GOP makes Wisconsin a Throwback Island in a sea of Midwest States.

As long as Wisconsin is locked into GOP gerrymandered control, our state keeps falling further and further behind. We're trying to get people to come and work here while keeping the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour? Good luck. 

Wisconsin is lagging behind most of its Midwest neighbors in attracting highly educated workers.

Plus this story just happened, taking out of the mix even more job creation:

Three out of the four states that border Wisconsin — Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota — have now legalized marijuana use and two of them allow residents to purchase and consume cannabis for any reason.

While more and more state legislatures are embracing legal marijuana for medical or recreational reasons — 33 in all — Wisconsin isn't likely to anytime soon.

Pot is causing problems in other States? Yeah, I guess,...

"Some of the results of legalization in other states have been troubling," said Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, a Republican from Juneau. "It would be wise for Wisconsin to take a more measured approach and wait to see how it plays out in other states in the Midwest before rushing any kind of legalization here."

All 33 states have apparently rushed blindly ahead of Wisconsin, who finally approved agricultural hemp?  

It was no accident that Tony Evers became governor. The public is ready for progress no matter how many suck-ups stroke the egos of our gerrymandered Republican "winners" in their districts.

Wisconsin supports Gov. Evers' Clearly Articulated Vision for State:  This new poll I hope means a few GOP seats are in danger:

A new Public Policy Polling survey finds that Wisconsin voters support Governor Evers’ 2019- 2021 budget provisions. The majority (60%) of voters believe in ensuring more Wisconsinites have access to affordable healthcare and prescription drugs.

62% of statewide voters prefer the elimination of minimum markup while raising the gas tax by 8 cents per gallon.

Broken down by districts: Senate District 13- Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald:

63% in SD 13 believe that Republican leaders should work with Governor Evers

53% favorability for Evers

62% of voters agree with increasing the gas tax and eliminating minimum markup.

12% prefer raising vehicle registration fees.

83% of voters believe Gov/Legislature develop a long-term solution for state’s roads.

69% of voters believe the minimum markup law should be eliminated.

Assembly District 63- Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly Robin Vos:

65% of voters believe Republican leaders should work with Gov. Evers.

54% favorability for Evers.

60% of voters agree with increasing the gas tax and eliminating the minimum markup.

13% agree more with raising vehicle registration fees.

75% of voters believe the Gov/Legislature should act on a long-term solution for roads.

61% of voters believe the minimum markup law should be eliminated.

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.

Transportation Funding Debacle just a peek into the jumbled, confusing, unprincipled, scattershot thinking of the Republican Party in Wisconsin.

To be honest, I'm not even sure how anyone can explain the Republican legislatures schizophrenic, outrageously irresponsible in your face hypocrisy. As confusing as it may be, having it both ways is now normal GOP policy, and a "we won" reward for voters who don't seem to give a damn. Like my conservative friend in Milwaukee, who texted me the following after I mentioned the story below...

"yeah yeah who the hell knows what they're doing?"

While Republicans unashamedly grovel at the feet of Foxconn handouts...

The GOP transportation plan would fund ... more than $250 million in new state borrowing as part of Wisconsin's Foxconn bill.

....they're trying to sabotage Democratic Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's street car project. Do Republicans hate Milwaukee so much that they'll kill the street car tourist attraction that basically runs right past the new sports arena paid for by taxpayers?

Under the GOP deal, Milwaukee could not spend any of its state transportation aid money to operate the streetcar. In addition, a City of Milwaukee tax-incremental financing district and Milwaukee County could not fund the operation of the streetcar.

...while crippling transportation upgrades in the states biggest city and business hub...

The state won't move forward with an expansion of Interstate 94 west of Milwaukee between the Marquette and Zoo interchanges, a project that many southeast Wisconsin Republicans and business leaders wanted.

...while Republicans delay major road repair/replacement projects statewide, they've decided to make things even worse...?

Allow for more overweight trucks on Wisconsin highways, which is significant because heavy trucks do considerably more damage to roads than cars. The GOP plan would let trucks weighing more than twice the legal limit travel on stretches of state highway in Ashland and Vilas counties they're carrying raw forest products and lumber. It would also allow some garbage trucks to exceed state weigh limits and extend a state law that lets agricultural vehicles exceed weight limits.

All the while turning down hiking fees on trucks, Republicans aren't afraid to attack very light electric or hybrid energy saving cars because what the heck, their owners don't vote Republican:

They will create a new $100 annual fee for electric cars and a $75 fee for hybrids.

Americans for Prosperity threatens Republicans pushing Transportation Tax with "Praise"...and oh yea, campaign funding cuts too.

It will be fascinating to watch the unexpected supply side test Scott Walker is now setting up for himself when it comes to our crumbling roads. Hollowing out everything from the environment and state colleges, to parks and recreation, Walker got nothing out of it.

Taking in just enough money to run the state ignores that whole messy maintenance problem of fixing and replacing things that break.

Wisconsinites know there's a problem, but who cares.

Now if you're Americans for Prosperity's Eric Bott, a simple veiled threat that steals control away from every state constituent is all you really need:

“We are disappointed by Assembly Republican leadership’s calls to increase taxes and fees on Wisconsinites but remain committed to working proactively towards a transportation solution."

"We're disappointed." Unless you're AFP with deep pockets that helps fund Republican campaigns, who would give a rats ass how "disappointed" you were?

“Such a dramatic increase in taxes and or fees would harm Wisconsin’s working families and place a wet blanket on our economy. We certainly hope this isn’t the Assembly Republican plan.

Yea, no harm like a week in the auto repair shop, draining your checking account, putting off that consumer purchase you've been counting on for years.

What Bott's saying sounds a lot like; "We certainly hope, with all the money we have to give you, that raising taxes isn't your plan."

Dripping with pay to play arrogance, AFP tossed this supposed "compliment" out:

“Rep. Nygren deserves recognition for vowing not to place an undue burden on taxpayers in Wisconsin.

Well, that's not exactly what Nygren "vowed:"

The state could face a nearly $1 billion shortfall for transportation projects in the next budget, said Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette … called on Gov. Scott Walker on Wednesday to reconsider his opposition to new taxes to support road projects. "It's not necessarily the fiscally conservative position to simply say 'no' and continue to delay projects and delay growth of our system. To think that there could be no changes to the way we're currently funding our transportation systems from a revenue standpoint, I think, is unrealistic."  

And since Walker doesn't have a plan to fund transportation, mumbling something about shifting the cost from some imagined place, its seems a bit odd that Americans for Prosperity would also praise Walker for his "solution," prioritizing "safety, maintenance and reform." The ultimate in bullshit. Who doesn't feel insulted at this point?

“Americans for Prosperity-Wisconsin and its more than 130,000 activist members remains grateful to Governor Walker for leading the way toward transportation solutions that prioritize safety, local road maintenance, and cost saving reforms.”

The "fellows" at the MacIver Institute would have us all believe that a different formula for spending on road projects would magically make the potholes, median growth, and delayed projects just go away. Take the pedestrian bridge just two blocks from another bridge with sidewalks accomplishing the same thing, kinda. A whole $3.6 million.

The (DOT) has its policies and it has it's procedures. It will follow them even when they don't make any sense at all. It will follow them even when it means blowing $3.6 million of taxpayers' money.

What's next, getting rid of those "confusing" roundabouts Republicans have such a hard time navigating...oops, spoke too soon...

Yea, forget about life saving roundabouts, safety, aesthetically pleasing bridges and streets, bypasses, roads to places people go....

Unable to Raise Taxes, GOP to Shift Road Repair to Local Taxpayers. I thought they didn't like Referendums?

It's been fun watching Republicans fumble helplessly with their "no tax pledge," which forever prevents them from adding money to the transportation fund.

So Republicans have decided to foist their responsibilities off onto local communities, by making them raise their sales taxes through a referendum. Oh, and the money goes first to the state before maybe going back to fix roads.

Keep in mind, these are the same Republican legislators who want to restrict school referendums because it negates their efforts to cut property taxes. Never fear, they've got another flip flopping, mind-blowing reason waiting in the wings.

GOP backer and lobbyist Patrick Goss, executive director of the Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association, is stepping forward with the most surreal way of looking at tax increases...:

Goss: "How do you say you're voting for a tax increase, when what you're really doing is you're enabling your constituents, your citizens, to make that decision." 

Huh? Any Republican interpreters out there that can help me with this one? Can the party really have it both ways and not get a little blowback from their base? And don't referendums cost money, time and effort? If anything should be handled by the state, it should be roads.



Hat tip to WPR's Laurel White for featuring this gem.

Steve Hiniker, executive director of 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, an environmental advocacy group, said the bill amounts to "double taxation" of communities. "Why should communities have to a pay a gas tax that is not returned to their community, and if they want the roads fixed impose a new tax on them?" Hiniker said.

Walker desperately scrambling to borrow for Transportation, budgeting he ignored running for President.

It's become evident watching Scott Walker scramble to restore cut transportation, that he wasn't just lying about running the state remotely during the budget debate process, but he really did have Wisconsin in his rear view mirror running for president.

Instead of making his arguments against road building delays during budgeting, he's now begging his pirate hoard to change their minds. This is charge card GOP budgeting at its most obvious, leaving the bill to the next generation to pay for.

Democrats like State Sen. Jon Erpenbach are relishing the fact that Republicans now need their vote to pass funding. But like Erpenbach said below, they'll only consider the idea if the funding problem is solved by adjusting the gas tax for future budgets.

"They knew this day was going to come and they didn't do anything about it on finance and now they're going to say the Democrats are going to bail us out. Well yeah, we will help if it's a good fair plan that not only deals with the bonding situation but also possibly looks at a gas tax or a long-term solution where we can get on a road where we'll know we have X amount of dollars to pay for roads."

Another words, restore the old indexed yearly gas tax increase and deep six the Grover Norquist no tax pledge, a gimmick that has no place in the budget process. I also back a toll for traffic coming in and out of Wisconsin (no tolls within the state) with federal approval.

It's telling and embarrassing to watch Walker now making the case for running up debt and trying to solve a problem he didn't have time for just a few months ago. From WISC's Jessica Arp and WKOW:



And oh by the way, there's already lots of money in the transportation fund to pay for a few of these delayed projects: Jakes Economic TA Funhouse

Republicans will never solve Transportation Funding Problem: Can't raise taxes, can't stop cutting taxes.

You know, maybe we should study the problems created by Republican lawmakers who've delayed road building projects around the state, resulting in much higher costs to taxpayers later on. Studying is good, because we've seen how well that's worked solving our algae bloom problem in Green Bay, not to mention our rivers and lakes. Study, study, study. 

Republicans will never solve these problems, period. They can't raise taxes, and they can't stop cutting taxes. End of story. It's just a matter of the public catching on sooner rather than later.

Democrats aren't afraid to tell taxpayers that something has to be done, noting the consequences for inaction. And yes, a new taxing formula is inevitable. Rep. Dianne Hesselbein, D-Middleton, clearly gets it, while Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna, has no intention of committing political suicide raising taxes or ending tax cuts. So who's the grownup? Who's the leader?

Steineke doesn't even see how the state would have $300 million more to spend on transportation if they just took the Medicaid expansion deal. I have to admit, that pretty much said it all.

Upfront with Mike Gousha:

Walker, Republican no tax pledge sinks existing road work for a total of 5 years.

Like I’ve always said, spending cuts will never be a substitute for budgeting. And now we’re about to pay dearly, wiping out any savings. Brilliant.

You see that road work up ahead, well it might be there for the next 6 years, along with the traffic tie ups and detours. I can’t imagine what they’re going to do with the snow at some of those sites.

Scott Walker wanted to borrow big time for transportation, which was bad enough, but “no tax” pledge Republican legislators ran out of money thanks to past and present tax cuts. Now many of the existing road construction sites will be delayed till 2021, believe it or not. jsonline:

The state Department of Transportation is delaying five major road projects because it doesn't have the money for the work under the state budget crafted by Gov. Scott Walker and his fellow Republicans in the Legislature.

The delays — including on some stretches that already have orange barrels on the road — could end up being longer because legislators for years have been unable to come up with ways to find new revenue for highways … will likely have a cascading effect that will push off work on future projects.

Tightwad Republicans will now run up the costs for taxpayers who though they could freeload for awhile.

The delays will cause the cost of the projects to rise because of inflation. Estimates of the added costs are expected in February. Work on the projects won't stop, but it will slow down.

The guy pushing a bill attacking civil service protections for Walker isn't to happy:

The delays surprised Sen. Roger Roth (R-Appleton), who told WHBY-AM this month he did not expect any delays on Highway 10/441 in the Fox Valley. The highway is being expanded and reconstructed between Highway 41 and Highway 47.

But the $482 million project is one of those the DOT is pushing back, putting off its completion until 2021. Construction began last year, so drivers will have to put up with road work on that stretch for at least seven years under the revised schedule.

Walker's other big cuts, not on taxes, hurting Wisconsin business climate.

This will be one of the many news reports we'll see disappear under the avalanche of Scott Walker spin encouraged by the media. They love a horse race don't they?

Reuters News actually took a look a the results of Walker's "Open for Business" scam/giveaway to corporate welfare recipients, and cuts to basic services and transportation. It's not good:

On the Wisconsin border, little enthusiasm for Walker's tax cuts: Walker has cut state taxes by $2 billion as his state has climbed out of recession. Unemployment in Superior now stands at 4.6 percent.

Ask local officials and business leaders, and they will say Walker's policies have little to do with a turnaround that has moved in tandem with the national recovery. Tax cuts haven't lured many businesses across the bridge from Duluth, Minnesota, they say, while the loss in revenue has prompted steep spending cuts to education, harbor maintenance and road construction.For some, the tradeoff is not worth it. "We should put the $2 billion in roads or education," said Superior Mayor Bruce Hagen, a self-described conservative.

Taxes are a secondary consideration to more tangible concerns like real estate and road conditions, according to six local officials and seven business executives who spoke to Reuters. There are plenty of vacant storefronts along Superior's main street, where one bar advertises "BINGO EROTIC," and space is also available in weedy plots near the waterfont.

Here's where the normally envious conservative voter should get angry. Will they like seeing manufacturers and Big Ag paying almost no tax, unlike themselves, while essentially freeloading off everything taxpayers have to build and maintain?

The tax difference between the two cities is dramatic. Manufacturers will see their corporate tax rate drop to 0.4 percent in Wisconsin in coming years, compared to 9.8 percent in Minnesota. Wisconsin firms also pay less in unemployment insurance (another Walker scam), workers' compensation and sales tax. Yet Superior isn't pulling ahead … Private sector-employment in Superior grew by 5.6 percent ... between January 2011 and September 2014 … In Duluth's St. Louis County, jobs grew by 9.8 percent during that period.

Meanwhile, the number of businesses in Douglas County declined by 6 percent - double the rate in St. Louis County.

Do we have to say it again: Taxes not the driving factor. The chart compares Democratic Minnesota to a Republican Wisconsin:

Heavy-equipment manufacturer Exodus Machines considered expanding in Minnesota but opted to add jobs in Superior after Walker's economic-development agency secured a loan, said chief executive Kevin Boreen. The tax difference between the two states wasn't a factor, he said. 

Private-sector employment grew by 6.4 percent in Wisconsin between January 2011 and March 2015, lagging the national pace of 10.7 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Along the waterfront, Mike McCoshen surveys huge piles of limestone and road salt unloaded from freighters plying the Great Lakes. His company, Hallett Dock, tapped state harbor-maintenance funds to expand its operations in Wisconsin in the years before Walker took office. The program was all but eliminated in Walker's latest budget proposal - an unwelcome development for other shipping businesses. As for Walker's tax cuts? "They haven't made us grow or recede at all," he said.

UPDATE: 7/3/15:  

The Joint Finance Committee voted Thursday to restore funding for maintenance and improvement projects at Wisconsin ports. The Harbor Assistance Program received around $17 million in segregated fees and bonding in the last state budget. That funding was almost completely stripped under Gov. Scott Walker's budget proposal. The program helps pay for public and private dock repairs, shipbuilding and more.

Walker encourages costly energy over-use by consumers, which will only get worse over time.

Maybe we should listen to the following two credentialed individuals and not believer everything Scott Walker and our “citizen” partisan republicans are saying about jobs and the economy. 

William L. Holahan is emeritus professor and former chair of the Department of Economics at UW-Milwaukee, and Charles O. Kroncke is retired dean of the College of Business at UWM. They are co-authors of “Economics forVoters.”

Besides trashing supply side economics and highlighting the hit consumer demand took when public employee pay fell dramatically, they nailed it on Scott Walker’s problematic borrowing for transportation. 

As it turns out, Walker is not just determined to continue our addiction to fossil fuels, he's also making things worse, whether he knows it or not:

An increase in the gas tax would both add revenue as well as create proper incentives for efficient use of our road network. The current proposal to use borrowing to fund much-needed road repairs needlessly subsidizes drivers and encourages over-use. The gas tax works like any price, requiring drivers to treat the roads like a scarce resource.  Roads deteriorate as they are used, so it makes sense that drivers should be made to pay for what they use. Under the current proposal, borrowing to fix roads crowds out pro-growth borrowing to invest. 

Walker’s lawsuit to stop the EPA’s actions to move our economy away from coal (which is getting more costly because we’re now exporting it to other countries), raising the base rate on customer utility bills instead of charging more for over-use, and preventing drivers from seeing a need to purchase more fuel efficient vehicles by keeping the gas tax low, are all long term costly moves a real “fiscal conservative” would object to.

They're not objecting. Talk about being in the (gas) tank for Scott Walker. Just as bad, an increase in our registration fee instead of a gas tax, forces Wisconsinites to pay for out-of-state drivers use of our roads. That's a huge revenue stream I'd like to tap. 

Charge Card Conservative Scott Walker sticks with "No Tax Pledge," a self destructive Purity Test killingTransportation Jobs.

Grover Norquist's childish no tax pledge, an idea he came up with when he was 12 years old, still appeals to people like Scott Walker. Walker's one of those "charge card conservatives" who thinks borrowing is the answer, and strategy. When the payment is due under a Democratic administration, republicans will blame liberals for raising taxes.

But this special kind of zealotry, practiced by Wisconsin republicans, isn't getting the same kind of play in other "red" states:

“Gas tax hike safe politically, analysis says” reports The Hill: “Almost all state lawmakers who have voted to raise gas taxes in states that increased their own fuel levies in recent years have been re-elected, according to an analysis that was released Tuesday by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association.”

And while republicans pretend raising the fee isn't a tax, and say Wisconsinites preferred higher fees instead of higher taxes, Scott Walker disagrees. He says it's a tax, no matter how you look at it, and "kick the can down the road" borrowing is the conservative solution that keeps the "no tax pledge" intact, no matter how meaningless that might be.

Walker puts Wisconsin near top of the list for Worst Roads in the Nation.

If you’re going crazy figuring out how to spend your $5 property tax savings bestowed upon us by Scott Walker, I've got an idea. Fix your car.

It’s the old, “save a little, spend a lot/penny wise, pound foolish" dilemma republicans gave into long ago. It's not just unworkable, but it's also an inconvenience they're not willing to reconcile. Wisconsin Rapids Tribune: 

Wisconsin's roads are the third-worst in the nation and the potholes and other problems that plague them cost drivers in some cities almost twice the national average in repairs and associated costs, according to a new study of the state's highway system.

To make matters worse, republicans can’t increase taxes because they've taken a pledge to uphold an idea created by a 12 year old many years ago. Sadly, that 12 year old never grownup, but he is older. He's Grover Norquist.

The party of big business has some explaining to do:

The study found that if the state's roads aren't brought back into good condition, it could harm Wisconsin's struggling economy, which is rebounding from the Great Recession more slowly than other states in the Midwest. Companies that are considering moving to Wisconsin could choose to relocate in states with better infrastructure that doesn't cost them as much in annual repairs.

Currently, the state is budgeting 27 percent of the transportation funds … In 1993, the state dedicated 36.2 percent of road revenue for local governments.

Of course, we could also pretend things could be worse, and save lots of money by putting off unpopular ideologically tough decisions:

State Sen. Jerry Petrowski, R-Marathon, is chairman of the Committee on Transportation and he thinks Wisconsin's roads still are in better condition than those of its neighbors.

I thought this tweet said it all:

Shell Game: Scott Walker to give your property tax cut savings onto road builders with new fees and possible new tax.

Funny thing, I wrote the title yesterday before finishing this post, and low and behold today, the Journal Sentinel's James Rowen beat me to it. Knowing when I'm beat, here's what he wrote:

Ah, your $322. Remember all that dough you were getting back in tax savings from Daddy Walker Warbucks? Scott Walker bought a lot of votes for $322, and asked you what you planned on doing with it.

Well, now we know where some of it's going next year.

To higher electric rates, as ordered by his Public Service Commission. And, in one form or another - - higher prices at the gas pump and other 'transportation' taxes or fees - - to the politically-connected, well-oiled road-building-and-trucking machine to widen more highways though driving is on the decline.

Took the words right out of my mouth. Here's the article substantiating our claim. WSJ:

Drivers in Wisconsin would have to pay an additional $751 million in taxes and fees over the next two years if a new transportation budget request is approved.

It came just over a week after Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who touted tax cuts on the campaign trail, won re-election.

Department secretary Mark Gottlieb said

1. Cost increases would include a “highway use fee” for new vehicle purchases, which would amount to $800 on a $32,000 vehicle, he said.
2. Gas taxes would increase by about $27 a year linked in part to wholesale prices of fuel.
3. And the owners of hybrid and electric vehicles would also have to pay an annual $50 fee.
4. The gas tax overhaul and new fees for hybrid and electric cars mirror ideas floated by Walker during a meeting with the State Journal editorial board last month.

The proposal aims to shore up the state’s projected $680 million shortfall in the DOT’s 2015-17 budget. And it would increase the money taken from the general fund from $133 million to nearly $574 million.

Anyone for a constitutional amendment to protect the general fund from the transportation fund?

Corporate-funded ALEC may just amend our state constitutional for profit and Scott Walker's political power.

Does out-of-state big business and ALEC write laws for Wisconsin? You bet, and we’re about to vote on ALEC's own amendment to our constitution, for road builders.

But right wingers like “stand with Walker” Brownshirts laughed when liberals said ALEC was “evil." So these saps decided to lead us into the Soylent Green shredder and chip making machine for CEO snacking when they finally take over:

ALEC's good. All this talk is liberal fear mongering, despite the following…:

PR Watch: On November 4, Wisconsin voters will decide if the state constitution should be amended to require that “revenues generated by use of the state transportation system be deposited into a transportation fund administered by a department of transportation for the exclusive purpose of funding Wisconsin's transportation systems and to prohibit any transfers or lapses from this fund." The ballot measure reflects model legislation pushed by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) that is intended to prioritize road funding over all other types of transportation spending.

Shahla Werner, Director of the Sierra Club's in Wisconsin is worried that if the amendment passes and Walker succeeds with his multi-year effort to remove all public transit from the transportation budget, the result will be that all funds generated by state gas taxes and vehicle registrations will be locked in for roads.

Heck, that didn't sound good did it? Unless you don’t care about public transportation, a must have for the 20 something’s who like to commute. They even say they'll move to cities with the best public transportation, and leave Wisconsin far behind. 

 

ALEC is good. All this talk is liberal fear mongering, despite the following…:

In April 2011, former State Senator Randy Hopper authored the first consideration of the amendment, Senate Joint Resolution 23. In January 2013, ALEC member Representative Keith Ripp took up the cause, introducing Assembly Joint Resolution 2.

"A Guaranteed Fund for a Powerful Special Interest:" According to Wisconsin State Senator Fred Risser, the measure would create "a guaranteed fund for a powerful special interest."

Who cares when you have the job creators behind it:

Supporters of the amendment include Marathon Petroleum Corporation, Transportation Development Association of Wisconsin, Transportation Investment Coalition, Wisconsin Asphalt Pavement Association, Wisconsin Automobile & Truck Dealers Association, Wisconsin Automotive Aftermarket Association, Wisconsin Concrete Pavement Association, and Wisconsin Concrete Pipe Association.

"It serves no useful purpose to submit to the highway lobby and guarantee them a constitutionally protected fund that can never be touched even in the case of economic crisis or statewide emergency," Risser wrote for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Pay to play Scott Walker is in the pocket of big business? God you liberals hate Walker an business so much:

Wisconsin Democracy Campaign underscore his argument … found that "the proposal is before voters because a group of wealthy special interests contributed nearly one-third -- $5.5 million -- of the $18.3 million large individual and political action committee contributions accepted by the current legislature."

And, needless to say, Governor Walker is also a major beneficiary of the amendment's special interest backers, who contributed about a third -- $15.7 million of the $45.1 million -- of the large individual and PAC contributions the governor got between 2011-2014.

It's all a fantastic coincidence.

Road Building Lobbyists closer to Constitutionally guaranteeing Taxpayer Funding.

Boy, this is really a bad idea, and Scott Walker is handing over another gift to GOP donors in the road building industry. Constitutionally guaranteeing money for transportation but not making that same guarantee for education is lunacy and perhaps the last straw for voters.

Yes, I know, Mary Burke supports this statewide referendum, but vote against it anyway. Recently on WPR, State Sen. Fred Risser argued against this blatant payoff to Walker special interests. Great stuff:



WISC's Jessica Arp presented a similar argument, but this time within the Democratic Party. But aren't we all getting tired of the "broke the peoples trust" excuse? Future legislatures need to have budgeting flexibility. Democratic Rep. Terese Berceau makes a pretty convincing argument:

Walker running Wisconsin into the Ground...more spending cuts on the way?

Republicans have only one solution to their tax cutting addiction; when revenues run out, they cut spending again, even when it's really bad idea. There's no end to the downward spiral.

Democratic Party of Wisconsin: The Department of Health Services reporting a shortfall of $93 million in state tax dollars for the state’s Medicaid fund … According to the White House report, 5,400 fewer people in our state would face crushing, out-of-pocket medical bills each year.  11,200 desperately needed jobs would have been created in our state in the next three years through the expansion. 

Transportation Shortfall nearly $1.5 billion: After borrowing over $250 million for road building in 2014, nothing has been done yet by Walker to fund transportation. On top to that, we received more bad newstoday:

Instead of shifting into high gear during what is normally the peak of construction season, state transportation departments around the country are easing off the gas pedal as the federal Highway Trust Fund barrels toward insolvency sometime next month.
On average, states will see a 28 percent cut.

And because tax revenues are falling short this year, we’re looking at a possible general fund deficit of $1 billion. 

I hope I'm wrong about this, but as Han Solo would say, "I've got a bad feeling about this."

Wisconsin Facing Massive $1.5 billion Budget Hole! Cutting our way to Prosperity with no new Revenue Streams Fundamentally Flawed.

It’s encouraging to see others now focusing in on Walker’s inability to fund transportation responsibly.

The GOP mantra to never raise taxes has put up road blocks to each and every solution we have in this state and nation. The fact that they've borrowed and used general fund money to pay for road maintenance in Wisconsin should have sent up red flags for even conservative voters, who didn't seem to notice. Republicans are stuck, and they know it.

I've focused on the transportation fund because I think it showcases the fundamental problem of the conservative ideology and their no tax pledge. They can’t manage anything, especially government, wearing their ridiculous no tax straitjacket. Unfortunately, Walker might get another four year term before reality hits every taxpayer in the state. The GOP can't even replace most of the old gas tax with an equal but new mileage based use tax. 

Jake’s Economic TA Funhouse, my go to guy for numbers, broke it down wonderfully below (see more here):

Good to see a discussion of Transportation funding find its way into an in-depth article from the Journal-Sentinel's Patrick Marley. And while it's buried near the end of the article, I'm going to bring this bit of news up to the front.

The transportation fund will start the next two-year budget cycle with a deficit of about $750 million. That is because the governor and lawmakers relied on one-time funding — much of it borrowed — to help pay for the Zoo Interchange and the north-south portion of I-94 in southeastern Wisconsin.

About $600 million more will be needed from mid-2015 to mid-2017 to pay for those two projects alone.

When you combine it to the $725 million structural deficit we're in for the General Fund, it now means the state is facing overall budget deficits near $1.5 billion with the next budget that have to be filled. So much for the idea that the budget is "balanced" under Walker and WisGOP.

Our out-of-state Governor Walker travels a different road, and not the dirt roads returning to Wisconsin.

I posted a story on dirt roads awhile back. Gov. Walker's push to bring back dirt roads is an odd bragging point, ya think? The Republican legislature decided to kick the can down the dirt road in the last budget, preferring to take general fund cash and charging the rest. That story from Rock County still gets a lot of hits today.

Well, here’s another one, from the Tomah Journal:

Monroe County has two options for its highway systems —either reinvest in the system or let the county highways turn back into dirt roads — according to highway commissioner Jack Dittmar. The Wisconsin Information System for Local Roads, a program through the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, supports Dittmar's argument. The program says Monroe County's highways require millions of dollars in repairs.

Let’s hear what a Republican thinks of this mounting problem, and his well thought out solution:

Supervisor James Kuhn wasn't convinced that moving toward dirt county roads would be a bad thing. "Dirt roads are nothing new. They work," said Kuhn.

You would think something deep inside this guy would tell him that's not right, something’s really not good about that option. The reason's for the funding shortfall may require solutions our pledge taking Republicans would never support:

The highway system is in dire condition after 15 years of rising construction costs without a corresponding rise in revenues for the department.

"For us, the real key ingredient is asphalt," Dittmar said. Asphalt has gone from $25 per ton to $60 per ton since 1999.

"Our revenues has been pretty much stagnant," Dittmar said. Although the total county tax levy has doubled in the past 15 years, highway tax levy has been roughly $2 million per year since 2000.

"We can't do any more with less. We've been doing that for too long," Dittmar said.

 Here’s Rachel Maddow with another back to dirt roads story.

Wisconsin's going to Hell! Republican cuts brutalize towns and city services by kicking the can down the Road on Transportation Funding.

This WPT Here and Now report is the best analysis yet, maybe even WARNING, that exposes the budgetary house of cards being constructed by our Republican authority. It shows what happens when Walker's bizarre ideologically driven policy clashes with reality. Suffice it to say we're in for some real trouble, as the "kick-the-can-down-the-road" Republicans won't make the tough decisions that will help the state deal with its transportation problems. You know, it's never quite the right time to do anything.

Keep in mind, a recent Marquette Law School Poll found the public also doesn't want to spend a dime on transportation either, while still wanting the work done. Some conservative lawmakers know what needs to be done, but lack the leadership and courage to pull the trigger.

Just like during Bush, Republicans are proving to be the "borrow and spend" party. You won't like anything in this report. And Walker thinks he's presidential material? Zac Schultz doesn't hold back:

Walker Authority, Legislative Republicans have no way to pay for maintaining roads, infrastructure.

Sec. of Dept. of Transportation Mark Gottlieb is trying to make his fellow Republicans think very seriously about RAISING TAXES, the only way the state will be able to improve our crumbling infrastructure. That increase, if voted on fully, would negate any possible middle class tax cut in the state by Walker.

Can these guys run a government or what? From WPT's Here and Now: