The news about Wisconsin’s financial crisis keeps getting worse. The latest ominous report comes from the non-partisan Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance (WTA).
The WTA says that, “according to Wisconsin’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, or CAFR, the state ended the most recent fiscal year with a $2.15 billion deficit.”
You read that correctly: Wisconsin ended the most recent fiscal year $21.5 billion in the hole. The WTA says relative to population, Wisconsin has the largest deficit in the country.
Wisconsin is one of only three states suffering from red ink. Wednesday
I wrote about Wisconsin’s budget woes while most of the rest of America is enjoying budget surpluses.
We have a very serious mess on our hands, and the WTA says it’s because of Wisconsin’s increasing debt load: “In 2002, general obligation, revenue, tobacco, and related bond debt for government activities equaled $4.13 billion. By 2006, the total was $8.99 billion, up 117% in four years.”
The outrageous debt we’ve accumulated affects our financial reputation. Thirty-four states have better bond ratings than Wisconsin. Only three states have lower ratings.
It does not get better. Governor Doyle's budget proposes over $2 billion in additional bond debt.
Unless we put an end to the tax and spend craze in our state, our fiscal crisis will only get worse.
You can read the entire WTA report
here.
