Gov. Scott Walker gave his State of the State address on Jan. 13  to a chamber filled with many, whose spirits, still-high from the Packers’ recent victory was palpable. The Governor amorously apologized for his hoarse voice during his opening remarks, but like most of the state, Walker conceded, “… we spent a fair amount of time cheering on Sunday.” Unlike another governor, however, Walker said he also took the time to hug many a fan in the bleachers that day.

According to Walker, our state is like our football team – and apparently our military. Strong. The source: Us. “The citizens of Wisconsin are decent and smart and hard-working – and they are strong,”  said Walker.

Gov. Walker sees evidence of this strength in many areas, especially in the private sector citing a 5.2 percent unemployment rate, down from 9.2 percent in 2010, and projecting continued trends for this year. His data shows that November’s private sector job growth was higher than it has been in more than two decades.

In reference to property taxes being lower than they were in 2010, Walker unabashedly begged the question, “How many Governors can say that?” According to the governor, a typical homeowner is paying $141 less in December 2014 in property taxes. Walker stated that if taxes had increased at the rate they did from 2006 to 2010, a typical homeowner would have paid $385 more, a cumulative difference over four years of more than $800.

“That’s real money,” he said.

In regards to Walker’s statement on finishing each year with a surplus, of which he expects the same for 2014, Madison College student Issac Brown say’s he can’t help but think of trickle-down economics.

“[I] hope the plans for redistribution aren’t based on it,” Brown said.

Walker addressed Wisconsin’s public education system, citing programs like Blueprint for Prosperity and Better Bottom Line, which put 5,000 more students in Wisconsin’s 16 technical colleges and resulted in the elimination of a waiting list for employment services for the first time in more than a decade, respectively.

Indeed, Walker spent much of his speech addressing all that Wisconsinites need be proud of, and implored our state legislators to pass legislation that would make this Strong State even stronger.

“Going forward,” he announced, “I want to eliminate any requirement to use Common Core,” attesting his own sons’ outstanding educations to public schools whose standards are high held.
But Walker trusts parents, not bureaucrats, to set those standards, “from within Wisconsin – and preferably at the local level.”

Wisconsin currently ranks 15th among the 50 states in education.

Time will tell if Walker’s plans to create a stronger Wisconsin succeed. But it’s not just up to him. Remember that state representatives and senators are merely a phone call or an email away.