Monday marked Inauguration Day in the state Legislature. This is a joyous time to celebrate one's re-election with family, friends and constituents. Since the first time I walked through the doors of the state Capitol as your state representative, I continue to be humbled by the duty and responsibility placed on me by the people of Racine County.

This year, as we begin another session, we face serious challenges both at the state and national levels. The Wisconsin Department of Revenue issued a report last week showing that Wisconsin is officially in a recession; our unemployment rate is the highest it's been in more than 20 years and, to add insult to injury, economists are telling us that 2009 is going to be even worse than 2008. It's hard not to worry about our family budget and quality of life when every time we turn on the TV or radio, or read the newspaper, we are immediately bombarded with the news of the depressing economic state.

Now more than ever before, it's imperative for our elected leaders to have a plan that will facilitate an economic jump-start. Too often - as is the case with many of the recent federal bailouts - elected officials are eager to throw money at the problem with the hope that everything will work out for the best.

The bank bailout brought to light how ineffective this course of action truly is. $700 billion was doled out with no accountability or required benchmarks, no real gain was seen from the bailout and Wall Street execs are still being paid giant end-of-the-year bonuses. The most shocking example of this occurred in December when Merrill Lynch executive, Peter Kraus, was paid a $25 million severance package after only working for the firm for three months.

One encouraging piece of news at the federal level is that President-elect Barack Obama has signaled that he will support a $300 billion tax cut for workers and small business owners. I'm glad that he has changed his political position and now understands that the only way to truly jump-start the economy is to allow taxpayers to keep more of their money.

On the other hand, the principles that are being set by Gov. Jim Doyle and the Democrats in the Legislature give me much less hope for Wisconsin's economic future. Last week, the governor requested a $1 trillion dollar bailout package. Transferring this amount of money from the feds to our state makes no sense. We will drive the federal budget further into the red with the hope that Wisconsin's budget might run a little less in the red. Many elected officials will have you believe that it's "free money," but nothing could be further from the truth. Our grandchildren will be paying for that bill.

In late November, state Sen. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar, proposed a 5 percent sales tax increase because "everybody has to share the pain," according to one Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article. In the same article, Sen. John Lehman, D-Racine, said he would be in favor of removing sales tax exemptions, claiming about the increase: "I can explain that to my constituents." Just this week, Gov. Doyle proposed to reinstate the annual automatic gas tax increase.

These and other plans outlining how the Democrats are going to increase revenue to solve the budget problem will be devastating to Wisconsin's economic future and a hindrance to our vitality as a state.

As the ranking member on the Joint Committee on Finance, my greatest priority this session will be to convince Democrats on the committee that crafting this upcoming state budget means being responsible and scaling back the size of government. Wisconsin must not take the easy route by raising taxes to pay for the overspending of past budgets, we must now summon the political courage to do what's right and bring our government back to a size we can afford.

I know that the hard work and ingenuity of Wisconsin's citizens will be the key to getting out of this economic downturn, but government must be their partner, not ride on their back. I look forward to working with Democrats and Republicans to find solutions that truly help to improve the lives of Wisconsin families.

State Rep. Robin Vos, R-Caledonia, represents the 63rd Assembly District.