A Delusional Scott Walker thinks "Special Interests" attacking him, fabricating need for road repairs and Transportation Funding!!!

Voters are wising up Scott Walker odd opposition to transportation!!?

Even criticism from a former Republican legislator and DOT secretary don't mean anything when it comes to Scott Walker's backward hatred for transportation. Not all of us have airplanes to scoot around Wisconsin in Scotty. Keep this in mind as well, Walker's transportation funding shortfall forced the DOT to stop picking up roadkill carcasses. Yup, it's that bad here.

Based on nothing and backed up by pure political nonsense, Walker backhands criticism:

Gov. Scott Walker is dismissing fresh criticism from his former transportation chief, who says Walker isn’t leveling with Wisconsinites about the consequences of his approach to funding ... Mark Gottlieb, a Republican who led the state DOT from 2011 to 2017, said Walker is “fear-mongering” by claiming his campaign opponent, Democrat Tony Evers, could raise the gas tax by as much as a dollar per gallon.

Yet Wisconsinites were supposed to go along with Walker's "trust me" approach to union busting, tax cuts, DNR deregulation, the loss of local control, and rejection of alternative energy? 

Walker fired back at the Milton event: “What’s ridiculous is Tony Evers is just expecting the voters to take a ‘trust me’ approach when it comes to taxes.”

In one of the most surreal moments of his tenure as governor, Walker bashed his own DOT report and all those subsequent "special interest" studies that factually counter his ideological position.

“The reports that many people allude to are reports they paid for, overwhelmingly, by the same special interests that are running ads attacking us on transportation,” Walker said.

Gottlieb said Walker's claims wrongly implied that decisions ... were made by outside groups. He noted state and federal laws require extended review of such decisions and officials take into account public input ... "is profoundly disrespectful to the professionals in the private and public sector who are trained to design and build safe and efficient highways for all to use."

Walker Blames Himself? Even worse, Walker asked for and got his own fact-based state/taxpayer-funded DOT report, what I guess he now calls "special interests."

A commission championed by Walker and created through legislation signed by him, (which) had eight Republicans and two Democrats, chaired by a transportation engineer by trade Mark Gottlieb, then-secretary of Wisconsin’s Department of Transportation, released an 176-page report, affirming what at least two other commissions led by both Republicans and Democrats over the last decade had found: Wisconsin’s highway system and local roads were rapidly deteriorating and there was not enough money to fix or maintain them.

A question for Walker, just what study(s) are you relying on...editorial musings from right-wing sources like the Wisconsin Watchdog, MacIver Institute, or talk radio callers passing along their personal anecdotes...?

 The problem Walker has with anything comes down to one thing, criticism, he can't take it: 

“If the media’s now using reports that are paid for by groups as the base, as their foundation, maybe I should go out and create a group and pay for my own study.”

The irony; Walker did just that as mentioned above. But wait...Walker did have one solution rolling around in his head...

Gov. Scott Walker's transportation secretary told business officials and others last week he had talked to a London financier about selling off Wisconsin's highways but had rejected the idea.

Transportation Secretary Dave Ross told a group last week that Walker's administration was adopting new ways of getting its work done and mentioned in passing his discussion about selling off roads, according to people familiar with the meeting. He then said he was not pursuing the proposal because Wisconsin has good contractors to maintain the state's roads.

Governor candidate Tony Evers passed this message along...

Walker's Democratic opponent, state schools Superintendent Tony Evers spokeswoman Britt Cudaback said Ross' talk with the financier was shocking and noted Walker's previous transportation secretary, Mark Gottlieb, this month said Walker has been "increasingly inaccurate" when talking about roads.

"Quite frankly, it’s staggering and absurd that Scott Walker would even entertain the idea of selling off Wisconsin’s highways to the highest bidder. No wonder his former transportation secretary has spoken out about his harmful roads policies."

Speaking of Harmful, Wisconsinites Paying for Fixing up their Cars, thanks to Walker:

1. A combination of rough roads, traffic congestion and missing safety features costs drivers in Wisconsin $6.8 billion each year, according to a study released Tuesday by TRIP Tuesday.

2. That comes to about $1,500 a year for every driver in the Appleton, Green Bay and Oshkosh area, the study said, referencing higher vehicle operating costs, traffic crashes and delays due to congestion.

3. The cost is about the same for drivers in Wausau, but even higher for those on the roads in Madison and Milwaukee — at about $2,100 and $2,300, respectively.

4. (The study) also found that about half of the state's major locally and state-maintained roads and highways are in poor or mediocre condition due to a lack of state and local funding.

5. That number is even higher in the Appleton, Green Bay and Oshkosh area, where 70 percent of those types of roads are in poor or mediocre condition. That alone costs drivers in the area $816 each year, according to the study.

"Dumb" rule for Airlines to tell customers about baggage fee when booking flight dumped by Trump!

Caveat Emptor, "Buyer Beware," is back with a vengeance. The concept is irrational, unsettling and destructive because someone is going to get hurt, but hey, at least you were warned.

Sold "As Is?" Apparently, Republicans want to make America great again by creating a market system that sells things "as is." Gulp. Think of it as an almost unimaginable low bar, that can only get lower.

Trump's vengeful repeal of anything Obama continues...

DOT Suspends Proposed Rule That Would Force Airlines To Show Baggage Fee At Booking

Why? 

The department said in a notice posted online ... the rules would have been “of limited public benefit.” The DOT also withdrew a rulemaking to require airlines disclose profits on ancillary fees.

The Republican vision of a deregulated American future is here now...

Airlines are already exempt from all state and local consumer protection, much antitrust law, most other federal regulations and tort law. The DOT is their sole regulator. If the DOT refuses to correct abuses or enforce existing regulations, and repeals existing regulations, airlines will be the first US industry to have stripped the public of all economic protections from unfair predatory practices. 

 The right wing is loving it, providing this insightful back-to-basics observation...

Gary Leff of website View from the Wing wrote this as part of his explanation as to why the department formally dropped the proposed regulation: "Because it was dumb."

The Freeloader Class is in Charge of the State, as Roads Crumble and Highways look like S**t.

This will be so much fun to watch. Republicans are now going to have to show us how austerity and tax cuts will make our state prosperous again. Even more fun, watching penny pinching cookie cutter conservatives and tight wad business lobbyists whine about paying their fair share.

The truth is, with higher deficit projections, somethings got to give:

The agency budget requests, which generally followed the Governor’s instructions for just maintaining existing programs, exceed the anticipated General Purpose Revenue (GPR) by $2.2 billion during the 2015-15 biennium (assuming the state does carry over a $65 million balance). 

WMC’s business members are worried, and one GOP legislator thinks squeezing inefficiencies out the DOT will pretty much do the trick, like not making our roadways look good for visiting travelers.

Business Groups Issue Statement on Transportation Finance "Our respective groups acknowledge the need for revenue increases in the Transportation Fund to meet critical infrastructure improvements. However, we question whether the amount of the revenue increases proposed by the Department of Transportation are appropriate.  

We are also concerned about some of the proposed funding mechanisms, and the extent to which they may place Wisconsin employers at a competitive disadvantage.

Translation? Freeloaders, every one of them. They want a beautiful and well educated state without paying for it. Small government, small government, small government.....let's cut all the fat at the DOT:

The Department of Transportation wants to raise taxes and fees by about 750-million dollars to fund its projects. Northwoods Sen. Tom Tiffany (R-Hazelhurst) points out "Before I will vote for any tax for fee increases, you have to show us some efficiencies within your budget," Tiffany said. "I think the DOT budget is $4 or 5 billion, something like that. You need to show us that you're spending those dollars effectively and efficiently. I expect those things to happen first. The last thing we should do is raise taxes or fees." Tiffany suggested cutting back on projects that only improve the appearance of roadways.

Walker's DOT Funding Disaster affecting Cities Roadways Across the state. Go Tax Cuts....

Scott Walker's plan includes ratcheting down taxes to the point where everything will suffer from deferred maintenance. Want to fix a road, cut school funding. Or do what other communities are doing, going back to dirt and gravel roads. 

The Republicans freeloaders in this state are fine wearing out the legacy projects from generations past. It was owed to them I guess. From WISC Channel3000:

The League of Wisconsin Municipalities estimates local governments will spend $12 million beyond their budgets on road repairs this year. Beloit alone is estimating they'll need a couple hundred grand to cover unexpected costs.

If that total statewide tops $18 million, they can ask for FEMA disaster funds. Until then they're asking the state for help.

"Because we have a levy limit that does not allow for us to pay for this or raise taxes the only way you can pay for this in a city like ours is to take it out of something else so some other service is not handled," said John Dickert, mayor of Racine and president of the Urban Alliance.

Former Republican Legislator Struggles with Real World DOT Budgeting! Principles don't Pave Roads?

It's an absolutely wonderful example of principled ideology running head-on into reality. I'm loving every second of it too. 

Walker's kick-the-can-down-the-road delayed road maintenance policy, and no tax pledge, doesn't solve problems. Seeing that it doesn't work the way he thought, former legislator Mark Gottlieb is getting the a taste of his own medicine. 

Biz Times: Despite more than $1 billion a year in road construction and hundreds of millions more on maintenance, Wisconsin’s transportation system is falling behind and facing a shrinking revenue stream. The department faces a $600 million funding gap in the next two-year budget cycle. And with Americans driving fewer miles in more efficient vehicles, it’s facing a 20 percent decline over the next decade in fuel tax revenues, the DOT’s single largest source of funding. “We are falling behind,”. That was the message transportation Secretary Mark Gottlieb.

The Department of Transportation is one of Wisconsin’s largest state agencies, supporting all modes of transportation, including state highways, local roads, railroads, public transit systems, airports, harbors and bicycle and pedestrian facilities.

Dirt road revivalists are liking it. Scott Walker's election year property tax cut gimmick ride to reelection and bid for the White House is about to hit a bumpy road, if the Democrats bring it up. The harsh winter made things worse, leaving the states highway system in shambles. And things are only going to get worse:

A commission appointed by Gov. Scott Walker has identified a total of $6.8 billion that will be needed to fund road projects in the next 10 years.

We need an even bigger tax cut? Walker Spends and Borrows away our Kids Futures, again, this time on DOT building.

The budget debacle is playing out for everyone to see, including those diehard "stand with Walker" supporters.

The title may be a little shameful hyperbole, but it’s just what Republicans would be saying if the shoe were on the other foot.

Media Trackers Trashes Walker. From the right wing echo chamber, I found this surprising criticism from Media Trackers. This proves that Walker is like every other big government conservative, thirsty for dominating power, and not the least bit worried about smaller government or taxpayer dollars.

Governor Jim Doyle, a Democrat, was not known for his frugality in state government. But it appears that the Doyle administration calculated it could build a new office building for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation for about a quarter of the cost of a building being proposed by Governor Scott Walker’s administration.

The state budget submitted by Walker to the legislature seeks approval for a new $200 million facility  … In 2005, the Department of Administration estimated that the cost of replacing the DOT headquarters would be $32 million. Walker’s budget increases that amount by $146.6 million with a projected timeline that calls for the building to be completed by July of 2017. The total cost of the building would be $196.6 million. The proposed new facility would have … only 15 more parking stalls that would be in a newly built parking garage. That means that after spending nearly $200 million on a palatial new office space, 1,900 government workers would have to find a way to share 1,500 parking stalls, never mind the parking needed to accommodate visitors to the building … it remains to be seen whether or not the Joint Finance Committee will sign off on the item in the state budget.

Republican legislators both on and off the committee have express deep concern over the amount of debt spending found in the budget. 

Instinctively, Republicans have been trying to tear down government for so long, they've forgotten how to manage it.

Republicans in Assembly try to get rid of analysis to see if public workers are cheaper than private contractors.

Does this legislation make any sense to anyone, even fiscally conservative voters:

jsonline.com: Cost analyses . The Assembly approved a bill, 58-35, that would end the requirement that the Department of Transportation do an analysis of whether private consultants are cheaper than state employees before bidding out engineering work. The Senate did not pass that bill, so the department will have to continue doing the analyses.