Another crisis! Is the sky falling this time?
Lasee’s Notes
It’s a crisis! It’s a crisis! The sky is falling, the sky is falling!
That’s what the state’s Department of Transportation is calling it. Our $2.4 billion transportation budget isn’t big enough to pay for the highways, roads, and other myriad things it’s supposed to pay for.
Among other things, DOT chief Frank Busalacchi warned about a $4.7 million deficit by the middle of next year. Out of a $2.4 billion budget – less than two tenths of one percent.
A crisis.
If that’s the case, then the state could solve all our transportation problems simply by not raiding the transportation fund. The state balanced this budget by siphoning $427 million out of transportation – just leave that there, and the transportation budget would have a surplus in the hundreds of millions.
I wonder – would Mr. Busalacchi have noticed the “surplus” if we’d left that money alone?
Or perhaps there’s a way for us to spend less. Consider these other numbers:
According to the non-partisan Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, we have 21 miles of roads per 1000 residents in our state – 17th most in the nation.
Eighty-two percent of our roads are paved – 6th highest in the nation, and more than double the rate of paved roads per capita in Michigan and Illinois. We have more roads per person, and far more paved roads per person compared to our sister states. Is this any surprise?
And in 2002 (the latest data available), we spent $557 per capita on our state and local highways – 35% more than the national average, and 14th highest per-capita road spending in the country.
State spending on highways has doubled between 1990 and 2005, including a 16% increase this year. Overall DOT spending is up 11% in the current two-year budget. And starting July 1, debt service will take up almost 11% of all transportation taxes, up from seven and a half percent four years ago.
Not enough, says the DOT. Crisis!
As usual, the problem isn’t that we aren’t spending enough money. Our problem is that our eyes are bigger than our stomachs.
We used to say that all the time in my family. It means you took more food than you could eat. You wanted to eat more, but didn’t have room for it.
Wisconsin does this. We want to eat more, to have more, to spend more than we can afford.
We’re below average in personal income in Wisconsin, and above average in spending, which means a larger burden on each individual. And yet it’s not enough. We have unmet needs. The DOT isn’t alone in this – every state department and agency will tell you the same thing – they don’t have enough money, even when we spend above the national average in nearly every program that has any merit.
How do states that spend below the national average make do, I wonder? And by the way, Colorado spends more per capita on their roads than we do, even though they have TABOR (TPA).
The problem in Wisconsin isn’t that we don’t tax enough. It is that, no matter how much we spend, our government keeps coming back for more.
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Lasee’s Notes is a weekly column by Representative Frank Lasee, 2nd Assembly District, covering events in the Legislature and statewide.
It’s a crisis! It’s a crisis! The sky is falling, the sky is falling!
That’s what the state’s Department of Transportation is calling it. Our $2.4 billion transportation budget isn’t big enough to pay for the highways, roads, and other myriad things it’s supposed to pay for.
Among other things, DOT chief Frank Busalacchi warned about a $4.7 million deficit by the middle of next year. Out of a $2.4 billion budget – less than two tenths of one percent.
A crisis.
If that’s the case, then the state could solve all our transportation problems simply by not raiding the transportation fund. The state balanced this budget by siphoning $427 million out of transportation – just leave that there, and the transportation budget would have a surplus in the hundreds of millions.
I wonder – would Mr. Busalacchi have noticed the “surplus” if we’d left that money alone?
Or perhaps there’s a way for us to spend less. Consider these other numbers:
According to the non-partisan Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, we have 21 miles of roads per 1000 residents in our state – 17th most in the nation.
Eighty-two percent of our roads are paved – 6th highest in the nation, and more than double the rate of paved roads per capita in Michigan and Illinois. We have more roads per person, and far more paved roads per person compared to our sister states. Is this any surprise?
And in 2002 (the latest data available), we spent $557 per capita on our state and local highways – 35% more than the national average, and 14th highest per-capita road spending in the country.
State spending on highways has doubled between 1990 and 2005, including a 16% increase this year. Overall DOT spending is up 11% in the current two-year budget. And starting July 1, debt service will take up almost 11% of all transportation taxes, up from seven and a half percent four years ago.
Not enough, says the DOT. Crisis!
As usual, the problem isn’t that we aren’t spending enough money. Our problem is that our eyes are bigger than our stomachs.
We used to say that all the time in my family. It means you took more food than you could eat. You wanted to eat more, but didn’t have room for it.
Wisconsin does this. We want to eat more, to have more, to spend more than we can afford.
We’re below average in personal income in Wisconsin, and above average in spending, which means a larger burden on each individual. And yet it’s not enough. We have unmet needs. The DOT isn’t alone in this – every state department and agency will tell you the same thing – they don’t have enough money, even when we spend above the national average in nearly every program that has any merit.
How do states that spend below the national average make do, I wonder? And by the way, Colorado spends more per capita on their roads than we do, even though they have TABOR (TPA).
The problem in Wisconsin isn’t that we don’t tax enough. It is that, no matter how much we spend, our government keeps coming back for more.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lasee’s Notes is a weekly column by Representative Frank Lasee, 2nd Assembly District, covering events in the Legislature and statewide.
posted by John Q Cheesehead | 2:12 PM
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