In his State of the State address Wednesday night, Gov. Jim Doyle outlined his concerns for Wisconsin. They primarily included taxes, education, health care and jobs.
The address Doyle's second since taking office last January began on a congratulatory note. Doyle, a Democrat, briefly listed his administration's fiscal successes, from holding tax raises at bay to sparing certain programs from tax cuts.
"The so-called experts said (balancing the budget) couldn't be done, but together, the legislature and the government proved the pundits wrong," Doyle said. "We balanced the budget. We did it honestly. We did it without tricks and most importantly, we did it without raising taxes."
Doyle pointed out that sales, corporate and income taxes have not been raised and that, as a percentage of income, taxes are the lowest they've been in 34 years.
Doyle then compared Wisconsin's successes at averting a budget crisis to the financial woes of other states.
"Compare what we achieved to what happened around the country," he said, going on to use the examples of Oregon trimming its school calendar by 17 days and Alabama's resorting to the use mannequins in patrol cars as the types of problems that Wisconsin could have experienced had he and his administration not pursued the aggressive financial policies they did, including a round of tax cuts and governmental payroll downsizing.
"We cut thoroughly, but not thoughtlessly," Doyle said, noting that his administration cut "government overhead" by $189 million, which he said went to schools, jettisoned two cabinet departments and dissolved 2,300 state jobs. Doyle acknowledged that these measures were extreme, but said that balancing the state budget was the "single most important thing we could do."
Doyle also spoke considerably on his concerns on education. At one point, he criticized the legislature for proposing a failed $400 million education cut, which he said "would have put our children's education at risk."
A major concern of the governor's appeared to be the state of Wisconsin's treatment of teachers. He said that a teacher's entry-level salary in Wisconsin is $11,000 less than it is in Michigan, $8,000 less than it is in Illinois and $3,500 less than the national average. He then urged the legislature and Wisconsin citizens to work with him to improve teacher's salaries, so that Wisconsin could be more attractive to new educators.
Doyle announced that he had created a task force to examine the Wisconsin public school system, from how its money is spent to how it can better attract teachers. The task force will report to him in time to make adjustments to the budget for next year, Doyle said.
Doyle also announced a $10 million dollar grant to help improve physical fitness programs and facilities in schools. He also encouraged schools to accept federal funds to provide their students with free or reduced breakfast a meal he said 150,000 elementary-age children aren't getting.
"If West Virginia can do this, and Mississippi can do this, so can Wisconsin," Doyle said.
Health care was another field that Doyle discussed at length. Most of Doyle's health-related concerns focused on the ability of seniors to purchase their prescription medications.
"Our seniors should not have to choose between food and medicine," Doyle said. Doyle also plugged his new program Badger RX, a prescription drug buying pool that can potentially reduce some senior's medical costs.
Doyle also unveiled the Web site www.drugsavings.wi.gov, which disseminates medical advice to seniors, and called on the FDA to allow the purchase of prescription drugs from Canada.
"This is an issue that's won't go away, and Wisconsin's citizens need action," he said.
The creation of new jobs in Wisconsin was also a matter of focus for Doyle. He pointed out that, because of its ability in obtaining venture capital, Minnesota has surged ahead of Wisconsin in nurturing the high-tech and biotech industries, which typically create high-paying jobs. Doyle then asked for funding for these industries so that Wisconsin could compete with Minnesota in "developing new ideas and business models."
Although the high-tech and biotech sectors were issues of concern for Doyle, so was the manufacturing arena. Doyle called on the legislature to pass the Manufacturing Competitiveness Program to help Wisconsin retain and create more manufacturing jobs.
Doyle ended his 65-minute address by summarizing his administration's achievements since his induction.
"We together have worked hard to raise Wisconsin up, and now it's ready to soar again," he said.