To the Editor:

Re “The Destruction of Progressive Wisconsin” (Sunday Review, Jan. 17):

Dan Kaufman writes at length about Gov. Scott Walker’s “dismantling what remains of his state’s century-old progressive legacy.” But the reforms implemented in Wisconsin have created a future that’s never looked brighter — particularly for the least fortunate among us.

Businesses are growing, families are headed back work and, by almost every measure, Wisconsin has turned itself around. According to the Gallup Job Creation Index, Wisconsin is now the fourth best state in the nation for finding a job. Employment is at an all-time high, and Wisconsin has never had more jobs than it has today.

Badger State workers are now free to join — or not to join — a union. And, if all goes well, civil service reforms will ensure that taxpayers’ limited resources are being used to employ only the best and brightest.

If Wisconsin is dismantling its progressive past, it’s only because the state’s progressive policies were leaving our state in far better shape for big labor and special interests than for Wisconsin taxpayers.