MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The showdown over collective bargaining rights for public employees is only the first step in a contentious debate over how to solve Wisconsin’s budget woes.
Newly elected Republican Gov. Scott Walker also is seeking to dismantle an array of social policies enacted under his Democratic predecessor. On the chopping block in Walker’s two-year budget proposal is early release programs for prisoners, in-state college tuition for the children of illegal immigrants and mandatory insurance coverage for contraceptives.
Those and several other programs Walker wants to cut were enacted under former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle.
The director of an independent watchdog group says it seems as if Walker wants to erase everything that happened in the last two years. Walker contends the cuts are needed to solve the state’s budget crisis.