Transportation Elimination

Wisconsin is in the middle of a critical financial crisis. Our transportation aid is being cut drastically, our infrastructure is deteriorating, and the public servants who work for the benefit of all people living in the state are under a vicious attack. Even though the budget repair bill proposed by the Governor of Wisconsin Scott Walker is an unfortunate thing, some believe the bill will protect taxpayers and save jobs for many; this is a misrepresentation because unions are the last defense against Republican big businesses taking over society. The voters of Wisconsin should recognize this as a grave injustice of the government taking away rights, such as transportation aid. 

Transportation is a necessity for everyday life. Individuals utilize public transportation to get to school, work, stores, banks, and even for recreation. Jin Li Zheng from the March edition of The Badger Herald reported that the governor is removing funding from public transportation and transferring it into construction and the general fund. Zheng wrote about the $107 million that will freeze and be shifted over to highway construction, which will increase by 15%, totaling $400 million and how $48.6 million will additionally be cut each year. The increased highway construction that Walker is focused on will trigger off more pollution and lengthier traffic lines (Zheng 1-2). This is not what the state should be putting our money into; instead, the government should be investing the money in a new rail system.

However, investing in a new train has been met with opposition. Amy Merrick from the December Edition of The Wall Street Journal reported that the governor is choosing to forfeit $810 million that was supposed to provide for a passenger train between Madison and Milwaukee.Walker forfeited the money for a new train only to invest money in the Hiawatha line, which impacted job growth in Wisconsin (Merrick 1-2).

High-speed trains would boost employment. Taylor Nye from the November edition of The Badger Herald stated that the rail line would have successfully created more jobs, but losing it will cost the state additional jobs and money. Nye wrote about the 7.7% unemployment rate in Wisconsin and how Walker ignored the many jobs that have already been lost because Walker believed that he would create 250,000 more jobs without the new rail line. The jobs that Walker thinks he can bring in might not be possible without the rail line, and he should pay more attention to how much stability the new rail line could bring to the economy (Nye 1).

The governor stands on a different viewpoint. Scott Walker’s article in the December edition of The Lacrosse Tribune expressed that he refuses to “waste” federal money that is not free on a rail line that will cost taxpayers money they are not willing to put out and that an insufficient amount of people would have used the train (Walker 1). Walker paid no attention to the benefits of others and the spur in the economy that the line could bring. Walker is more attentive to revamping Wisconsin’s roads and bridges, while people who are elderly and disabled need public transportation as well.

Some citizens are not able to drive a car. Matt Johnson from the February edition of The Lacrosse Tribune reported that the Budget Repair Bill could affect about $200,000 in state money which goes to transportation services for the elderly and disabled. Johnson discussed a few of the programs throughout Wisconsin line the “85.21,” the “New Freedom,” and the “STRAP” programs which will need to compete among other state programs for funds. Without public transportation, keeping the elderly and disabled in their homes will be difficult. Many worry that they will have to move to assistant living or nursing homes. Overall the government will decide on the programs which will be impacted, but there is a chance that $70 million could be taken away from the transit aid. Losing benefits that these programs give to our communities will affect many people (Johnson 1). Finding a better way to cut funds while still supporting these programs would reduce the worries of the elderly and disabled. 

Some people believe that roads are the future. Clay Barbour and Mary Spicuzza from the June edition of the Wisconsin State Journal informed citizens that there is dangerous wear and tear on many of the roads and bridges which have led some to shut down for a short time. They discuss that the money that is going to other transportation programs should be going to the roads and bridges because that is what the tax payers want to spend their money on (Barbour and Spicuzza 2). Walker has taken money away from transportation and put it into roads rather than distributing it equally. Distributing funding equally would serve people who rely on public transit to get to their jobs or to get an education at school.

Road construction becomes more important than education. Rod Clark from the March edition of the Capital Times reported that Walker is making at least $144 million in education cuts in order to increase funds for road construction. Clark writes about the 150 construction workers who contributed $128,859 to Walker’s campaign. Road construction is a state priority, and there are construction needs, but citizens need a clearer understanding of Walker’s intentions (Clark 1). Wisconsin may be broke, but taking away education funding to reconstruct roads and bridges will reduce the type of education our children receive. 

Some believe that the bill will not affect transit aid. Ben Krumholz from the February edition of Fox 11 News reported that over 450,000 trips were taken last year through the transit systems in Wisconsin (Krumholz 1). He talks about how the bill meets all of the federal requirements to maintain federal transit funding and how various Democrats hope that the absent funds are an unintended consequence. That is Walker’s intention; he wants to take taxpayer money from the public sector and privatize it without thinking about the people who take advantage of the resources that allow them to get around.  

Dave Zewfiel from the March edition of the Capital Times reported that ten percent of the population does not use cars. Over ninety percent of the $114.9 million that the state received in federal aid went towards buses and shared ride taxis (Zweifel 1-2). Zweifel wrote about how Walker is taking away all of the money for transit aid so that Walker can give the money to his supporters in the construction industry. Zweifel also wrote about how mass transit helps about eighty percent of the people get to school and work on a daily basis, and how important the people are even if they cannot contribute. The people of Wisconsin are important no matter how much money they have and Walker isn’t looking into funding mass transit for people who have no choice but to rely on it.

Others doubt that transportation aid will be affected. Larry Sandler and Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel suggested that Walker’s plan saved more money than was evident. By trying to replace public transportation with private transportation Walker is taking away benefits that public employees have earned (Sandler and Marley 1-2).

Public employees who work for transportation systems are more educated but earn less compensation whereas private sector workers are allowed benefits which are more modest. The 2011 Wisconsin Legislative Agenda showed that local and state funding combined help keep family-supporting jobs (Wisconsin Legislative Agenda 1). Walker is not creating a stable funding source for public transit workers, and seems to be interested in making public transit workers into private workers. The governor is not considering options for both the citizens and public workers of Wisconsin.

Some believe that Walker is doing the right thing by cutting job benefits for public workers. Matt Beaty from the April edition of The Daily Cardinal wrote that after Walker turned down federal funding the state has seen 13,000 new private sector jobs (Beaty 1). Walker is bringing in more low-paid private sector jobs, only to cut the public ones so that he can give the money to roads and bridges. Beaty believes that Walker’s dedication to updating the roads and bridges is where the priorities should be so that we can create solid roads with a strong work force. Walker’s overall plan is to lower taxes and create jobs, but this may not be possible with Walker’s overall plan.

Wisconsin’s Governor Scott Walker is trying to privatize the state’s workforce, cut education funds, cut public transportation aid, and take away benefits for public transportation workers. Wisconsin may be in the middle of a financial crisis, and our roads are deteriorating, but funding programs more equally without taking away rights is something the state could look into. Some people believe that the budget repair bill will help all citizens, but if programs are not equal, than Governor Walker is not thinking of anybody but his supporters.