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Thompson is the change we need:
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| By: Ken Artis, Black River Falls |
September 09, 2009 |
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We know that it is time for a change. Now, I'm not saying that we have not had changes under Doyle and his followers. We have had plenty of changes, such as:
When Tommy Thompson left office, we had the lowest unemployment figures in the country. Seven years later, we now have the highest.
When Thompson left office, we were a welfare reform leader and we stopped being a welfare magnet. Doyle and the Doylies want to return us to a welfare magnet. Is this the change that we wanted?
With Thompson, we not only had good schools, but we restricted increases in property taxes by holding down teachers' salaries to affordable levels with the QEO and revenue limits. And the teachers were not rioting in the streets. They knew that they had a governor who realized that they needed job stability and the tools to teach.
The present governor, supported by the Doylies, has done everything he can to get around these sensible limits. The result will inevitably be higher property taxes. That's a change that we don't need.
Speaking of taxes, under Thompson personal income taxes did not increase, sales taxes did not increase, and corporate taxes did not increase. The lame duck Doyle administration will have to increase taxes because Doyle wants to raise more than $1 billion of revenue from you-in this budget alone. That's a lot of change, and we are the chumps who will have to come up with it.
When Thompson took office, we were an absolute last choice as a place to do business. If someone suggested Wisconsin as a place to locate, the idea was good for a laugh. By the time Thompson left, we were known as the Star of the Snowbelt. Who has opened up here lately? Certainly not one of the companies that have moved workers to other states. Companies and jobs are fleeing Wisconsin.
When Thompson left office, we had the highest number of manufacturing jobs in the history of our state. Today we are at 1983 levels for those jobs, and they are still declining. We cannot see the bottom. Is that the change that we wanted?
What we need and, in fact, deserve, is a governor who not only knows that "forward" is not just the state's motto, but that it is a way of thinking. We had this with Thompson. We can have it again and should.
We don't need to be led by those who will follow failed policies they created. We need someone with a track record. We need Thompson.
I support Tommy G. Thompson because his policies are not just theories. They have worked. He has a track record that we can trust and be proud of.
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©The Chetek Alert 2009
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