Last week, just after Gov. Scott Walker won re-election on a tax cut platform, Walker and Transportation Secretary Mark Gottlieb announced they need $750 million in new taxes and fees to pay for the highway spending spree they launched during Walker’s first term.
Not only does the tax and fee increase directly contradict Walker’s tax cut agenda, but it isn’t what Wisconsin needs to position itself for a strong economic future, and it’s miles away from what the rest of the world is doing. Instead of investing in clean energy infrastructure, Walker is tying Wisconsin’s future to freeways, trucks and gas-reliant cars, not public transit or energy-efficient vehicles.
First off, the multimillions will primarily go to highways, not local roadways or public transit, two areas of the budget that sorely need attention. Instead, Walker is focusing on major highway projects, such as the proposed double-decker freeway that will cut through the heart of Milwaukee’s Story Hill neighborhood, to the tune of $800 million.
Walker’s plan not only ignores the energy efficient direction the world is moving in, his policies actually penalize the people who are trying to move forward with the rest of the world. His plan includes a new $50 annual fee for owners of electric or hybrid cars, similar to his Public Service Commission’s decision to penalize homeowners with rooftop solar systems. Both decisions prioritize profits—generated by We Energies and the road-building industry—over the environment and public health. Sadly, Scott Walker is less committed to being a good steward of the earth than even Chinese President Xi Jinping, who announced an historic agreement with President Obama last week to reduce the two nations’ greenhouse gases.
Lastly, Walker also wants to use general purpose funds, in addition to the money in the transportation fund and its additional taxes, to pay for his transportation plans, meaning that there will likely be less money for schools, health care, public safety and everything else.
Yes, Scott Walker won re-election and thanks to gerrymandering he has a GOP-dominated Legislature so he is able to impose his agenda on the state. But that doesn’t make his transportation plans right, nor does it show good judgment. Scott Walker has taken Wisconsin down the wrong road and we’re the ones who will have to pay the price.
