Conservatively Speaking
State Senator Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) represents parts of four counties: Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine, and Walworth. Her Senate District 28 includes New Berlin, Franklin, Greendale, Hales Corners, Muskego, Waterford, Big Bend, the town of Vernon and parts of Greenfield, East Troy, and Mukwonago. Senator Lazich has been in the Legislature for more than a decade. She considers herself a tireless crusader for lower taxes, reduced spending and smaller government.
E-Update from the Desk of Governor Scott Walker
One of the most important duties I have serving as your Governor is to provide you directly with updates related to the operation of our state government. I also frequently provide updates on Facebook (Governor Scott Walker) and Twitter (@govwalker). Please feel free to share this update with your family, friends, and others who may be interested in state government operations.
Booming Job Market Expected in Wisconsin
This week Manpower, a group that studies economic and employment trends, predicted a “booming job market” in Wisconsin for the third quarter of 2012. Their Wisconsin report read, in part:
Employers in Wisconsin expect to hire at a vigorous pace during the third quarter of 2012, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.
Based on Manpower’s survey 26% of Wisconsin employers plan to add jobs, while only an astonishing 5% planned to decrease the number of staff during the third quarter of 2012. Wisconsin’s economic outlook was better than the U.S. economy as a whole, where 21% of businesses expected to add to their payroll over the same time period.
You can view the entire report on Wisconsin by clicking here.
Coming Together
On Tuesday, we had a great Wisconsin cookout at the Executive Residence where about 100 lawmakers from both political parties came together to eat some hot brats and burgers as well as drink some cold Wisconsin beer. This social gathering was a great way to renew old friendships and start new ones with officials from both parties.
My wife, Tonette, came up with the idea for a brat summit to bring folks together and was instrumental in making it a success. Donations of food and beer were made from more than 20 different employers from across the state, which helped make it an authentic Wisconsin get-together.
While Tonette helped organize this great event, I worked the grill to serve all the legislators, their spouses, and their staff. The entire event was a nice way to start to come together to move Wisconsin forward.
Sharing some good food and a beer is a great way to come together for an afternoon. Working to help small businesses grow and add jobs will continue that cooperation long after the brats and burgers are gone.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Jobs Summit
This week I joined a bipartisan group of governors, local policy makers and business leaders at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s 2012 Jobs Summit. We discussed policies that produce economic growth and examined how states across the country are increasing competitiveness.
A study was unveiled at the Summit, which finds that states that boost exports, foster innovation, provide businesses with certainty and reasonable taxes, insist on excellence in education, and prioritize infrastructure are leading on job creation and economic growth. The study, Enterprising States, was commissioned by the National Chamber Foundation and prepared by The Praxis Strategy Group. The Enterprising States study reported that we in Wisconsin launched several initiatives specifically focused on job creation, with a goal of creating 250,000 new jobs by 2015. Our “Wisconsin Working” plan, designed after gathering input from workforce and business stakeholders, is leading efforts to bring the state’s colleges, government departments, and businesses together to reform and expand workforce training in the state. Also our “Wisconsin Workers Win” program will help individuals receiving unemployment take advantage of on-the-job workforce training, helping connect companies to workers who are looking to build new job skills.
It was wonderful to get a chance to talk about how we are transforming Wisconsin from the job loss in the past to the job growth we see today. I was honored to be on a bipartisan panel of governors talking about ways to further improve the economy in our states and our country.
Other governors participating in the Jobs Summit included Dave Heineman (R-Nebraska), Gary Herbert (R-Utah), and Jack Markell (D-Delaware).
Just Ask the Governor: Part XIII
Each e-update I will answer a question submitted by a recipient of the previous e-update or from someone who contacts my office directly.
Question: I’ve had several people tell me that we’re not really out of debt, that the $150 mil. surplus is a lie. What is the truth?
Answer: The latest revenue projections have shown increased tax collections due to job creation and growth in personal income. As a result, the state will finish the biennium with a $154 million surplus.
At the close of fiscal year 2011 the state put more than $14 million into the budget stabilization fund. This was only the second time in the last decade that taxpayer resources were deposited into this fund. According to current projections, we will put an additional $45.4 million into the budget stabilization fund at the end of fiscal year 2012.
This is great news! For the first time in history Wisconsin is projected to deposit taxpayer resources into the state’s rainy day fund in consecutive years.
You can review a complete breakdown of the most recent revenue projections by clicking here.
It has been a pleasure communicating with you. It is an honor to serve as your Governor and represent the residents of Wisconsin.
Sincerely,
Governor Scott Walker
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