1.) If you were Queen for a day and could wave a magic wand, what policy change in Wisconsin would you enact?
If I were Queen for a day, I would restructure the way we raise revenue to support Wisconsin government. I would eliminate the income tax, remove the majority of the exemptions from the sales tax, and remove the dependence on the property tax for revenue. I believe in a consumption tax (which allows those who spend more money to contribute more to the tax base), and not the dependence of a regressive tax like the property tax, where the same asset is taxed over and over again. Eliminating the income tax would make us more competitive with other states, attracting individuals to fill our workforce needs and keep retirees in the great state of Wisconsin. I would also give local governments more flexibility to raise revenue (and encourage local folks to get engaged in their local municipal government for oversight), as well as work to make state government smaller so it wouldn’t take as much money to support the bureaucracy. This might take more than a day, so I would have to be Queen for at least a week.
2.) Best Wisconsin vacation destination?
Anywhere in Northern Wisconsin…Love the lakes and waterfalls, forests, peace and solitude, wildlife, outdoor adventures, and beauty of “roads less traveled”. Wish I had more time to travel across the region and see all that it has to offer.
3.) Advice I would give to my younger self?
Read more and watch less TV. I was an avid reader up until about the 10th grade. After that, there were more competing activities, life became busier and more complicated and as the years went by, reading was not prioritized. A person can go anywhere they want in a book, gaining new knowledge, perspectives, and character traits. Biographies of successful people are a great start.
I would also tell my younger self to save more money, spend discretionary dollars wisely, and accumulate as little debt as possible. Compound interest is a wonderful tool and I would explain that to my younger self for long-term financial security. Spending dollars wisely assists in having money to spend on the necessities of life to avoid having to borrow. Debt only makes you a slave to the lender.