Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Scott Walker’s Wisconsin Struggles While Next Door, Democratic Run Minnesota Thrives

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/07/13/scott-walkers-wisconsin-struggles-while-next-door-democratic-run-minnesota-thrives/
"In Wisconsin, Walker has mercilessly cut the state budget. He slashed education spending, shifted healthcare and pension costs onto state employees, eliminated tax credits for low income workers and cut taxes for the rich, claiming it would stimulate the economy. The result has been weak job growth and Wisconsin ranks last in personal income growth among midwest states since Walker took office.
When Mark Dayton became Minnesota’s governor in 2011, he set about to reverse many of the policies of his Republican predecessor, Tim Pawlenty. Dayton and Minnesota Democrats raised taxes on people making over $250,000 and they also raised corporate taxes. Dayton and his allies raised the state’s minimum wage and indexed future increases to inflation. They managed to balance the budget while increasing spending on public education.
Minnesota has a huge budget surplus and thanks to increases in personal and corporate income, the state is reporting higher tax collections than expected. Minnesota also expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act and set up their own state insurance exchange. Now Minnesota has some of the lowest insurance premiums in the country. Wisconsin refused to participate in the ACA and their rate of uninsured is double that of Wisconsin. Plus, Walker removed many people from Badgercare, the state’s popular health insurance program for children and families.
Now, Scott Walker wants to be president. Here’s a suggestion, Scott: If you want to stand any chance at all, avoid the slogan “He’ll Do For America What He Did For Wisconsin"."