Walker axes Wisconsin budget

Paul Bunyan's Cook Shanty,
Minocqua, WI

With his Paul Bunyan ax, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker slashes spending in his proposed budget. State Senate President Mike Ellis tells the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "It's the first budget we've had in 12 years that's going to actually be a balanced budget without any funny money."

More from the Journal Sentinel:

Gov. Scott Walker vowed Tuesday to close a $3.5 billion budget gap by remolding Wisconsin government at every level: slashing aid to public schools and local governments while setting up increases in private school aid; eliminating 1,200 state jobs; and placing the tightest limits on property taxes that the state has seen.

To balance the budget without raising taxes or fees, the Republican governor is calling for sacrifices and changes affecting residents across the state, from students and participants in the SeniorCare prescription drug plan to poor families receiving health care or welfare from the state.

The two-year, $59.2 billion budget proposal also has a host of effects on Milwaukee, including ending the requirement that Milwaukee Public Schools teachers live in the city; expanding the use of voucher schools; and studying the possibility of converting the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee into a separate authority - a shift already being targeted for UW-Madison in the bill.

"We are returning to frugality and making the long-term decisions to balance our budget now and more importantly into the future. We will do the heavy lifting to protect our children and grandchildren from having to make the hard decisions that were once avoided," Walker said.

The Upper Midwest has a new Paul Bunyan.

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