Letter: Are we better off than four years ago?

To the editor: While thinking about whether I was going to vote for Scott Walker or Mary Burke for governor, I kept thinking, are we better off now than four years ago? Are we going to be better off four years from now? Will our kids be better off four years from now? When Walker took over, he promised our property taxes would go down. Living in Shawano County, only last year did my taxes finally go down — by $20. You cannot cut money from educational funding; the money has to come from somewhere. Robbing Peter to pay Paul has never worked. Walker also states how he froze the UW tuition for the second year. We can’t do this without it catching up with us. Is freezing tuition going to help the freshmen entering the UW System? Yes. Will it help the freshman who is entering high school? No, they will end up paying for it. Recently, the Shawano School Board had to raise the budget because of the costs Walker made to education. Yesterday, the Shawano County Board had to raise the property taxes 1.52 percent. I can’t blame them (which are words never heard from me). Equipment wears out, and there is constant maintenance of the parks and county buildings. So I am prepared to see my taxes go back up. No pizza for me. On the issue of jobs: Walker has claimed to have created 110,000 new jobs, but they never mention what kind of pay for these new jobs. How many are good-paying jobs? Moderate-paying jobs? Minimum-paying jobs? Walker is, of course, against raising the minimum wage, which he says will hurt businesses. Businessmen yell the moment they hear whispers of minimum wage increases, saying they cannot stay in business. As a former bartender in a supper club, I would hear businessmen bragging about trips they had just taken, houses and cars they have bought, along with their toys parked in their garages, all while sipping their martinis. The working Joe can only pay for a weekend at a park. So, are we better off than four years ago? It all depends on whom you are and your income bracket. I think you know whom I am voting for. Dennis Hodkiewicz Sr., Shawano