So, Wisconsin's state budget is now 107 days overdue and counting. For most people in the state, this is a good thing, or at the very least it's not the "crisis" that some are trying to make it out to be. With no new budget, government programs continue to be funded at previous levels. It's a taxpayer's dream come true - zero increases across the board. Predictably, though, Democrats in the senate and Gov. Doyle are throwing out scare tactics.

All along, they have claimed that failure to pass a budget will actually hurt the taxpayers since less money will go to local governments and schools, which will cause property taxes to be raised. The flaw in this argument is the assumption that property tax increases are bad but other tax increases (the ones being proposed in the Democrats' budget) are good. Neither are good, but with government programs being funded at last year's levels it is certain that less money will be spent than would be if the budget was passed. Less money being spent means less taxes overall. Sure, property taxes may inch up, but all those other tax increases in the Democrats' budget will not happen. You have to look at the whole picture, not just half of it - we pay both state taxes and property taxes, so an increase in one is not necessarily bad if it prevents an even greater increase in the other. Will the freeze on state taxes be enough to make up for the threatened increase in property taxes? Yes, since we know the total amount of spending will be less than what it would be if the budget was passed - it's a mathematical certainty.

Now, the latest scare tactic is a partial government shutdown. Ignoring for a moment the fact that this is just political posturing (since we continue at the previous budget levels until a new budget is passed), for most of us this is not the end of the world. But there is a lesson here - it's another example of how dependence on government is something to be avoided. The reason a partial government shutdown wouldn't be all that bad is that most of us don't depend on government for basic needs. But now think of how that picture changes with, say, government-run health care. Would a government shutdown mean no non-emergency doctor visits? Possibly. Not a position I want to be in, that's for sure.

The "dependence on government" principal actually applies to the first point as well. Since we have a system in Wisconsin where local governments get huge amounts of money from the state, they are all in a state of dependence. If local governments simply raised their own money and didn't rely on state handouts, they wouldn't care about the inability of the state legislature to pass a budget on time. But as it is, this dependence causes everyone to be affected.

I think Republicans, who are attempting to hold the line on taxes, are in a great position here. If we continue with no new budget, they essentially win. If the Democrats cave and drop their tax increases, they win. They only way they can lose is if they needlessly give in to the Democrats' proposed tax increases. So far that hasn't happened, and every day that passes saves Wisconsin taxpayers millions.