The governor starts his second term and the legislature its new session already 1-point 6 billion dollars in a budget hole.
The Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance actually thinks the deficit is more than 2-billion dollars. So, how do the governor and lawmakers even start filling the gap?
Dale Knapp of the Taxpayers' Alliance says first, the state needs to stop using accounting tricks. Things like raiding the transportation fund or putting off until tomorrow what should be paid today or spending one time windfalls such as the tobacco settlement money. Once that's stopped, Knapp says the governor and legislature have to decide either how to cut spending or increase revenue or both.
Knapp says either way the budget treatment is bound to be painful but the cure will put the state back on a budget healthy track in the future.