Education budget blues State lawmakers thought they already had dealt with wetlands. Thanks to a growing state deficit, the financial ground in the Legislature is still too soft for comfort. And it's getting squishier every day. Republicans express confidence that they can get out of this fix with hard cuts in spending and without raising taxes.
Democrats remain dubious.
That tension is not necessarily bad or counterproductive. What it should mean in practical terms is that everything is on the table - targeted spending cuts, fee increases and more. The goal is to reach a compromise that won't come down to a choice of gutting state services or raising taxes. Unlike other legislatures, Wisconsin's relies on one committee, Joint Finance, to make the recommended decisions on both taxing and spending, which is an efficient and fair way to conduct the public's financial business. Other lawmakers need to avoid the temptation to do political end runs around the committee just because they don't agree with some of its decisions.