Walker’s State Of The State Focused On Tax Cuts, Positive Economic Numbers

Gov. Scott Walker used his fourth State of the State address on Wednesday night to promise income and property tax cuts, but for the governor, the speech itself was more about setting the tone for his reelection campaign.

This was by far the governor’s longest State of the State speech, and in substance, it was a throwback to the types of addresses his predecessors might have given. He discussed topics you’d expect a Wisconsin governor to cover: agriculture, education, tourism and fishing. He brought people on stage to illustrate points on three separate occasions. One group included a nurse in her smocks and a welder in his helmet.

“Each of these people were looking for a job or a better opportunity over the past three years. They represent the people and the families behind the numbers. These are the faces of an improving economy in our state. Wisconsin is going back to work,” Walker said.

The governor had been speaking for 50 minutes before he started to get into the meat of this speech: His proposed income and property tax cuts made possible by a projected billion-dollar surplus in the state’s general fund. Walker wants to cut taxes by about $500 million, with $400 million going toward property tax relief and another $100 million toward an income tax cut for the lowest tax bracket.

“When I travel the state, people don’t tell me they want to keep sending more money to Madison. They don’t tell me taxes are too low or even that taxes are just right. Overwhelmingly, people across the state tell me that one of the best ways to fuel the economic recovery is to reduce their tax burden,” he said.

Walker never mentioned Democratic gubernatorial opponent Mary Burke by name, but he did make frequent — and critical- — allusions to his predecessor, former Gov. Jim Doyle.

“Thankfully the days of double-digit tax increases, billion dollar deficits and major job losses are gone,” he said.

Burke was Doyle’s commerce secretary for a few years, a point Walker and the Republican Party make regularly.

Walker talked a lot about job numbers, spending most of his time cruising through the good ones — a lower unemployment rate and strong monthly job estimates in 2013. He also gave an update on how many private-sector jobs have been created during his tenure.

“According to quarterly and monthly job reports, more than 100,000 jobs have been created over the past three years,” he said.

Alluded to, but not exactly stressed by the governor, is that 100,000 new jobs leave him about 150,000 shy of his 250,000 job campaign pledge.

Democrats, like state Rep. Sandy Pasch of Milwaukee, called the governor’s tax cuts a “gimmick” designed to distract voters from the harm Republicans had done to the state. Likewise, Pasch said Walker’s decision to bring people on stage to talk about jobs was missing the bigger picture.

“I’m really glad people got jobs, but many, many more people need jobs. We are 37th in the nation in job creation,” Pasch said.

Reaction among the Republican majority in the Legislature was mixed. Assembly GOP Speaker Robin Vos embraced Walker’s plan wholeheartedly.

“I support Gov. Walker’s plan as he introduced it. I think he’s got a perfect combination,” Vos said.