Wisconsin Sen. Shilling worried about the state of the state

From drug testing the needy to Gov. Walker’s ignoring pro-growth policies.

Wisconsin wants to become the first state to make people take a drug test before they can get Medicaid. 

Gov. Scott Walker’s request was submitted to the White House this week. It’s a bad idea, according to state Democrats, including Sen. Jennifer Shilling of La Crosse.

She says the drug-testing plan has been declared unconstitutional, not to mention other problems with it.

“The governor’s idea of testing those before they qualify for benefits has been incredibly inefficient and is very costly,” Shilling said. “We have not seen that to be really an effective use of taxpayer dollars for accountability.”

Shilling says the government is penalizing people who need the Medicaid benefits.

The policy is just one of many things Shilling and Democrats are concerned about in the state.

Shilling has raised the question on whether or not Wisconsin is entering a recession.

She and other Democrats are challenging Walker’s claim that the state economy is successful.

“We just fell by about 1.3 percent,” Shilling said. “The state lost a little over 3,700 jobs. It’s a trend that we continue to see, a loss of manufacturing jobs.”

Shilling and Assembly Democratic leader Peter Barca both claim that Walker is ignoring pro-growth policies, which could help retain jobs and increase wages for Wisconsin workers.

She has a list of things Republicans should try to do to improve conditions for the middle class.

“Make housing more affordable,” she said. “How we can make child care costs more affordable? What we can do for student loan debt?

“All of that will help put a little more money in families’ pockets and allow them to invest in areas that they need.”

Shilling cites a national study showing that Wisconsin dropped out of the Top 25 states for job creation during Walker’s first year as governor and has even fallen to the bottom 10 since then.