Here & Now

Year-End Interview with Gov. Scott Walker

Zac Schultz:

Governor Walker, thanks for joining us.

Scott Walker:

Glad to be with you.

Zac Schultz:

Do you think your third state-wide election in four years says more about your job as a governor or as a campaigner?

Scott Walker:

I don’t know, it’s hard to say. It’s one of those where we tried to make the connection. I think more than anything people saw that they share the sentiment that I had not just in this election, but all the way back almost five years ago when Tonette and I sat down and talked about, thought about, ultimately prayed about getting in the race for governor. It was back then, in 2009, when I was, in many ways, was afraid that my sons, Tonette and I, our sons were going to grow up in a state that wasn’t as great as the state we grew up in. And that just wasn’t acceptable. And so we set out to really lay out a plan to make sure that for Matt and Alex and all the other sons and daughters like them, they grow up in a state even better. And I think, thankfully, people have seen that those reforms have helped put us down that path. And over the next four years we’re going to do even more to make sure for all those sons and daughters and those yet to come, they’ll continue to grow up in a state that’s even better than the one we grew up in.

Zac Schultz:

The next big challenge is obviously the budget. The legislative fiscal bureau put out a statement saying just the cost to continue services for the next two years, the state is $284 million short. Does that mean more cuts to state government are inevitable?

Scott Walker:

Well, we'll look at a combination of things. Obviously, we’re going to look at ways to help continue to improve the economy, which will lead to more revenue growth. But you look about $700 million-plus of that is just for Medicaid costs to continue. That's because those costs continue without an expansion or anything else. We’ve got to help rein that in. It means we need to– Couple things, help do more to continue to grow the economy, help do more to help people get the skills that they need to succeed, do better in life. That’s ultimately how you improve salaries. In doing so, you help improve the overall economy. And then help transition more people from government dependence to true independence. You know, 20 years ago, more than 20 years ago now when my first son was born, about 10% of the people in the state were on Medicaid. Last year it had grown to almost 25%, nationally it’s even higher. We’ve got to do more to help people transition from government dependence into the marketplace, into the private sector, where they can be gainfully employed.

Zac Schultz:

A lot of people would say about Medicaid that you should have taken the expansion. Any look back –?

Scott Walker:

I think increasingly the evidence of states that have done that has been a mixed bag at best. And in fact, States that not only took the expansion, but did the state exchanges, you see huge problems in other states around the country. In fact, in Maryland part of the reason why they have, first time in a long time, they've got a Republican governor is because the lieutenant governor under Martin O’Malley, the previous governor, messed things up so much with that state exchange that they went against the traditional norm of voting Democrat and voted Republican there, just because they were so put off by the mistakes there. So I think in the end, if you look, there’s been stories even this past week about physicians and other health care professionals across the country saying they were pulled in by the promises of high reimbursement through the Medicaid expansion. The federal government started to renege on that, pull back on that, and now they’re really wondering what they’ve gotten into. We protected the taxpayers in this state from that problem, and yet still were able to cover everyone living in poverty.

Zac Schultz:

You said a priority for the next budget is reducing property taxes. Where does the money come for that?

Scott Walker:

Well, it’s a combination. We’ll put more, continue to put more in the state aids, continue to make our commitment to the Wisconsin technical colleges and obviously each of the campuses across the state. That helps preserve the property tax relief we saw in this last budget and what we saw in last month’s property tax bills. But going forward, we’ll make sure we want to continue to invest there, as well as tightening up some of the limits we’ve had, to make sure for this next year's, December of 2015’s property tax bills and those to come, that we continue to find ways to make sure the money we put into local government doesn’t go off in vast new spending, but rather supports the basic necessities of those programs at the same time it helps drive down property tax relief.

Zac Schultz:

In your first budget you created a transportation task force to look at long-term funding. In the second budget you didn’t take any of the recommendations. What are we going to do about long-term, sustainable funding for the transportation budget.

Scott Walker:

A combination of things. I don’t think the gas tax itself, here or at the national level, is in a viable position to be essentially almost the sole source. You get most of the transportation funding either from the tax gas, or a smaller portion from the vehicle registration fees. Then after that it’s very little bits and pieces out there. It’s going to have to be a combination of things. Looking at some of the things right now that are in the general purpose revenue, GPR budget, things related to transportation, vehicle-related purchases, maintenance, things of that nature, I think, long term. I proposed that in the past, legislature’s reined that in a little bit. I think it’s time for us to renew that looking at saying long term. Other states look at things like sales taxes on repairs, auto part purchases, automobile purchases themselves. I think those would be ways we could ultimately do a better job of sustaining the transportation system.

Zac Schultz:

An estimated 18%, approximately, of the transportation budget is dedicated to debt service. You had to bond nearly a billion dollars in the last budget. Is it going to be close to that this time? And will that all be transportation-supported bonding or will you put some in the general purpose funds again?

Scott Walker:

We’ll look– We have to look at a number of options, and we’ll spend the next month looking at that. I mean, our debt ratio, for example in overall, not just in transportation related bonding, is still at a manageable level. We’re going to, probably in this next budget, do more to drive down the amount of debt that we have. You know, you compare it, it’s about 4% or 5%, compared to nationally, where it’s over 100% on the ratio out there, which is just unsustainable. Here it’s a little bit higher, has been historically, in transportation the last few years. But we’re going to drive debt down at the state level overall, and do more to get us on the right path.

Zac Schultz:

Full disclosure that Wisconsin Public Television is part of the UW System. The system is asking for $95 million in the next budget. Is that sustainable?

Scott Walker:

No. When you look at a whole, like you said, with the legislative fiscal bureau, there’s no way that any agency, any department anywhere is going to get a dollar amount in that regard. I think the bigger question for the system is going to be is can we put together a proposal that gives large scale flexibilities to the UW System that they, and previous regents and chancellors and others have been asking for for years, if not decades. That’s probably a more viable alternative than that size of an increase.

Zac Schultz:

You have a lot of influence on what the legislature does, but one thing you have not been asking for, they're talking about, is right to work. What are you telling them as far as what you want to see?

Scott Walker:

Same thing I say publically. I mean, to me, I just have felt that that’s a distraction, that that or reopening Act 10– While in the past I was a supporter of that, it’s not necessarily a change of heart on that issue, just rather I look at all the things with the budget, with the challenges we’re going to face there, with the need to focus on property tax relief and economic growth and prosperity. We need to do more when it comes to entitlement reform to transition people from government dependence to true independence through work. Certainly early on in the session, I hope they take up some of the things I've called for in terms of accountability in our schools, whether they’re public schools, whether the schools that receive public funds, be it a charter or a private school through a voucher program, whether it’s looking at repealing any reference to Common Core, be it in the statutes, the administrative code or any requirement for testing. All those things are things that are going to take a lot of time and effort early on, and my concern is, on a couple of these issues, they could take a big distraction away from the rest of the agenda.

Zac Schultz:

Assembly speaker, Robin Vos, has been very vocal about reforming the Government Accountability Board. Do you think changes need to be made there, especially in light of the recent audit?

Scott Walker:

Well, I think the audit clearly shows that there are major problems there, so yes. I think it needs to be– Again, I’ve got those other priorities I’d like to have taken up first, but I think in the spring, going into the spring session of the legislature, certainly that’s an appropriate time for them to look at election reform overall, and the GAB's got to be a part of that. I’m willing to work with members of the assembly and the senate and both political parties to find a viable alternative that corrects the problems that were identified in that objective audit.

Zac Schultz:

Do you think it should remain an independent board or do you like the old partisan process?

Scott Walker:

I think those are all worth discussing. I mean, I think the intention early on was a good one. I think the practical part is, at least from some of the staff involved, the audit raises some real serious questions. And the issue is is that the best place to put it the way it’s set up now? Is it a better alterative? Is it best to go back to where it was before? Or maybe there’s a new hybrid of each of those proposals that could be brought up that would be a better replacement.

Zac Schultz:

Another thing that's up for the review is the John Doe process. The state Supreme Court's obviously taking cases related to that second investigation. But you have obvious firsthand experience with that. Do you think it needs to be reformed?

Scott Walker:

Yes. I think most people look at it compared to others and think it’s ridiculous, particularly when you look at all the information that was put out publicly. So you can have people release things publically, and have yet people involved that by law can’t say a thing about it. I mean, it seems like an inherently unfair system no matter who you are, no matter what the issue is.

Zac Schultz:

You've talked publicly about looking into a run for president. Obviously, everything you do and say from here on out is going to be looked at through that lens. Does that change how you act, how you say anything?

Scott Walker:

No. I mean, in the end, unlike a senator or a member of congress, the beauty of being governor, not just for me but for the state is I’m judged by what happens in the state. I’m not judged by a speech I give or a trip that I take. I’m ultimately judged, whether it’s two years from now, six years from now, you know, a generation from now, I’m just 47 right now, so who knows when or if that even becomes something that’s even possible. But everything that gets looked at evolves around what’s the impact on the state that I’m the governor of. And so not only was I elected to serve the people of the state of Wisconsin, it’s in my political interest to do my best to serve the people of Wisconsin, because if I succeed, people will continue to talk positively about me. If I fail, I’m off the list, people won’t talk about me anymore. So in the end I’m going to do what I was elected to do, which is do great things for the people of Wisconsin.

Zac Schultz:

People are going to be studying where you’re going, how much time you’re spending outside the state. With technology is it easier for you to be governor of Wisconsin from somewhere else?

Scott Walker:

Oh, I think, even you look at the last few years. Unlike any other governor in American history, I not only went through but survived a recall election. I had to get support from people across the country to offset all the money that came in from Washington and elsewhere from out of the state of Wisconsin. And so I’ve been capable of doing that, making those sorts of travels and handling those sorts of things. I mean, I think today, in this day and age, you know, you can have a lot of people during the summer spend a fair amount of time at places up north enjoying themselves while still getting much of their work done off of their iPhone or iPad or other things like that. I don’t think in any way that becomes a factor, no matter what the future might hold.

Zac Schultz:

You’ve said that the next governor or next president should be a governor. One of the things that governors always running for president always struggle with is foreign policy experience. Have you started learning more? Have you always been a student of foreign policy? What’s your experience there?

Scott Walker:

Well, I think– I just think it’s a mistake that people assume that someone in congress is necessarily better equipped in foreign policy than a governor is. To me, a chief executive, whether it was a county executive years ago, whether it’s a governor now or someone being in the role of the president really is not being an expert in any given area. It’s being an expert in leading. And so what I do right now, I’m going through it again with this next term is you put in place a cabinet. You surround yourself with people who are experts in those given areas, whether it's transportation, health and human services, other parts of the state government. You do the same at the federal level. And so a president puts in place a secretary of state, a secretary of defense, a national security advisor, a council of people that advise him or her on those issues. And it’s really a matter of how well do they manage all those different cabinet members and all the different information that they get. And I think that’s one of the benefits of not just whether it’s me or any particular candidate, it’s just the reason why I say a governor is better equipped, because that’s something a governor can show. Giving a speech or two or making a visit or two that’s largely sheltered visits that people get to foreign destinations when they’re a member of the senate or the house, to me, shows no more experience in foreign policy than someone who’s a governor who might read the daily newspapers and get the updates just as much as any other American.

Zac Schultz:

So have you traveled a lot around the world? Is that important?

Scott Walker:

I think it helps. I mean, I’ve been to China, I've been to Japan, I've been to the Czech Republic and Germany. I'll be making some visits early in 2015 as part of trade missions out there. But those are really things that I’m doing on behalf of the state of Wisconsin when it comes to trade and making those sorts of relationships.

Zac Schultz:

And you’ve got experience leading the National Guard with Wisconsin.

Scott Walker:

Yeah, there’s no doubt about it, 10,000 strong men and women in Wisconsin National Guard. I think governors over the past 10 to 12 years, probably more so than any time in our nation's history, have played a much stronger role when it comes to the military because of the active engagement of the Guard in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. I’ve traveled overseas to see members of the Wisconsin National Guard. We’ve been a part of that. But again, those are all parts of being governor.

Zac Schultz:

A year from now, how will you gauge success in 2015?

Scott Walker:

I think a number of things. I mean, foremost for us is, how many people did we help live the American dream? How many people in this state did we help, in every part of the state, in every different income bracket, in every different demographic, the more people that we’ve helped live their piece of the American dream. And for some it might be as simple as having a career that they find to be successful and worthwhile, for others it might be owning their own home. For even others it might be starting up their own small business. For each person they're going to have a different piece in the American dream. I think probably the most paramount is helping people ensure that not only they succeed, but that for their sons and daughters they're able to live a life at a minimum that's at least as great as the one they have, if not better.

Zac Schultz:

All right. Governor, thanks for your time today.

Scott Walker:

Great, thank you. Have a happy new year.