Wisconsin: Barrett Raises Taxes 43%, Falk 80%, Who Will You Vote For

May 3, 2012

How Barrett, Falk compare on taxes, union bargaining

Tax (Photo credit: 401K)

By Larry Sandler and Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel May 2, 2012

For all their differences, the two leading Democratic candidates in the gubernatorial recall campaign have one thing in common with Republican Gov. Scott Walker: Their résumés.

Like Walker, the former Milwaukee County executive, both Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk have led one of Wisconsin’s biggest local governments. That gives voters a record to compare in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, when Barrett and Falk face Secretary of State Doug La Follette, Sen. Kathleen Vinehout (D-Alma) and Gladys Huber, a fake or protest Democrat.

But Barrett and aldermen have relied on user fees to bear more costs that otherwise would be covered by property taxes. While the levy rose 25% in eight years, revenue from the four major municipal service fees jumped 132%, for combined tax and fee growth of 43%.

Overall, the levy grew 80.5% an average of 4.3% a year, during Falk’s tenure.

Read the rest of the story at JSOnline.

WUPN: If you live in Wisconsin, you have to ask yourself, why would you vote for Tom Barrett or Kathleen Falk? How can you even compare Scott Walker to these two running for governor? Vote who you wish but if you care about your taxes in Wisconsin, you only have one choice for governor.