AJR 55 Misses the Mark, Butera Says

WEAC Executive Director Michael A. Butera delivered the following remarks January 14, 2004, in Madison to the Business Day Conference sponsored by the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce. He focused on Assembly Joint Resolution 55, a proposed constitutional amendment to freeze spending and cut taxes.

Assembly Joint Resolution 55 is another one of those slick-sounding initiatives that misses the mark in understanding the true American Democratic experience. It is couched in language that masks its underlying anti-, non pro- citizen foundation. It is born of distrust in government and a misunderstanding of how a great democracy can enfranchise, not disenfranchise, its citizens.

When the Boston Tea Party cry went out "no taxation without representation," it was not a cry for no taxation. In fact, it was a cry for representation in taxation.

In many respects, 55 is yet another effort to channel citizen anger away from the more important matter of demanding a fairer tax system for a 21st Century Wisconsin economy.

Wisconsin needs a fairer system of taxes built in the tradition of a representational democracy. Citizens elect individuals who represent their interests in the Legislature and all other levels of government and, by virtue of what they hear from their constituency and learn about the overall needs of Wisconsin citizens, make judgments to foster the well-being of all citizens. When we disempower and undermine the authority of our elected officials, we erode citizen participation in their government, not enhance it. Why should someone vote if the person they elect has no power?

Super-majorities are likely to further disenfranchise citizens who are already disenfranchised. The moral soul of a democracy demands that the majority act to enfranchise those currently left behind.

In economic terms, government is a necessary ingredient to a healthy economy – it sets respectful laws of commerce and serves to stabilize economies in uncertain times. This is necessary to ensure civil order and the empowerment of citizens. Still further, using the consumer price index as a benchmark is to misuse its fundamentals.

The proposal is crafted in a manner that can only be viewed as a pre-election gimmick. Inflation, for example, in schools, is not a proper measure of school costs. Both academicians and common sense tell us that this is the case. Changing student demographics and increased demands on schooling drive costs more than do factors measured by the cost-of-living index. Nor is inflation the proper measure of costs faced by counties and cities – how do you account for suburban sprawl, for example, and the need to expand protective services?

While some may argue that the proposal provides growth as well as COLA adjustments, population growth alone still misses the mark.

First, the simplistic use of population numbers for schools fails to recognize the individual needs of students or districts with special circumstances; second, over time, this proposal will destroy the rural ambiance of Wisconsin and more severely strain the relationship between rural, suburban and urban communities; and third, this proposal fails to recognize the costs which state and local governments do not control but must pay, such as increasing Medicare and Medicaid costs which far exceed basic inflation.

In summary, this proposal misses the mark on democracy, disenfranchises those we need to have enfranchised; heightens rural, suburban and urban tensions; fails to deliver on the need for a fair tax system that meets 21st century realities; fails on preserving local elected official sovereignty; and fails to recognize what inflation is based on and how it does not reflect the realities of a just government.

We believe that every kid deserves a great school, with classrooms that work for students, has great teachers and staff and benefits everyone. We also believe that every citizen deserves a great government, one that depends on quality elected officials in whom we gain and maintain trust, a government that helps communities work and knows that we all benefit from improving all communities, not a few or privileged lot.

The constitutional amendment to limit taxes, which is what 55 is, can easily be the constitutional amendment of the future that limits business growth and opportunities.

We must all be careful that political grandstanding leaves a state in which to stand and raise our families with the quality of life that is the great Wisconsin idea.

Thank you.

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Posted January 15, 2004