In State of the State, Evers declares the Year of the Kid

Republicans think the November elections heralded a rightward sea-change in politics, both nationally and in Wisconsin, but Gov. Tony Evers apparently didn’t get the memo, as he unveiled vintage Democratic spending proposals in his Jan. 22 State of the State address and repackaged some of the Democrats’ most controversial proposals, including red flag laws.

Among other things, the governor said his upcoming 2025-27 budget would invest in reducing the cost of child care and lowering the cost of life-saving medication, including removing the sales tax on over-the-counter medications, capping the cost of insulin copays, and protecting Wisconsinites from price gouging on prescriptions.

Reducing crime and gun violence to keep children safe in his declared Year of the Kid will also be a top priority, Evers said, and he added that doing what’s best for kids must include supporting the parents and families who raise them.

“There are a lot of ways we can lower everyday, out-of-pocket costs to make sure Wisconsinites and working families can afford basic needs,” Evers said. “So, I have good news. The plan I’m announcing tonight will support our economy and our workforce, lower out-of-pocket costs for working families and Wisconsinites, and help give folks a little breathing room in their household budgets.”

Child care is just “too darn” expensive, Evers said.

“We have to do more to lower the out-of-pocket costs working families are paying for child care every day,” he said. “A 2023 report showed child care costs in Wisconsin can consume 18 to 36 percent of a family’s household income. If those parents are under 25 and have two kids in child care, it’s closer to 70 percent. The cost of putting two young kids in child care costs more than the average rent or mortgage in Wisconsin and exceeds the annual cost of tuition to send two students to the University of Wisconsin-Madison.”

Even if people can find and afford care, families may be waitlisted for months, the governor said.

“Child care providers across Wisconsin surveyed last fall had 48,000 kids on waitlists, with nearly 60 percent of providers having un-utilized capacity, often because they needed more workers,” he said. “Child care providers are stuck increasing costs while keeping classrooms closed and serving fewer kids as waitlists grow.”

Evers said his proposed state budget would again include sustainable, ongoing funding to make the state’s Child Care Counts Program permanent, including investing more than $500 million aimed at lowering child care costs and investing in employer-sponsored child care.

Evers said the costs of prescriptions and life-saving medication like insulin are also “too darn” high.

“Let’s work to lower the costs of prescriptions and protect consumers from price gouging on life-saving medication,” he said. “Through my ‘Less for Rx’ plan, I will again ask Republicans and Democrats to work together to approve new state programs aimed at setting price ceilings for prescriptions and improving oversight of drug companies to make sure Wisconsinites are getting a fair shake. And let’s remove the sales tax on over-the-counter medications and cap the copay on insulin at $35 while we’re at it.”

Making child care and everyday prescriptions more affordable were two easy ways to help Wisconsinites afford basic needs, help paychecks go a little further, and give parents, families, and seniors some breathing room in their household budgets, Evers said.

Evers also took credit for lower taxes in the state.

“Just two decades ago, Wisconsin was in the top five states for our tax burden and the taxes Wisconsinites paid as a share of their income,” he said. “Today, Wisconsin is in the bottom 16 states in the country. We have seen the largest drop in our tax burden of any state over the last 20 years.”

Cutting taxes has been a bipartisan priority over the last six years, Evers said. 

“I have proposed middle-class tax cuts in every budget I have introduced as governor,” he said. “And the Legislature sent me back some proposals I agreed with, including one of the largest tax cuts in state history. All told, through the income tax cuts I’ve signed into law, most Wisconsinites have seen a 15-percent income tax cut or more, and folks will see $1.5 billion in tax relief each year, primarily targeted to the middle class.”

Evers said another top priority would be keeping Wisconsinites safe.

“Last week, I created our new Wisconsin Office of Violence Prevention,” he said. “We’re going to work across law enforcement agencies and local governments and with school districts, nonprofits, and firearm dealers to help keep our kids, families, and communities safe. I also announced my budget will include sustainable, ongoing funding to make the Wisconsin Office of Violence Prevention permanent so we can take a statewide approach to preventing crime and violence across our state.”

The second thing the state can do to keep everyone safe is to pass a “red flag” law to give law enforcement the tools they need to get guns out of the home when someone is a dangerous risk to themselves or others, Evers said.

“Just last month, we saw how crucial ‘red flag’ laws can be to prevent tragedy,” he said. “Shortly after the shooting at Abundant Life, law enforcement discovered the shooter had potentially plotted with a man in another state who was allegedly planning his own mass shooting. Because he lives in a state with a ‘red flag’ law, law enforcement was able to get an emergency protective order requiring him to surrender his firearms before he could move forward with his plans. Their quick work almost certainly saved lives.”

Without “red flag” laws, Evers said, law enforcement in Wisconsin is often unable to intervene unless a crime has already been committed. 

“At that point, sometimes it’s too late,” he said. “We have to change that.”

GOP reacts

By and large Republican lawmakers called the speech more of the same from the governor. State Sen. Rachel Cabral-Guevara (R-Appleton) called the speech a “liberal dream agenda.”

“While the governor tried to couch his liberal dream agenda in bipartisanship, he still pretended as though his party took control of the Legislature,” Cabral-Guevara said. “Fortunately, hardworking folks across the state rejected this failed vision at the ballot box and decided they want Wisconsin to remain Wisconsin.”

Behind all the rhetoric, Cabral-Guevara said, Evers’s administration thinks a one-time surplus means taxpayers owe them even more money,.

“Legislative Republicans will continue the fight to lower your taxes and get government out of your way,” she said. “Wisconsin faces real problems that deserve real solutions. While the governor has rejected proposals that would have kept over $770 in your pocket, eased regulatory burdens on childcare providers, and reined in government spending driving inflation, I hope this session he instead works with us to get things done for Wisconsinites.”

State Sen. Mary Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk) said the speech employed the same old tactic of taking credit for Republican achievements. 

“For the fifth year in a row, we heard the governor take credit for the responsible, fiscally sound policies that Republicans have implemented over the last 10 years,” Felzkowski said. “The reality is that the tax burden is low right now in spite of the governor, not because of him.”

Evers vetoed three tax cuts last session, including ones that would have specifically benefitted retirees and middle-class families, Felzkowski said. 

“All the tax cuts that have led to Wisconsin’s record low tax burden have been championed by Republicans,” she said. “The Republican-authored state budgets of the last 14 years are the reason Wisconsin is fiscally sound today.”

State Rep. Rob Swearingen (R-Rhinelander) said the state of the state was indeed strong but only because Republicans have passed fiscally responsible budgets, provided tax cuts, and bolstered the workforce.

“Tonight, Gov. Evers misled Wisconsinites to believe his administration is a champion of tax cuts and economic prosperity,” Swearingen said. “Last session, he vetoed several critical middle-class tax cuts that would have put nearly $1,000 back into the pocket of each Wisconsin household. I am disappointed that the governor continues to play politics, only to later take credit for the hard work of legislative Republicans.”

Swearingen said he was committed to addressing key issues facing the Northwoods. 

“The Northwoods continues to be the best area of the state to live, work, and raise a family,” he said. “I will remain committed to ensuring that the issues most affecting our northern communities remain at the forefront of the legislative agenda.”

State Rep. Jim Piwowarczyk (R-Hubertus) said Evers’s red flag pitch and his new Office of Violence Prevention proves that he sees public safety only as a partisan prop.

“If Gov. Evers is serious about public safety, he will immediately join Republican efforts to get illegal immigrants who commit crimes out of the state,” Piwowarczyk said. “He should demand that all sheriff’s departments in Wisconsin enforce ICE holds and cooperate with ICE to deport illegal immigrant criminals being held in jails. Instead of trying to take guns from law-abiding citizens, he should stop appointing weak-on-crime judges and immediately demand that his Department of Corrections revoke the supervision of all criminals who commit new crimes.”

And instead of creating a new, wasteful, and duplicative office of “violence prevention” built on the failed experiment in Milwaukee, Piwowarczyk said Evers should support law enforcement.

“Evers owes an apology to the hard-working agents at DCI, whose efforts he ignores and wants to duplicate,” he said. “His violence prevention office is also a slap at attorney general Josh Kaul, whose DOJ is supposed to coordinate statewide ‘violence prevention’ efforts. Similarly, DOJ already has a crime victim office.”

State Rep. Jessie Rodriguez (R-Oak Creek) said she found Evers’s speech puzzling.

“He boasts a strong economy, citing a reduced tax burden on Wisconsinites,” Rodriguez said. “Let’s be clear. Legislative Republicans have spent the last two decades working diligently to reduce the tax burden in our state. Make no mistake — the reduced tax burden in Wisconsin is not due to the governor’s ideas, but oftentimes in spite of them.”

In the last budget alone, Rodriguez said, Evers’s proposed tax increases would have cost taxpayers nearly $1.4 billion. 

“We rejected Evers’s tax increases, and instead sent a budget to his desk that would have provided the largest tax cut in state history, but the governor vetoed over $3 billion worth of income tax relief we sought to provide,” she said. “Just last session, Gov. Evers vetoed three separate packages of legislation aimed at cutting taxes. Now he wants to take credit for a reduced tax burden?”

Rodriguez said she couldn’t boast a strong economy to her constituents. 

‘By far the most common concern I heard from voters in my district this past fall was that inflation is making it harder than ever to make ends meet,” she said. “Everything from groceries to gas costs more these days. It’s essential that we take action at the state level to help Wisconsinites keep more of their hard-earned money.”

Richard Moore is the author of “Dark State” and may be reached at richardd3d.substack.com.