The truth about the Democrats' budget

As the Democrats continue to dramatize the effect of not passing a budget, it is time to really look at this budget.

The spending increases are equally as dramatic as the Democrats are acting. I will get to that in a moment.

As I read thru this budget (yes, I am a geek), I am stunned by many of the blatant tax increases that really have very little to do with improving the quality of life here in Wisconsin.

Once you have taken a close look at this budget- like me, you will discover things that “curl your hair” or “chap your hide”- whichever cliche you like to use.

I am actually going to like to the Governor’s Budget proposals listed on the Governor’s website. Feel free to check out all of this information for yourself.

As we move forward, please not that the Democrats in the Assembly and the Senate have stated that they whole-heartedly support Governor Doyle’s budget.

Department of Administration

Let us start with the Democrat’s proposals for the Department of Administration:

In 2006- the DOA spent $593,468,200
In 2007- projected DOA spending $765,743,600

Let us stop here for a second. Holy Cow! What in heaven’s name, did we spend an additional $172,275,400 on this year? That is a walloping 29% spending increase between last year and this year. I would like an explanation from someone, as to why this happened.

In the 2007-2009 budget, the Department of Administration requested:

Total Budget requested by DOA- $1,547,773,600.

That DOA is requesting an additional $188,561,800 for the next 2 year budget.

Apparently, the Democrats do not believe that an additional $188+ million is nearly enough money to effectively run the DOA so they are requesting even more money than the agency believes they need.

Here are the details:

The governor is requesting a total of $1,579,078,300.

The governor is asking for $31,304,700 more than the DOA believes they need.

If this budget passes, the DOA’s budget will go up by $219,866,500.

So, what does the DOA need an additional $219 million dollars for?

Among other things, the Democrats want to grow the size of government in the DOA. Even though the agency does not believe they need any more employees, the Democrats will increase the DOA by an additional 121 people by 2009. At first glance, it appears that the majority of the new hires will be for “supervision and management”.

Oh goody- that is all government needs, more supervisors and managers! (Sarcasm)

Don’t believe me? See for yourself.

That is only one department.

Office of the Governor

Now let’s take a look at the budget for the Office of the Governor

In 2006- they spent $3,280,900
In 2007- they will spend about $3,866,600
Spending also went up in this office by over $500,000 between ’06 and ’07 (Why?)

In the ’07 to ’09 budget the agency is requesting a total of $948,100 additional dollars.

Of course, the Governor and the Democrats do not believe that almost a million dollar increase is enough, so they are asking for even more money than the agency believes they need.

The Democrats budget is giving the Office of the Governor a total of $8,806,200.

The total increase the Democrats will give to the Office of the Governor is $1,658,700.

So why does the Office of the Governor need an additional $1,658,700?

At first glance, it appears that the Democrats also want to hire new people for the Office of the Governor. Even thought that agency does not believe they need new people, the Democrats are giving them an additional four employees. These new hires will be for office staff.

Don’t believe me? Look it up.

This is only scratching the surface of the Democrat’s budget. We will find very similar problems in every department of state government.

I will continue to update you are I go along with the budget.

What I do know is that not all of the excessive spending is necessary.

It is time for Wisconsinites to understand what is actually in this budget and what we can do to hold our government accountable for tax increases.