As my campaign moves forward, I've been receiving feedback from some former Wisconsin residents via e-mail or phone calls. As I spoke with people I've met during the campaign, I've frequently encountered individuals who have changed (or are planning on changing) their residency from Wisconsin to another state.
These people enjoy Wisconsin, they love Wisconsin, but they feel compelled to become residents of another state. Why? Certainly in some cases because they want to escape winter and spend time in a warmer climate. However, with additional dialog, it becomes evident that they have recognized the Wisconsin taxes are out of control in comparison to the states they have moved to. Some have actually quantified the savings in the range of 5 to 10 thousand dollars per year. They have incorporated ALL of the imposed state taxes and fees in these calculations (real estate, sales tax, income tax, etc.)
As we continue to lose residents to Arizona, Florida, Texas, and other states, remember the rest of us will carry the burden. Additionally, recent information has shown that our best and brightest Wisconsin students look for careers outside of Wisconsin because they have more opportunity in other states. That means we are losing new workers as well. And of course, we've seen the impact of the corporate taxation enacted by Governor Doyle on businesses taking their business to other locations. It's a vicious circle and you and I will continue to pickup up an even larger burden of Wisconsin's deficit spending and out of control budget ( including a train that won't have anybody left to ride it!). As this continues, the hurt gets deeper as we not only loose businesses and jobs but also many of our financially stable citizens.
It's time to send people to Madison who are willing to tackle this issue and call their opponents out on unreasonable spending and taxes.
