LTE – Todd Meyers – 2-27-2013

Our Own Money

Have you paid your taxes yet? I have. Did you get a thank you note from Iowa or Mississippi?

I didn’t either, but we should have. Why? Wisconsin taxpayers only get back 86 cents for every dollar we send to Washington. Our neighbor Iowa gets a $1.10 on every dollar, and Mississippi gets a whopping $2.02 cents for every dollar they send to Washington. Wisconsin is in 48th place in receiving per capita federal dollars.

But don’t blame the federal government. They try give us some of our own money back.

They offered us $810 million for high speed rail. We refused the money-our own money.

They offered us $37 million to prepare a health care exchange and another $11 million to help with Medicare enrollment. We turned down that money-our own money.

Now the federal government is offering us $4.3 billion – of our own money- to be used to offset healthcare costs through 2020. Guess what? We’re refusing this money too. That’s right $4.3 billion of our own money politely refused.

But, keep checking your mail. I’m sure the thank-you cards from Iowa and Mississippi will come along any day now.

Todd Meyers
Chippewa Falls