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Emergency Jobs Plan
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Putting Wisconsin Back to Work
“People create jobs, not the government. However, government can kill jobs, and has been for the last eight years. My first official act as governor will be to declare an economic emergency and call a special session of the legislature to immediately make the necessary changes to help the private sector create jobs. This can’t wait for the state budget, Wisconsinites need help now.”
-- Scott Walker
Without question, the top concern for families across Wisconsin is the economy. As I travel our state, people tell me they’re scared. They’re scared about losing their jobs, about paying their bills and about caring for their families.
People are frustrated and uncertain about the future – with good reason. Wisconsin has lost more than 150,000 jobs since 2008. With reports showing August one of the worst months of the year for job growth, it’s clear the problem isn’t getting better either.
Yet, too many politicians seem intent on offering only more of the same big-spending and big-taxing plans that increase bureaucratic red-tape and make it even harder to create jobs. Worse, some politicians have spent their career telling us one thing during an election and doing something completely different when they get in office. These politicians have lost the trust of their constituents by paying nothing but lip service to creating jobs.
THIS MUST CHANGE IMMEDIATELY.
My first official act as governor, within minutes of taking the oath of office, will be to implement my comprehensive Emergency Jobs Plan.
Emergency Jobs Plan Summary
1. Immediately declare an economic emergency and call a special session of the legislature to begin on inauguration day and not end until the legislature passes measures including, but not limited to:
a. Cutting taxes on small businesses;
b. Curbing Frivolous lawsuits that drive costs up;
c. Eliminating the state tax on Health Savings Accounts; and
d. Reforming the Department of Commerce into a true Economic Development Agency.
2. Immediately convene Waste, Fraud and Abuse Commission to trim wasteful spending.
Emergency Special Session on Jobs
Fixing the Doyle Disaster can’t wait, not even one day. That’s why my first official act as governor, minutes after taking the oath of office, will be to declare an economic emergency and call a special session of the legislature on jobs.
I will call on the legislature to meet on Day One and work until the job is done. I will ask to send to my desk legislation lowering taxes on job creators, curbing frivolous lawsuits that drive-up costs, eliminate the tax on health care coverage and cutting bureaucratic red tape that kills job growth.
Wisconsinites need jobs and there simply is no time to waste.
Cut Taxes on Small Businesses
Small businesses form the backbone of our economy. Some reports estimate that as much as 80% of job growth in our nation is from small businesses alone.
In Wisconsin, small business owners often file their business taxes as individuals. This means that a husband and wife who own a convenience store often pay the same tax rate as the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
I think that’s wrong. That’s why, as part of the emergency special session, I will ask the legislature to pass an immediate tax cut for small businesses employing 50 or fewer workers.
I will call for a tax cut of as much as 20% off the small businesses that provide most of the jobs in Wisconsin. That’s money that can be used to hire more workers at small businesses here in Wisconsin.
End Frivolous Lawsuits that Drive Up Costs
Wisconsin faces a crisis when it comes to health care costs for families and employers. One of the key reasons is frivolous lawsuits that drive up costs.
Frivolous lawsuits force doctors to practice defensive medicine by ordering expensive and unnecessary tests instead of focusing on what’s best for patients. They cause malpractice insurance rates to skyrocket, costs which get passed onto patients.
By passing true lawsuit reform, we can ensure that patients are protected while making health care affordable for families and employers.
Eliminate the Tax on Health Care Coverage
Many small businesses want to provide health insurance for their employees but can’t afford it. In other states, tax-exempt Health Savings Accounts offer an affordable alternative for small businesses and family farmers, but Wisconsin is being left behind because we continue to tax these accounts, eliminating nearly all of the benefit for small employers to use them.
As part of the emergency special session, I will call on the legislature to eliminate the tax on Health Savings Accounts, taking effect immediately.
Create a True Economic Development Agency
During the last eight years, Wisconsin’s Department of Commerce has become a bureaucratic mess more focused on increasing red tape than on creating a state where employers will create jobs.
Working with the legislature and through executive order, I will replace DOC with a true economic development agency.
Instead of a traditional cabinet secretary, I will hire an experienced economic development professional as Executive Director. All regulatory functions will be transferred to other agencies. Existing economic development functions of state agencies, like the Department of Workforce Development, and state affiliated entities, like the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, will be consolidated within the new agency.
The new consolidated agency, focused entirely on the promotion of commerce, can immediately become a rapid-response agency to shepherd job creators through state government, expedite backlogged permit applications and help them put Wisconsin citizens back to work.
Waste, Fraud and Abuse Commission
Wisconsin’s state budget now spends more than $62 billion, a 33% increase since Gov. Doyle took office. Put simply, government has grown beyond the ability of the taxpayers to pay for it.
When I was first elected County executive, I promised to spend tax money as if it were my own. It’s time the state did the same.
In August, I announced I would create a Waste, Fraud and Abuse Commission to examine state government from top-to-bottom to find wasteful spending to trim.
As part of my Emergency Jobs Plan, I will issue an executive order on my first day in office, creating this commission, directing it to meet within one week, and giving it the authority to access the books of all state agencies and go through them line-by-line.
I will appoint a tough, private-sector chairman who will bring common sense to government spending and ensure that taxpayer money is being spent efficiently and effectively.
I will instruct the Commission to report by the end of January so I can immediately begin saving money to lower taxes and balance the budget.
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