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Please provide a listing of WI's biggest expenses so we can see where all of the tax payer money is really going. That is the only way in which we can all determine what cuts will have the biggest affect. In other words, I'm not sure how you can balance the 3.8 bil. dollar WI shortfall without making cuts to the category that is causing at least 40% of the state's spending and nearly 50% of the local government's spending.
BTW, I would agree in a sense. It really isn't just the public sector employee, it's also the public sector union bosses and the tax payer representitves at the bargaining table that enable them and give away the farm.
It is hard to fathom the stupidity that allows people to think teachers, police, and firefighters being "overpaid" brought about the Great Recession, which is real reason states were having trouble making budget.
Recession-bruised states' revenue sank 30 percent in 2009, Census Bureau reports
"The recession blew a huge hole in the already shaky finances of state governments, causing them to lose nearly one-third of their revenue in 2009, according to a Census Bureau report released Wednesday.
The severe drop in revenue resulted largely from the big investment losses experienced by state pension funds during the worst period of the downturn. Also, the report said, tax revenue slipped while surging demand from newly needy citizens drained the funds that back unemployment benefits, publicly funded health care and workers' compensation.
Overall, total state government revenue dropped 30.8 percent, to $1.1 trillion, between fiscal 2008 and 2009, according to the report."
Recession-bruised states' revenue sank 30 percent in 2009, Census Bureau reports - CFED News Clips