Gov. Jim Doyle warned Wisconsin residents that “challenging days are ahead” in his annual State of the State address held at the State Capitol Wednesday. These challenging days are in reference to the national state of economic crisis. After a year in which state legislature struggled to pass an acceptable state budget four months past it’s deadline, Doyle focused heavily on affirming recent accomplishments and major goals in contributing to the overall growth and survival of Wisconsin in a “very difficult fiscal situation.”
While these goals showed a great deal of promise, and portrayed much of the state’s progress toward growth, they failed to fit into a clear economic plan to combat Wisconsin’s shrinking budget.
Doyle cited a reliance on technology, development and innovation as keys to ensuring the survival of the economy. Doyle referenced recent accomplishments of UW-Madison’s James Thomson in stem-cell research, he showed Wisconsin’s capacity to “turn new discoveries into economic opportunities.”
Furthermore, Doyle also addressed the importance of the Wisconsin Covenant as a means of ensuring growth throughout the state. Showcasing the growing support toward the Wisconsin Covenant, Doyle referenced $40 and $175 million in donations toward scholarship funds toward various programs affiliated with the Covenant. Doyle cited these donations to support his platform of if one is “willing to work hard, play by the rules, and make the grade, there will be an opportunity in higher education for them.”
As Doyle touted accomplishments and goals for the state in an oncoming time of economic need, the overall challenges in finding appropriate funds were vaguely touched upon. Doyle’s claim that “we will have to delay some of the things we agreed on” did not clearly address what exactly what will be sacrificed, delayed, or cut to accommodate Doyle’s hope for growth.
Overall, these plans carry very solid reasoning, but the lack of clarity in this plan leaves much room for skepticism toward an already uncertain future for the state of Wisconsin’s economy.
