Wisconsin Citizen Action Testifies Against Ajr 55
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The following testimony was presented to the Assembly Committee on Government
Operations and Spending Limitations on December 9, 2003. The testimony
is by Carolyn Castore, Program Director of Wisconsin Citizen Action, on
Assembly Joint Resolution 55 / Constitutional Amendment, a proposed constitutional
amendment to freeze spending and cut taxes.
I am speaking today on behalf of Wisconsin Citizen Action in opposition
to Assembly Joint Resolution 55. Wisconsin Citizen Action has over 75,000
individual members throughout this state – all of whom pay taxes.
We urge the state Legislature to focus on issues of real concern to
our members and the citizens of this state – and to refrain from
telling them how the local governments they have elected ought to be
run.
Many people complain about their taxes. But they also want dependable,
quality services. They want their roads plowed, their streets repaired,
police and fire protection, clean drinking water, quality education,
and parks to enjoy. And this gives us quality of life that makes Wisconsin
a great place to live. If you look at the services provided and the
amenities we enjoy, our tax bill is a pretty good deal.
And many of us also care about services we do not use personally, but
want in our community. I have no children in school, but I am glad that
there are public schools for my neighbor's children. I may not have
the time to spend with a senior that lives up the street, but I am glad
she has a senior center that keeps her learning and active. I don't
go to the zoo often, but am glad that it is there. I don't camp, but
am glad that we are protecting our parks and forests. I am proud we
have made these investments in our community.
Many people grumble about their taxes in part because of the growing
unfairness. As more and more exemptions are made, the burden for paying
for services and our quality of life falls to fewer and fewer citizens.
As more and more companies are allowed to pay less and less, the average
working family must pay a disproportionate share for the corporations
who are not.
This country has developed a system to determine what resources are
needed and how they should be used. It is called democracy. It works
at all levels of government. It is how we choose to live together. We
elect representatives at every level of government whom we can hold
accountable. Local officials are closest to citizens. Preempting their
authority undermines our democracy. Why should someone vote if the person
they elect has no power?
When the Boston Tea Party cry "no taxation without representation"
was heard, we opted for representation and taxation. This resolution
calls for no representation and no taxation. It goes against the heritage
of our country.
Wisconsin Citizen Action opposes Joint Resolution 55 because it will
inflict pain on those who can afford it least. This proposed constitutional
amendment undermines our values on community, on democratic decision-making,
and on the quality of our lives. It implies that the solution to all
problems is reducing taxes. Most people understand that is not true.
Increasing the minimum wage and bringing in new high wage, high benefit
jobs would do more to enhance most people's income than carving a few
hundred dollars from their tax bills. Cutting the resources to keep
our parks, library, and transportation systems running will not solve
problems – it will create them.
Finally, we oppose the politics of this amendment. We oppose the efforts
to divert attention from the real problems in this state such as jobs
and health care. We also recognize that the interests that support this
amendment have far more financial resources, though fewer people, than
those who oppose it. This Legislature has yet to deal with real issues
around campaign finance reform. Introducing this resolution which will
raise the stakes for referenda seems to accent the problems with money
in politics, not address them. We already have problems with special
interests funding campaigns of elected officials. By requiring endless
referenda to raise taxes, the amendment appears to open the door to
many of those same interests paying to influence the outcome of those
referenda.
Passage of this amendment will tell the majority of us in Wisconsin
that our vote does not count. It will tell us that our local governments
are unable to represent us. In short, this amendment undermines the
basic values of our democracy.
Posted December 18, 2003
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