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Governor Walker And Act 10 Reforms
In 2010, Republican governor Scott Walker campaigned on a promise to balance the state budget by cutting the cost of government.
In 2011, he signed the Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill, also known as Act 10, which curbed the power of public employee unions. State and local officials were then able to reduce pensions, health insurance, and other payments to government employees. This balanced the budget and saved Wisconsin taxpayers nearly $5 billion over the next five years ($910 per person).
Tens of thousands of public employees and union supporters demonstrated against Act 10. On some days, 80,000 to 100,000 people surrounded the Capitol. But Act 10 was upheld by the courts, nearly all the protests eventually subsided, and Governor Walker's method of downsizing government was imitated in other states.
Governor Thompson And Welfare Reform
"Governments take freedom away from people primarily in two ways," said Republican governor Tommy Thompson at his inauguration in 1987. "They take away our personal freedom with too many rules and regulations, and they take away our economic freedom with too many taxes."
During his 14 years in office -- the longest tenure of any Wisconsin governor -- he fought to make government more efficient, to create jobs, and to preserve Wisconsin's quality of life.
Welfare reform was the defining issue of Thompson's terms in office. His "Wisconsin Works," or W2, program became a model for welfare reform across the nation.
Thompson also launched the first school choice program in the country, which allowed low-income parents in Milwaukee to choose a school for their children. The program included private schools, an option they never had before, and the idea was adopted across the country. |