Wrong. It's not the "Joint Committee on Finance" that is "attempting to reconcile those differences." It's a conference committee, comprised of 4 democrats and 4 republicans...3 majority and 1 minority member from each house.

In Madison, the Democrats who control the Senate have proposed spending $58 billion of your tax dollars for you over the next two years. They also want to force all of us (except the teachers' unions) into a government-run socialized health care system, at an estimated initial cost of $15.2 billion more every year. (see previous editorial here) The Republicans in the Assembly have proposed spending $56 billion in the next two years.

Neither the Senate Democrats nor the Assembly Republicans have passed a budget that cuts state spending, despite what you might hear reported in the media. Both budgets propose overall spending increases from the last biennial budget.

Now, the two legislative bodies are trying to reconcile their differences. They're $2 billion apart. The negotiations aren't going very well.

And that's good for the taxpayers of Wisconsin.

If the two houses can't reach a compromise on their budget differences, Wisconsin has a provision in the law that continues to fund State operations at the same levels that were passed in the previous budget.

In other words, absent a budget compromise, State spending is frozen.

State offices and agencies don't close down. Nothing is cut. The State simply freezes spending at last year's levels. State agencies don't get a raise this year.

Anyone who works in the private sector knows the reality of this situation. You don't always get a raise every year. Sometimes it's several years between raises.

While our elected representatives in Madison are unable (or unwilling) to freeze or reduce spending, we're expected to keep paying our taxes to fund their spending.

So even if it's only by accident, a stalemate in the Capitol would be the best thing that could happen to Wisconsin.

Just ask a Wisconsin taxpayer.

Well said, Kerry. I haven't seen a raise, "cost of living" or merit in several years. It is what it is. Our company has requested each department manager either cut spending 10% or increase revenue 10% or some combination of them. Our legislators seem to think they should get raises every year because the "deserve" them. Clearly not living in the real world.