The Milwaukee Post

8 • Milwaukee County Post • 12, 2017 When the state Assembly Republicans delivered their long-awaited tax reform and transportation funding plan last week, they made a couple of big mistakes. The first was not putting the plan in a coffin when they hauled it into the Capitol because this pro- posal is a corpse. The second was the reason the plan was a cadaver in the first place — the inclusion of an increase in the state's gas tax that Gov. Scott Walker has vowed to veto and no Wisconsinites want. The sad thing about this is that the rest of the plan was filled with good ideas. But that begs the larger question. Why not do all of those good things without a toxic increase in the gas tax? The answer is that some Assembly Republicans have become obsessed with the gas tax. This obsession, weird as it is, is un-Republican and ulti- mately self-defeating. They aren't going to get their gas tax. And that's a good thing. The tax burden in this state is still too high and no amount of rationalizing, or whining about excessive bonding in the state trans- portation fund, is going to get Walker or most Republican voters to add to that tax burden with an obnoxious increase in the gas tax. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has been spoiling for a fight with Walker over this and has dragged the rest of his caucus into this misguided mess. Similarly hauled in are the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce and the Wisconsin chapter of Americans for Prosperity (aka the Koch Brothers). But it doesn't matter how many interest groups sign on to Vos' plan. It's a dead carcass and no amount of MMAC or AFP mouth-to- mouth is going to resuscitate it. That's good because raising the gas tax is an incredibly stupid thing to do. For seven years, Walker and Wisconsin Republicans have established a brand. They are the party that rescued the state from the Democratic tax hell. To turn around and raise a tax as visible as the gas tax kills that brand. The consequences of that are both political and governmental. The GOP will lose legislative seats next year and maybe even the gover- norship if they so brazenly insult state vot- ers. That means no more cutting of any other taxes. It means the Democrats and their big-spending, union-enabling ways are back. All this for a gas tax hike? This proves it is an obsession. Vos and many Republican Assembly mem- bers want to spend more on major trans- portation because they realize freeway con- struction is the one form of government spending that produces economic develop- ment. And they have legitimate concerns about the current amount of borrowing. But the correct answer to this is to end the waste of tens of millions of dollars in the current transportation budget. Urban bus systems are hemorrhaging money with overly large empty buses. Switching to a van-sharing system for low- income people would save a fortune and pro- vide better service. Milwaukee's mass tran- sit system should receive a big cut in state aid given the willingness of Milwaukee to waste millions on a ridiculous trolley. Car and Driver magazine's current issue says Wisconsin has more roundabouts per per- son than any state in the union! One of them is being built, at state insistence, in Vos' own backyard (Highway 38 in Racine County) despite overwhelming local opposition. Major DOT projects are over-engineered and in some cases (Madison Beltline inter- change and Verona Road) incompetently managed. Until the massive DOT waste is addressed, not a single penny in new tax money should be thrown into this bottom- less pit. State Assembly: Do you hear us yet? Read our lips: No New Taxes. (Sorry, George). The Assembly plan has many other great provisions. They want to begin to lower and flatten the state income tax, end the mini- mum markup on gasoline, put a moratorium on roundabout construction, lay off some DOT engineers and end the payment of the prevailing wage on state projects. Those are all great ideas. But why are they linked to hiking the gas tax? Is the gas tax the ransom we have to pay to get some Republicans to enact good policy? The prevailing wage can be repealed by stand-alone legislation. The income tax can be independent of whatever happens to the gas tax. The minimum markup law is archa- ic. It seems as though Republican Assembly leaders are taking a right-wing wish list and taunting us with it: We'll give you all this candy, if you eat your broccoli first. In this case, the candy is what's good for us and the broccoli is poisonous. Rep. Dale Kooyenga, R-Brookfield, a rising star, put together this plan filled with good stuff. But he is too beholden to his Assembly colleagues or has become addicted to the gas tax opioid Vos is pushing because he has allowed months of hard work to turn into a proposal that is in a pine box. Walker has been governor for over six years now and is known for not backing down. He has said from the beginning he will not sign a gas tax hike. It's not likely state Senate Republicans will approve one, either. The Assembly leaders are wasting time pressing for something Walker, the Senate and Republican voters will never give them. They are being saved from them- selves but are too stubborn to recognize it. (Mark Belling is the host of a daily WISN radio talk show. His column appears weekly in the Milwaukee Post. Send your personal correspondences to Mark Belling at Clear Channel Communications, c/o WISN, 12100 W. Howard Ave., Greenfield, WI 53228). MARK BELLING STANDING UP for MILWAUKEE Assembly Republicans' gas tax hike proposal is DOA OPINION Last week's question Alderman Bob Donovan's let- ter on page 9 in the May 5 Post raises concerns about a likely increase in crime as the weather warms amid a recent decline in staffing levels for the Milwaukee Police Department.What do you think about it? (See page 9 today for a viewpoint by Milwaukee Common Council President Ashanti Hamilton.) I couldn't agree more with Alderman Bob Donovan. He hit the nail on the head. Every day in the paper it's a shooting, a carjacking, robbery and who knows what isn't even getting reported. It's not even warm yet. Living on the far South Side, I can't remember the last time I saw a patrol car come down my street. I feel sorry for our police officers who have to also worry if they are going to be shot responding to a call. We can't say enough good things about the relative- ly few law enforcement officers we do have in this city. Just a few days ago there was a bump of a vehicle and a carjacking occurred in my aldermanic district. I'm not so sure my alderman, Terry Witkowski, who is so close to the mayor, even knows that happened. Keep your head on a swivel, it's going to get worse.Way to go, Bob. I wish you were my alderman. — Tedd Nardelli Milwaukee *** As usual, I think Alderman Bob Donovan hits it on the head when he talks about the police and crime. Milwaukee received so much attention due to the increased violence last year. When talking with police, they're not perfect, however, they do have a right- ful concern about violence and their safety. Milwaukee is looked at as a place where almost anything goes. If I were a Milwaukee police officer, I would likely retire also. — Thomas Reed West Allis This week's question What do you think of President Donald Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey? Or, what do you think of Milwaukee-based Rexnord's move of 300 jobs from Indianapolis to Mexico and President Donald Trump's tweet chiding the decision? Editor's note: When responding to the Question of the Week, please include your full name with spelling, phone number and city where you live. Phone numbers will not be published. Call 744-6370, Ext. 15 and leave a brief answer. Readers may also send an email with a brief answer to: dmuck@ conleynet.com. Question of the week Send your letters to: The Milwaukee Post, c/o Dan Muckelbauer, 3397 S. Howell Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53207, or by email to: dmuck@conleynet.com. We reserve the right to edit letters for style, length and clarity. Letters should be typewritten or printed and include full name, phone number and address. Please keep your letters to no more than 400 words. Letters policy

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