At least that's what one gleans from listening to Charlie Sykes, who, for at least the past two weeks, has been prepping his audience for an uproar over unpopular Scott Walker's soon-to-be released budget.
Sykes has previously said that the budget will include some "painful" cuts, but of late he's been eschewing that sort of rhetoric. Acknowledging that cuts are coming for education and aid to local governments (and not just the hated unions), Sykes has been saying that the cuts will separate true conservatives from RINOs. Because if you don't support raiding SeniorCare and cutting school aid, you're a squish.
Over the past two days, Sykes rhetoric of choice has been that Democratic governors are cutting spending on these things as well -- so implicitly if you're a Dem and you criticize Scott Walker you're a hypocrite! (Of course, Walker is making the choice to also cut revenues with inane non-job-creating tax cuts for business. Walker could also choose to increase taxes on the rich to minimize the cuts -- a route most Wisconsinites would prefer he take, according to the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute -- but that's off the table.)
Sykes, no doubt at the direction of Scott Walker's people, has been pushing this message because he knows there's a strong chance that his governor's budget will not go over well with the people of Wisconsin. And there's good reason for that.
Most Wisconsinites, according to WPRI, favor protecting education spending but that's not a priority for Walker either. From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story:
Ellis also said that Walker was considering major cuts to school aid money but would look at easing part of that pain by making it easier for school districts to hold down spending in areas like employee benefits.
To do that, Walker would need to change longstanding state laws such as the State Employment Labor Relations Act, which sets the rules for state unions.
So, school districts will get less money but can make up for it by screwing over teachers -- and then they will still have to cut more.
Separately, The Brawler heard a rumor that Walker will explore requiring teachers who are part of the Wisconsin Retirement System to start paying 5 percent of their salary into the system.
That's not news for school districts, who have long been expecting austerity:
Mike Blecha, who sits on the Green Bay School Board and serves as its legislative liaison, noted that state rules limit school revenue increases to $200 per student, down from $275 in 2008-09. That means a school board's ability to raise property taxes becomes limited.
Blecha said he's heard the limit could be reduced to as little as $100 per student. Small, rural districts or districts with declining enrollment could be forced to shut down if levy limits fall that low, he said.
Wisconsin is not open for education!
Scott Walker is not a very popular governor. Cutting education spending, cutting money for health care and taking other actions that are out of step with the priorities of the people of Wisconsin will not likely help those numbers.
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