Senator Dan Kapanke (R-La Crosse) responded to the Governor’s report today in which a larger than expected budget deficit was announced.

This is exactly the reason I advocated for a state spending freeze back in January when a $5.6 billion dollar budget deficit was reported.  Now, we’re facing an additional $1.5 billion dollar deficit due to an unanticipated reduction in state income. I’m relieved to hear that Governor Doyle will not propose any new taxes, but the fact remains that there was a 7.7 increase in state spending included in the budget bill. This means that even at a time when Madison was expecting a continued economic decline, state government decided to add government programs and increase spending.

These consequences will ultimately lead to an economically grim future at the state and federal level for our children and grandchildren. We’re asking families and communities to drastically reduce their budgets, and so must state government so that the burden does not fall on families and Main Street businesses.

The only viable solution I see is to freeze state spending at the same levels from the last budget and critically reexamine our funding priorities to ensure that we aren’t taking more money from families and Main Street businesses so that people can know that they have a way to pay their bills and retain their jobs.