Spending cuts should start with legislature

Physician, heal thyself

Note to those legislators who so desperately want to curb government spending that they think we need to pass a constitutional amendment:

If you can't figure out who's spending all of the taxpayers' money, take a look in the mirror.

A Detroit News article on the costs of running Michigan's state legislature contains some numbers that should be of interest to Wisconsin taxpayers, too.

Wisconsin, which ranks 18th in population, cracks the top 10 when states are ranked by how much it costs to run their legislatures. Wisconsin's tab: $56-million a year. The legislature, being an independent branch of government, operates on a "sum sufficient" budget and spends whatever it decides it needs. The data is from the National Conference of State Legislatures, based on the 2003 fiscal year. (Click on the chart to enlarge it.)

That puts the Badger State ahead of states like Ohio, which has twice our population, or even liberal, free-spending Massachusetts, which has about a million more people than Wisconsin.

Salaries of Wisconsin lawmakers rank ninth in the nation at $45,569 a year, not counting the $88 per diem or mileage when they go to Madison.

In Michigan, a group of citizens is pushing a longshot ballot proposal for a unicameral legislature. A legislator has introduced a resolution calling for a state constitutional amendment to cut the number of senators from 38 to 20 and the number of representatives from 110 to 60.

Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, we are tinkering with reducing the size of county boards.

Yes, there's also Bride of TABOR, the proposed constitutional amendment to limit government revenue, being promoted by a posse of anti-tax, anti-government "reformers" who just keep spending more money on themselves.

It's a gimmick, pure and simple. It would squeeze some programs, but the sum-sufficient legislators would continue to fund their pet projects, repay their special interest supporters, and make sure that salaries, benefits and perks keep right on flowing. It won't stop waste and abuse in the legislative branch.

Instead of debating how many Waukesha County Board members it takes to change a lightbulb, why don't some of those crusaders look at cutting spending by the legislature itself.

It shouldn't be hard to do. Those fiscally conservative Republicans hold 79 of the 132 seats. Piece of cake, right?

The sponsor of the Michigan proposal to cut the size of the legislature said:

"The residents of Michigan keep hearing that they must sacrifice more and more to keep our economy afloat. It is time we matched their action. If we are truly serious about bringing Michigan back to health, we should all be willing to put our own jobs on the line for the sake of improving our government."

Do I hear a second?

Charlie, cue the crickets.