Wisconsin Taxpayers Come Up Less Than Empty.
It’s hard to get ordinary folks involved with the issues facing government. They’re busy with their daily lives and the business of governance is complicated. So even when elected officials are making a genuine effort to do what’s best for the common good, taxpayers usually don’t take the time to understand what they did, let along why they did it.
For example, whenever the officials working on California’s high-speed rail project try to get serious discussions started, the opponents blow them off. “Just another damn gummint boondoggle,” they fume, as if that’s the end of it. Of course that’s not really an argument; it’s just a rant, but it seems to be enough for other anti-rail people. Further discussion is just a waste of breath for everyone.
Occasionally, however, there are exceptions when ordinary folks do start paying attention and when that happens, the politicians had better watch out. Take, for instance, the controversy that began a few years back in Wisconsin when the Spanish manufacturing company, Talgo, signed a contract with the State for a couple of train sets to be used for expanding and improving rail service between Milwaukee and Chicago. Then Governor Jim Doyle, a Democrat, also had a plan for a high speed rail line connecting Milwaukee and Madison, the state capital and home of the University of Wisconsin. As part of the deal, Talgo agreed to have a maintenance facility for the trainsets in Milwaukee and Governor Doyle planned to jump start everything with $810 million in stimulus money Wisconsin was to be getting from Washington.
But then Republican Scott Walker was elected governor. He cancelled the contract with Talgo and, because he had campaigned on a promise to kill the proposed high-speed train, the federal government took back the 810 million bucks. And, of course, Talgo filed suit against the Walker Administration.
Well, it appears that a settlement has been reached and — why are we not surprised? — it’s the Wisconsin taxpayers who are getting the very short end of the stick. Specifically, the State of Wisconsin will have to pay Talgo $50 million. Oh, yeah … and Talgo gets to keep the trains.
Apparently, however, this fiasco is proving to be an exception to the rule, because it seems that Wisconsin voters are paying attention: Scott Walker’s approval rating has fallen to 39 percent, the lowest it’s ever been.
Typical, hypocritical, distort the truth, Republican “do gooder”
In addition to the deep pockets of the anti-rail vested interests aggressively pursuing their lobbying campaign, courtesy of the Citizens United federal case, I had heard that in Wisconsin, Gov. Scott was horribly misled re alleged costs of the MKE-MAD line; certain folks paid for that with their jobs.
When I attended the UWisconsin-Madison in the mid-1960s, how wonderful it was to travel via train from Chicago. Up until the late 1950s, the CNW actually operated a triangle route of bi-directional “400s” between Chicago-Milwaukee-Madison-Chicago! Note the parallel to when the Midwest was hollowed out of its fast, frequent daytime trains and the demise of its regional economy.
The American voter has a unique opportunity in 2016 to push the issue of infrastructure and passenger rail funding to the forefront of both parties campaign plank, right at the top, and in parallel to “growing the economy.” We continue to suffer, watching the demise of our infrastructure, and the throttling of passenger rail, because the (bi-partisan) political class that roosts in Washington is so removed from the reality of what it takes to provide the economy the requisite catalyst.
Some of that money the Feds took back from Wisconsin was then given to Michigan – and used to upgrade old state-owned right-of-way to class 6 [110MPH]. It now hosts the Blue Water and the Wolverine Amtrak services; it was the first class 6 passenger rail service outside of the NEC.
Now there is another *tiny* class 6 section of track between St. Louis and Chicago. So we Michiganders can only say we have *the most* miles of class 6 rail outside the NEC.
Thank you Wisconsin! If any other states want to give up their rail money we would very much appreciate it.
By way of explanation for some of the folks here, Class 6 track accommodates trains at speeds up to 110 miles per hour.