Showdown in Wisconsin
19th February 2011
Megan McArdle thinks it through.
On one level, this is extraordinarily odd–is it really the president’s job to be taking sides in a dispute between Wisconsin’s elected government and its state employees? But in another way, it’s logical, even necessary. State governments are where some of the hardest choices about taxes and spending have to be made. And thanks to a confluence of factors–ObamaCare rules that keep states from cutting Medicaid spending, poorly thought-out pension obligations that are now coming due, crashing revenue thanks to the recession, and in all but one states, a balanced budget requirement–those choices have to be made now. Wisconsin is facing a $3.6 billion shortfall over the next two years. The money is going to have to come from somewhere.