Tobacco.org

EDITORIAL: Pass-the-buck public policy 

Gov. Scott McCallum's decision last week not to call another special session of the Legislature is most welcome: Based on what they witnessed during months of special-session thrashing on a budget repair bill, Wisconsinites now know that any extended gathering of their lawmakers can be a really dangerous activity. But the governor still intends to press ahead by making campaign issues out of the ideas he had in mind for that special session. He should reconsider. . .

We agree with those Republicans and Democrats who believe Wisconsin taxes on personal income, property and sales are too high and, if anything, should come down. This is a case against elected officials - the governor, apparently, and lawmakers who agree with him - who believe themselves incapable of making those difficult choices. In effect, such officials are saying: Please stop us before we tax again! . .

This is passing the buck, which is more or less what the Legislature did when it balanced the current budget mainly by pirating tobacco-settlement money intended for smoking cessation and health care programs. Voters have other ways to stop these folks short of submitting tax-and-spend issues to a referendum. If they don't like what these officials are doing, they can go to the polls and toss them out of office. [This graph only]

Jump to full article »