Governor Walker gives his 8th State of the State

This year marked Governor Scott Walker’s eighth State of the State of Address. On Wednesday, January 24th, Walker spoke to a joint session of the Wisconsin Legislature. Walker discussed Wisconsin’s economy and the state budget, as well as introducing an ambitious agenda for this year.

Throughout the first half of the speech Walker talked about his accomplishments as Governor.

Walker started off strong talking about Wisconsin’s record low unemployment and the absense of the state property tax. He also claimed that Wisconsin's healthcare quality is ranked first in the nation for quality. Then the governor went into more detail about Wisconsin’s employment. Walker said cited that , “last week, the Department of Workforce Development announced that the unemployment rate had dropped to 3.0 percent.”” This is the lowest the rate of unemployment has been since 1999 with Tommy Thompson as Governor.

Walker went on to brag about his accomplishments within the university system. He went into specifics on helping graduate students refinance student loans as well as financial aid for students in need.

Governor Walker also boasted about his success in eliminating the state property tax. Additionally, he went into the quality of the Wisconsin healthcare system, specifically Badgercare. Walker claimed that everyone is now covered under the plan.

Walker also proposed a new agenda to insure that schools in rural areas have the same quality of education as city schools. He plans to do this by increasing Sparsity Aid and help low revenue school districts. Walker called on the state legislature to pass his plan.

The Governor also expressed his support for increasing opportunities for young people to pursue careers in Wisconsin. He went on to talk about a plan he developed with the Wisconsin Technological College System, the University of Wisconsin System and with other private college and universities.

He proposed that the state use the $20 million designated to Act 58 to establish a new Wisconsin Career Creator program that would be present on campuses all over the state. Walker also proposed another plan to create a Family Farm Fund that would provide scholarships for students to pursue agricultural studies at Wisconsin technological schools, in order to keep more family farms in state. According to Walker, this plan would also help farmers deal with the cost of ensuring that their farming practices preserve clean water in rural areas.

Governor Walker finished on a high note saying, “Today, I want you to know that I am proud to be your Governor. I’m proud of the work we’ve done here. I’m proud of the progress we’ve made together. I am proud that we are getting positive things done for the people of Wisconsin.