The Milwaukee Post

October 27, 2017 • Milwaukee County Post • 9 'Disgusted' with the president To the editor: I never thought I would hear a president of the United States utter the phrase that freedom of the press was "disgusting." Donald Trump did exactly that with his utterance that it's "frankly disgusting that the press is able to write whatever it wants to write." I understand that President Trump can- not stand criticism, even if a news report is just reporting something he or his administration has said or done. But to call one of the most cherished freedoms and rights in our Constitution disgusting is maybe far worse that whatever else he has done. It is worse than attacking the mayor of San Juan while she was suffering through Hurricane Maria. It is worse than the whole mess that resulted from his call to the widow of La David Johnson. It is even worse than calling a peacefully kneeling NFL player a "son of a b-tch," as he did at an Alabama rally. If the Founding Fathers — be they George Washington, Thomas Jefferson or James Madison (the very writer of the First Amendment and freedom of the press) — could see see a man holding the very same office that they held and helped create, state press freedoms as disgusting, they would be aghast. Indeed, to use Trump's word, they would be disgusted. It is beyond shameful that we have a president who has utter contempt and dis- dain for a free press. His statements are no different than past dictators such as Benito Mussolini. We've never had a president of our nation who is literally at war with our Constitution and our most cherished val- ues. Trump makes himself out as some super-patriot but he is a man who said about an American hero and former POW John McCain, that "I like people who weren't captured." I understand that those on the Christian right support Trump because Trump is helping to push their views in public policy, but do they really want want a man who believes that press rights are disgusting? He's man whose temperament wouldn't be allowable for a shift supervisor at a fast food restaurant, let alone president. If we can get through the Trump presidency with our Constitution, freedoms and republic in tact, we should count that as a win. Jerome McCollom Milwaukee Streetcar, arena some of city's wasteful spending ways To the editor: When it comes to the city planners of Miwaukee, I wonder who are the dunces in charge. The Bucks said there is a huge need for a new arena or they would leave — they should have. Then there's that outdated form of transportation — the streecar. Apparently there's a great need by the few people who would ride it. What about driving for years on bad roads — isn't that need great? Is there one shred of common sense between the planners? Oh, yes, close down six fire departments and lay off 75 police officers in a city plagued by high crime. Wow! I sure am happy with where I live — Oak Creek. So far our roads are good and there are no big crime areas. If there is an issue, it's that we might be growing too fast. One lesson to be learned from Milwaukee is that bigger isn't always better. Gracie Schrank Oak Creek OPINION LETTERS TO THE EDITOR By OWEN B. ROBINSON Huzzah, huzzah! The state of Wisconsin finished its last budget with a $579 million surplus. That is great news both in real and in political terms, but it also gives some perspective to some unpleasant truths. There is no reason to understate the fact that $579 million is a lot of money. A lot. If Wisconsin had ended the budget with a $579 million deficit, it would have been consid- ered a crisis and woeful example of incom- petent fiscal management. But the fact that it is a surplus confirms the converse. Namely that the state of Wisconsin is in terrific fiscal health and its finances are being competently managed. What is per- haps more important is that this budget surplus is merely one in a string of recent budget surpluses. Gov. Scott Walker and the Legislature have been managing the state budget successfully for almost a decade and it is not going without notice around the nation. Just last week, both Fitch Ratings and Kroll Bond Rating Agency upgraded the state's bond rating to AA+. Fitch noted that, "the fiscal 2011-2013 budget marked a turn- ing point, with extensive structural budget actions and the resolu- tion of several lingering fiscal challenges." Fitch's commentary is a heady tonic as Walker gets ready to officially announce his run for a third term in office. Whichever Democrat wins the nod to challenge Walker in the general election will have to make the case that budget surpluses are bad and the state's bond rating is too high. Walker and the Legislature must now decide what to do with the surplus. There is a very easy answer to that: give it back to the taxpayers — $579 million is almost exactly $100 for every man, woman, and child in the state. Taxpayers would no doubt appreciate a $100 credit for each member of the household on their state income taxes next year. In any case, given the fact that the Legislature just completed the new budget, which is balanced and not reliant on a surplus from the previous budget, they should reject the urge to spend it on things whose priority failed to garner funding in the current budget. While $579 million is a fortune in real terms, it is only a small fraction of the state budget. The previous state biennial budget was $72,635,547,000. The $579 million sur- plus was, then, is about 0.8 percent of the entire amount. The 2017-2019 budget that just passed the Legislature projects to spend $75,590,563,100. The surplus is only 0.77 percent of that budget. It is worth remembering some of the heated debates that raged over the budget and delayed its passage by months. One of those debates was over the fictional budget shortfall for transportation that was esti- mated at anywhere between $400 million and $1 billion depending on who one asked. In order to fill that budget gap, the legisla- tive Republicans separated into three camps. The first camp was headed by Speaker Robin Vos and some Assembly Republicans who wanted to raise taxes to spend more on transportation. The second camp was rep- resented by the Senate leadership and wanted to borrow more to cover the short- fall. The third, and smallest, camp of Republicans wanted to delay or reprioritize transportation projects to spend within the money already available. In the end, the Republicans struck a com- promise that did a bit of everything. They increased taxes on people who drive elec- tric and hybrid vehicles, reprioritized some projects and borrowed a lot of money. In hindsight, that entire debate could have been rendered moot had they just prudent- ly managed the resources available as they did demonstrated in the previous budget. That fact raises the question, why were any Republicans ever even proposing a tax increase? Why were any of them proposing more borrowing? Why were some of them so unwilling, in the context of a $76 billion budget, to repri- oritize spending to fill what amounts to less than 1 percent of the state budget? Republicans should rightly be commended for their fiscal management these recent years, but some of them have drifted very far from their conservative moorings if they are reaching for tax increases and debt as a measure of first resort. A $579 million surplus may be a lot or lit- tle depending on the perspective, but there is no argument about it being a good thing for Wisconsin. The taxpayers are continu- ing to reap the rewards of the conservative revolution begun at the dawn of this decade. (Owen B. Robinson is a West Bend resident whose column appears occasionally in The Milwaukee County Post. He can be reached at owen@bootsandsabers.com.) Wisconsin's surplus good news for taxpayers Robinson State $579 million in black

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