tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6621691715090523319.post1240760188796049813..comments2023-10-08T04:12:46.273-05:00Comments on The Political Environment: Walker Waste Commission Should Tamp Down Highway SpendingJames Rowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10203270946492159686noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6621691715090523319.post-43009684611678606762011-12-18T13:43:57.213-06:002011-12-18T13:43:57.213-06:00Respected analyst David Riemer puts the gas tax an...Respected analyst David Riemer puts the gas tax and registration fee at 58% the cost of roads; the other 42% is paid by sales, income and property taxes (all of us). http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/89803737.html<br /><br />I made a pie chart from his numbers to show income source, and expenditures. http://www.milwaukeerenaissance.com/BillSell/RoadCostsWhoPaysBill Sellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6621691715090523319.post-72189219371113816932011-03-01T22:20:24.109-06:002011-03-01T22:20:24.109-06:00BTW - Tom from Waukesha: my grievance is that, rat...BTW - Tom from Waukesha: my grievance is that, rather than attacking a ridiculously bloated highway fund and saving our educational system (of which I and my wife are a part), he has chosen to funnel even more money into roads! Doyle didn't attack education THAT is the difference. High speed transit is a modern and progressive means of transportation and takes one step away from our dependence on fossil fuels. Like many new technologies, at first it is relatively inefficient. But if we cancelled any step forward in technology because it was initially cost inefficient, we would not have personal computers or cell phones.Ramonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12470681156729971484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6621691715090523319.post-83877858962226186342011-03-01T22:11:30.024-06:002011-03-01T22:11:30.024-06:00Meanwhile my wife, a 4K teacher will be out of a j...Meanwhile my wife, a 4K teacher will be out of a job, my children will be doing fundraisers once a week to purchase basic educational materials, and I will lose my part time tutoring job, funded my cancelled grant money. But hey, it will be refreshing to catch up on reading as I wait in traffic created by blocked roads being rebuilt at an unprecedented pace! This is what we get when we elect a C grade point average college dropout to governor.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6621691715090523319.post-50204161860554980402011-01-14T14:09:39.973-06:002011-01-14T14:09:39.973-06:00James – yes, you have criticized the spending of m...James – yes, you have criticized the spending of money on the Pabst Farms exchange, Marquette Interchange, and the I-94 N/S leg. <br /> <br />Here’s the difference. With Walker in office, the criticism of such projects is directed toward Walker. When Doyle was in office, the criticism was directed toward the projects themselves, or the W-DOT. Doyle was not the target of your criticism. If I’m wrong, please cite your blog entries in which Doyle has been criticized with similar discourse, intensity, and frequency.<br /> <br />Failure to see problems with both sides of the aisle is a shortcoming of this blog – though entertaining.Tom - Waukeshanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6621691715090523319.post-2339898287918533812011-01-13T14:08:42.103-06:002011-01-13T14:08:42.103-06:00We've GOT to get these stories - especially th...We've GOT to get these stories - especially the insane Burlington bypass - onto JSOnline. <br /><br />What would this do to Burlington? Kill it! Bypasses of this type, in addition to being insane wastes of money, will suck the life out of the town in favor of fast food crap on the bypass.<br /><br />Walker is getting worse and worse.Actwell T'lousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6621691715090523319.post-77610444378080371422011-01-13T10:55:40.443-06:002011-01-13T10:55:40.443-06:00To Tom Waukesha: The Burlington Bypass is an examp...To Tom Waukesha: The Burlington Bypass is an example of how the state spends money.<br /><br />Please don't suggest I failed to criticize how Doyle spent or planned to spend transportation money. <br /><br />I have criticized the spending on the Pabst Farms interchange, the Marquette Interchange, and on the I-94 N/S leg, with the extra lane instead of commuter rail, as requested by the City of Milwaukee, and the rest of the SE corridor projects that do not contain a penny for transit.<br /><br />The bypass binge began under Tommy. My point is that major highway expansion has been a bi-partisan approach - - though Walker, a fiscal conservative, is on record supporting everyone of these existing and proposed expansions or replacements, regardless of up-front cost (e.g., the Hoan Bridge, at $240 million), thus obligating taxpayers at the local and state levels to recurring costs.James Rowenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10203270946492159686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6621691715090523319.post-597254483224205242011-01-13T09:33:00.439-06:002011-01-13T09:33:00.439-06:00It’s interesting that you cite the Burlington bypa...It’s interesting that you cite the Burlington bypass that cost $118 million (actual). The bypass connects four major highways, keeping high speed traffic off local streets for a city of 10,000. <br /> <br />The project was started and completed while Doyle was in office. Your supposition is that this project, for example, is an <i>indefensible</i> road building expenditure and should be an effort caught by Walker’s new commission on fraud, waste, and abuse. Why’s that? <b>Are you saying that Doyle supported something that was either fraudulent, wasteful, or abusive?</b><br /> <br />Burlington only has 10,000 residents. But, the $118 million (actual costs) bypass supports connectivity for 25,000 inbound/outbound vehicles per day. Assuming each one comes in and then goes out, that is roughly half or 12,500 vehicles. That’s indefensible?<br /> <br />Yet, you support an $810 million choo-choo estimated to service 1,000 daily travelers. That’s 8 times the cost, providing benefit to one-twelfth of the people. Now, that’s indefensible!Tom Waukeshanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6621691715090523319.post-80677333795826995682011-01-12T18:27:04.495-06:002011-01-12T18:27:04.495-06:00Based on this road funding, special favors for car...Based on this road funding, special favors for car dealers, and proposing extremely restrictive siting criteria for wind turbines, it is patently obvious that Walker is a shill for the fossil fuel industry. Convince me otherwise, but you have to show me the evidence. <br /><br />I'd guarantee dollars to donuts that the Koch brothers directly or indirectly financed or provided propaganda tank pieces to bolster the Walker campaign for governor.Joshua Skolnickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03429086776789822611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6621691715090523319.post-26147132578167161972011-01-11T10:38:01.105-06:002011-01-11T10:38:01.105-06:00And the state income taxes to pay off borrowing? A...And the state income taxes to pay off borrowing? And all the local tax obligations to pay off patrol and repair and plowing expenses as the system grows?James Rowenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10203270946492159686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6621691715090523319.post-33011357580751713032011-01-11T10:05:03.736-06:002011-01-11T10:05:03.736-06:00Time to remind your readers where the bulk of fund...Time to remind your readers where the bulk of funding for State Highway projects comes from:<br /><br />A) DMV Fees <br />B) Gas Taxes <br />C) Property Taxes <br />D) Federal Funding <br />E) All of the above <br /><br />If the answer is all of the above then what are the proportions of each? That looks like being taxed 4 times for the same thing if you ask me. Tax Hell in Wisconsin brought to you by road building excesses?Craignoreply@blogger.com