PRO Act Fact Sheet
The PRO Act / Pushbutton Unionism Bill: A Union Boss Wish List Click here to download PDF file of The…
Good economic news continues to flow from Wisconsin where Gov. Scott Walker’s reforms are taking hold. The Wall Street Journal notes that by standing up to the union bosses, Walker was able to reduce the tax burden on home owners in Badger country:
The public employee unions and other liberals are confident that Wisconsin voters will turn out Governor Scott Walker in a recall election later this year, but not so fast. That may turn out to be as wrong as some of their other predictions as Badger State taxpayers start to see tangible benefits from Mr. Walker’s reforms—such as the first decline in statewide property taxes in a dozen years.
On Monday Mr. Walker’s office released new data that show the property tax bill for the median home fell by 0.4% in 2011, as reported by Wisconsin’s municipalities. Property taxes, which are the state’s largest revenue source and mainly fund K-12 schools, have risen every year since 1998—by 43% overall. The state budget office estimates that the typical homeowner’s bill would be some $700 higher without Mr. Walker’s collective-bargaining overhaul and budget cuts.
The median home value did fall in 2011, by about 2.3%, which no doubt influenced the slight downward trend. But then values also fell in 2009 and 2010, by similar amounts, and the state’s take from the average taxpayer still climbed by 2.1% and 1.5%, respectively. In absolute terms homeowners won’t see large dollar benefits year over year, but any hold-the-line tax respite is both rare and welcome in this age of ever-expanding government.
The real gains will grow as local school districts continue repairing and rationalizing their budgets using the tools Mr. Walker gave them. Those include the ability to renegotiate perk-filled teacher contracts and requiring government workers to contribute more than 0% to their pensions. A year ago amid their sit-ins and other protests, the unions said such policies would lead to the decline and fall of civilization, but the only things that are falling are tax collections.
The political lesson is that attempts to modernize government are always controversial, but support usually builds over time as the public comes to appreciate the benefits of structural change that tames the drivers of a status quo that includes ever-higher spending and taxes. The Wisconsin recall donnybrook in June will test whether voters value their own bottom lines more than the political power of unions.
The PRO Act / Pushbutton Unionism Bill: A Union Boss Wish List Click here to download PDF file of The…
The NLRB issued a complaint against the Yotel Hotel and the UNITE HERE Local 26 union after the hotel illegally assisted union officials with foisting the union on workers.
Now there are 109 House co-sponsors! U.S. Representative Rep Ken Calvert (CA 42) joined the list of Members of Congress supporting the National Right To Work Act. That brings the number up to 109 co-sponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives and 26 co-sponsors in the U.S. Senate! Are your Members of Congress on this list? If not, click here and sign the National Right To Work Act petition now!