A well-known state representative spoke to a group of University of Wisconsin students Wednesday night to share his opinion on the future of the state's budget and what effect students can have on it.
Self-proclaimed "anti-tax" Rep. Frank Lasee, R-Green Bay, spoke to UW Students for Prosperity, an organization that raises issues of fiscal responsibility among students.
Lasee said that over the next two years, Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle has proposed a $1.7 billion tax hike that will be financed by "upping things that are necessary for life."
The increases include an additional $1.25 tax increase on cigarettes, with excess funds going toward Medicaid, according to Lasee.
Though he admitted the cigarette tax might deter some smokers from the habit, Lasee said the actual number of people who actually quit or cut back is often skewed.
"It does stop some people from smoking, or it makes them cut back," Lasee said. "(But) more people turn to non-tax sources. They turn to the Internet, Indians and smugglers who go to North Carolina and buy cigarettes that are now taxed at only 30 cents a pack."
Additional tax increases include a 1 percent surcharge on hospitals and hospital services, and an increase in vehicle registration fees and sales tax on homes, Lasee said.
Lasee also criticized the way the Wisconsin state government conducts its budgetary finances.
"If Wisconsin was a private business, people would go to jail for the way they run their books," Lasee said, comparing the situation to the Enron finance scandal.
This is due to the state "cooking their books" — what Lasee terms the process where budgetary issues are claimed on the next fiscal year instead of the current one to balance the budget, and paying back funds when the next fiscal year begins.
"At some point, you don't have the ability to keep up," Lasee said. "It's flat-out wrong."
Lasee said he also disapproves of expanding the UW System.
While 23 percent of UW System graduates leave the state upon graduation, Lasee said Wisconsin fails to attract graduates from other states.
"Most states have a like number of students leaving their states and moving into other states," Lasee said. "In Wisconsin, we have almost none."
Lasee concluded by sharing his pessimistic outlook on the future Wisconsin budget.
"Our big financial picture really kind of sucks," Lasee said. "Unfortunately, the way the process is set up, [Gov. Doyle] makes an outrageous budget, and we'll have to meet him at least half way."
At the speech, National Coordinator for Americans for Prosperity John Connors encouraged students to voice their opinions to local legislators.
Connors suggested that concerned students should research state budgetary issues, share personal stories with legislators or start a blog to discuss relevant issues.
UW Students for Prosperity President Kyle Maichle said the purpose of Wednesday night's meeting was "to educate the whole UW-Madison student body about the proposed Wisconsin state budget."
"We just wanted to have a choice for students tonight to hear about the state budget despite all the proposed taxes from cigarettes to hospitals," Maichle said.
