Reducing Waste, Improving Services, and Making Government More Efficient
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| Governor Walker Video on Reforming Government |
 Governor Walker believes in moderation when it comes to government spending. Money left in the hands of families is spent more wisely than government could spend it for them. Keeping more money in the hands of families and achieving more efficient government are vital steps toward achieving the goals of a higher standard of living for our state residents and greater overall economic growth.
As government grows large, it often becomes wasteful and inefficient. From 2002 to 2010, state biennial budget spending and borrowing grew from $49 billion to $66 billion. This is a 35 percent increase. If this kind of spending continued unabated, Wisconsin families would be paying thousands more than what they pay today to operate state government.
Due to years of kicking the can down the road, our state dealt with budget deficits for well over a decade. When Governor Walker took office, we had a $3.6 billion budget deficit and because of our tough, but prudent, decisions, that deficit is now a $419 million surplus. Together, we put in place long-term structural reforms, which have already saved taxpayers over $1 billion. These reforms will continue to save taxpayers billions in the years ahead.
In his first budget, Governor Walker held the line on spending and cut taxes. This turned repeated budget deficits into a surplus and kept hundreds of dollars in families’ pockets – not in government2. Property taxes on the average home also went down for the first time in over a decade and this trend has continued for two consecutive years. This is a good start, but a continued focus to control spending and improve government services is vital for the business climate and economic growth of Wisconsin.
At the state level, there are duplicative services that we can consolidate. We can do this in a way that improves services to the public and saves tax dollars. We can further reduce waste and fraud by breaking down inter-agency barriers. Sharing data is essential to ensure fraud isn’t occurring and that those applying for benefits are truly eligible. These are only a few ways Governor Walker is, and will, reform state government.
Right-sizing state government and reforming it to be more efficient will allow us to invest in areas of need - such as worker training. By becoming more efficient and controlling the cost of state government, it can be more nimble and have more resources to react to the future needs of the state.
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