My column for the Washington County Daily News is online and in print. It’s budget season! Here’s a part:
This is a unique opportunity for the legislature to offset state spending with federal dollars. For example, the most recent federal spending bill sends over $25 million to Wauwatosa, $405 million to Milwaukee, and $25 million to Green Bay. Despite being closed for most of the year, Milwaukee Public Schools received almost $800 million from federal taxpayers. The state government has received $210 million in infrastructure grants. Since all of these government bodies are flush with federal taxpayer cash, state lawmakers should reduce the amount that state taxpayers fund them by comparable amounts.
With so much federal tax money flowing into local and state governments, state lawmakers could save state taxpayers billions of dollars and send them money back to them in the form of substantial tax relief. In effect, state lawmakers could leverage the federal windfall for economic stimulus through meaningful tax cuts. Meanwhile, all state and local government priorities are completely funded.
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