6-6-13 state budget reaction

Local Republican lawmakers are praising the budget approved by the Jt. Finance Committee, the Senate Democratic leader says it’s a budget that favors the wealthy.  Fond du lac Republican state representative Jeremy Thiesfeldt says the budget, including about $650 million in income tax  cuts will move Wisconsin forward and encourage economic development.  "I think what has been accomplished assuming it stays the way it is right now is going to be a big step forward for the state of Wisconsin,"   Thiesfeldt told AM 1170 WFDL's Between the Lines program.  Thiesfeldt says he also supports the proposal to expand the private school voucher program statewide.  "I'm going to see that as a win.  It isn't clearly as far as I would like to go but the fact that we're able to open to the door to even a small statewide expansion to me puts Wisconsin on the cutting edge of education reform."   Republican Joan Ballweg says the budget also increases funding for public schools.  "This is going to end up being a $150 increase per pupil.  There's a lot of in the weeds details, half of that is going to go to every school, it doesn't matter what your equalized level of funding is,"  Ballweg said.   But Senate Democratic leader Chris Larson says Republican legislative leaders crafted their budget with very little public input.  "I think there is a reason why something like this was passed in the middle of the night while most of the public was sleeping,"  Larson said.  "Keep in mind this was done on the heels of the least number of public hearings since 1985 where the public's opinions really weren't taken into account."  Larson says the budget favors the wealthy at the expense of low and middle class citizens.