Now that the state budget has received a stamp of approval from the Joint Finance Committee, the war of words is heating up once again.

This time in the form of rallies across the state.

We are Wisconsin, made up of union members, teachers, nurses, even a former representative is making some noise.

“Change some of those most dramatic and drastic cuts to some of the most important programs in the state of Wisconsin,” says former state Representative Jim Soletski.

They’re fighting against spending cuts to school districts, local governments and public services.

“Yeah, there’s going to be a lot of tough days ahead,” says Republican state Representative John Nygren of Marinette.

Rep. Nygren, who sits on the Joint Finance Committee, points to the ballooning budget deficit, saying that dollar amount speaks for itself.

“When we were elected into office into leadership this time around, we had a $3.6 billion budget deficit that we needed to fix, so tough choices had to be made,” says Rep. Nygren.

It’s an argument not everyone at the Green Bay rally is buying.

“They can say that all they want but you know there comes a time when you need to educate kids,” says Jonah Lenss, a volunteer with We Are Wisconsin.

“Cutting from Medicaid, cutting from Badger Care, Senior Care, how is that helping those people that need it?” asks Suzanne Haines, a nurse.

Rep. Nygren argues hundreds of changes were made to the budget. Some to education, and Senior Care. He’s convinced after the budget passes, better days are ahead.

“The only way for us to get out of it, is to make those tough decisions without raising taxes, that’s what we did,” says Rep. Nygren.

wbay.com, Wed Jun 7 2011