxpayer dollars to pay for teachers who aren’t required to have a high school diploma.
Question 7:
The child welfare system in Milwaukee was so bad that in 2002 the federal court ordered the Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) to provide better services. DHFS must attain specific outcomes on or before Jan. 1, 2006, just a few months away. Do you:
A. Provide more money for training and support of foster parents, caseworker retention, domestic violence services for families and the creation of an ombudsman to look into complaints.
B. Pick out just one new program to fund, in this case a family safety program, and disregard the other offers on the table.
If you think Plan B will work, hopefully you’re right, because that’s the only new foster care program that will receive additional funding. Gov. Doyle proposed option A.
Question 8:
Landfills charge a “tipping fee” to garbage haulers when they dump their trash. If we charge a low fee, we encourage haulers from Illinois to use Wisconsin as their dump. As a lawmaker, would you:
A. Leave well enough alone.
B. Reduce the tipping fee, which not only makes Wisconsin a more attractive dumping ground for other states’ garbage, but also reduces the amount of money that funds recycling programs created by counties and cities.
Bring on the trash, Illinois. Plan B, the Republicans’ choice, made it into the budget.
Question 9:
According to the Governor’s Task Force on Educational Excellence, the state should begin a program to help schools develop 4-year-old kindergarten (4K) classes, since they have a significant effect on a child’s future learning. Do you:
A. Find $3 million for 4K students.
B. Deny the appropriation, forcing school districts to depend on local referendums for more cash.
If you think option A is wise, then you agree with Gov. Doyle. If you agree with the other option, then you and the Assembly Republicans agree that schools can fend for themselves when finding money for 4K.
Question 10:
Republicans decried what they saw as excessive spending in Gov. Doyle’s version of the budget. Yet Republicans in the Joint Finance Committee actually increased the spending for this program over what Doyle had recommended:
A. Projects that develop environmentally friendly power plants.
B. A statewide health care plan.
C. Health benefits for gay and straight partners of UW system employees.
D. Various transportation projects (excluding the popular Hiawatha line that runs from Milwaukee to Chicago).
The correct answer is D. Republicans decided to shoot the works when coming up with money for the transportation industry, which has well-paid lobbyists.
Bonus question:
Republicans claimed that they had to alter Doyle’s budget so that they could provide Wisconsin residents with property tax relief. And they did. According to estimates, the average homeowner will receive how much of a tax break:
A. Enough money to redecorate a living room.
B. Extra dollars to offset the rising cost of gas.
C. The cost of spending the weekend in the Dells or Door County.
D. Admission to Summerfest.
If you answered D, you’re close. Adult admission to Summerfest is $12, while the estimated property tax break in the Republicans’ plan is $11.
http://www.shepherd-express.com/newsandviews.htm