Address At the 2011 West CoAst LeAdership ConferenCe ––––––––––––––————––––——–—––––––––––––––––– Governor Scott Walker –––––––––––––––––—————————––––––––––––––––
effective thing is that collective bargaining is no longer standing on businesses. Governor Mitch Daniels and I proceeded to in the way of both state and local government. The only jump into the Chicago media market this year and say, “In a thing I had an issue with is that, in the public sector, collective year, they are going to be back because they have not taken on bargaining is not a right. It is an expensive entitlement. the tough challenges yet.” In the private sector, there is obviously a balance there. I was wrong. It was not a year; it was six months later. Historically, at some point, unions had a place because of Illinois had a multi-billion dollar deficit. They have talked work rules, long hours, and things like that. Those were all about laying off thousands of public employees. They have issues. But in the public sector, who are you protecting yourself shut down seven different state facilities. They have shown that from? You are protecting yourself from the government. The you cannot just push the problems off because they are going government is already there. Who is to get worse. protecting the taxpayers? Wealth, jobs, and employment have “The changes that we That is what we are called to do in all left the state of Illinois, and in many of this, so what we are doing has been a cases, these jobs came to Wisconsin. provide are not just about very realistic approach. We made long-term structural money. They are about We have empowered both the state changes—changes that I believe think and local governments to save money, more about the next generation than making sure that, in the but not just through pension and health about the next election. Changes that will care contributions. When we made these ultimately ensure that the next generation limited and few areas in changes, our schools, more than anything, of leaders in our state inherit a state which government does play that is much better off than the state we saved the most because many of them, through collective bargaining, were forced inherited earlier this year. That is really a role, we do it better. ” in their contracts to purchase their health what this is all about. insurance through something called WEA The changes that we provide are Trust. It was an organization that was not just about money. They are about an entity of the teachers’ union. Well, we got rid of collective making sure that, in the limited and few areas in which bargaining for that. Ultimately, school districts could go out and government does play a role, we do it better. negotiate in the free market. We had story after story of school The best thing here is not just the money saved or the districts—even small districts—saving hundreds and hundreds balanced budget. It is the fact that now, in every level of of thousands of dollars. Some even renegotiated existing plans. government in our state, we can make hiring decisions based Appleton, which is south of Green Bay, saved $3.1 million. on merit. We can hire, fire, and staff based on merit. We can Oshkosh, over the next three years, is going to save $3.7 million. pay based on performance. This, to me, ultimately means Probably the best example of savings due to the reforms that our schools, local government, and state government happened in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. They took a $400,000 deficit can put the best and the brightest in our classrooms and in and turned it into more than $1.5 million surplus. They used government positions all across the state. That is true reform. that money to hire more teachers, decrease classroom size, and That has a lasting legacy. actually set money aside for pay based on merit. …Earlier this year, I had a chance to sit down for dinner In the end, our reforms have saved money and allowed our with a guy that I had admired for many years—Phil Gramm. local governments, schools, and state government to act more Phil Gramm used to be a United States senator from Texas. like things are acted upon in the private sector—to purchase Now, he is a great conservative champion, but 30 years ago things off the free market, to set money aside for merit pay. Phil Gramm was a Democrat in the House of Representatives. What I like the most, the best long-term implication, is not If anybody is from Texas, you know that a Democrat years ago just what it does to balance the budget. in Texas was probably more conservative than half of the GOP There were other states that had deficits. You look almost in America. But needless to say, he was still a Democrat. all across the country. There were more than 40 states that had President Reagan signed the Economic Recovery Tax Act deficits as of last year. Some states, like Illinois, chose to raise in August of 1981, and Phil Gramm was the author of that taxes. They raised it 67 percent on individuals and 46 percent budget that essentially made sure that those tax cuts—which 24
Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Summer 2012
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