Gov. Walker's Republican Reforms Pay Off in Massive Surplus for Wisconsin

Jim Geraghty reports on joy in cheddar-land.

Our first bit of good news for the states: This week, the Wisconsin State Assembly will approve another big tax cut, amounting to $541 million and give Scott Walker another feather in his cap as he heads into his reelection campaign:

The tax decreases — the third round of cuts by Republicans in less than a year — passed 17-15 with GOP Sen. Dale Schultz of Richland Center joining all Democrats in voting against the proposal. The proposal now goes to the Assembly, which passed a different version of the tax cuts last month with two Democrats joining all Republicans in supporting it.

With growing tax collections now expected to give the state a$1 billion budget surplus in June 2015, Walker’s bill will cut property and income taxes for families and businesses, and zero out all income taxes for manufacturers in the state.

Gov. Walker’s record is nothing short of amazing. In a few short years he has turned Wisconsin into a bona fide red state on policy, and taxpayers are feeling and seeing the positive effects. He has accomplished this against the best organized and most fierce opposition that the left could muster against him, on their home turf. Walker has essentially played an away game during his entire tenure, and turned it into a home game. That he is leading a surplus and tax cut revolution against the headwinds of the terrible Obama economy is astonishing.

At this point, Scott Walker’s record in office combined with his ability to sweep a blue state to red has to make him a top-tier GOP candidate for the presidency in 2016. Well, if records in office and sticking to conservative principles matter to the allegedly conservative party. We’ll see if they do.