Who are 'They'?

'They' are the Democrats in the state Senate.  'They' have just passed 'their' version of the state budget repair bill out of committee and it now faces a vote in the full Senate.  The full Senate has a majority of Democrats.  Do we even think there is a chance that the committee's version will not be passed.  No.  That is what we might call "a foregone conclusion".  I'd love to have to print a retraction of this Blog.  Go ahead Dems, make me eat these words!  Please!

So what is it that 'they' did this time?  Well, 'they' raised taxes again.  I know that probably comes as a huge surprise, but that's what 'they' did.  'They' pushed some obligations into the next budget period and 'they' took some money from other places, both of which the Republicans did, as well.  The difference is that the Republicans in the Assembly did not raise taxes.  The Democrats in the Senate are doing that.

Just what taxes are we looking at? 

The KRM commuter rail line is back in 'their' budget repair bill and that, for starters, raises rental car taxes by $2 in Kenosha County and by $15 in Racine and Milwaukee Counties.  Of course, the thought is that this only penalizes visitors.  'They' don't seem to understand that it could very well deter visitors and could figure in decisions by corporations that are considering whether or not to remain or build new facilities in this area.  'They' don't tell us that the long-term operational costs of the KRM commuter rail system will be with us forever.  'They' don't care about that or about us taxpayers.

'They' are increasing the taxes on businesses by some $130 Million in this budget period.  But 'they' say that is only "closing loopholes".  These "loopholes" involve the use of a concept called 'combined reporting' where corporations with operations in other states are required to combine all profits so that Wisconsin can tax everything.  What might this do?  Well, it might convince some corporations to cease doing business in Wisconsin.  Certainly the Wal-Marts of the world will not quit doing business here...but they will raise their prices here to cover the additional cost of these new taxes.  We saw that earlier this year when it became common knowledge that television sets, for example, cost less in Illinois Wal-Marts than in Wisconsin Wal-Marts due to our minimum mark-up laws.

And, 'they' are falling victim to the combined onslaught of the big city hospitals, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, Milwaukee Metropolitan Association of Commerce, the Wisconsin Hospital Association and Governor Doyle and are raising taxes on all hospitals in Wisconsin by some $416 Million to get 'their' hands on more federal money.  This is apparently thought of as 'free' money but there couldn't be anything further from the truth.  The thrust here is this: the major hospitals have begged to be taxed more because that will result in the state getting more federal money for Medicaid costs and the state has promised the big hospitals a rate increase on Medicaid patients.  Never mind that these increased hospital fees are to be paid by us taxpayers and our health insurance premiums.  Never mind that the smaller hospitals in the state will suffer from the increased taxes because they will not see as many Medicaid patients and thus will not get the benefit of increased fees.  This is, by the way, a visible result of the vertical integration of health care systems, and it is only the beginning of the impact of that movement.

In the final analysis, either 'they' do not understand that all taxes are ultimately paid by us consumers...or 'they' do understand and 'they' just plain don't give a darn about us...the voters... who for some reason persist in re-electing Democrats.  And you and I both know that 'they' are fully aware that we pay the taxes. 

So, the simple deduction is this:  in spite of all 'their' rhetoric to the contrary, 'they' simply couldn't care less about you and me...so long as we're stupid enough to continue to vote for 'them'.  And, unfortunately, we continue to prove 'them' right; we are just as stupid as 'they' think...because 'they' stay in office and we pay ever more taxes! 

KRM stands for the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee rail commuter system and is used whenever the cognoscenti is looking for cute short-hand.

This thing just won't go away; not because it is an idea whose time has come, but because those who want it will keep hammering us over the head until we submit to their brilliance.  This system would supposedly make us the equivalent of a Denver, or San Diego or Minneapolis, or any other metropolitan area that has built such a system to rid itself of commuters on four wheels.

Rail systems simply do not reach the point where subsidies are unnecessary.  Chicago's 'L' is getting a tax boost of $1 Billion and this is a system used extensively by tens of thousands of commuters daily.  Even with that level of ridership, the system needs a hand-out for repairs and upgrades.  Amtrak is another wonderful example.  It will never get to the point of being self-sufficient; the best hope is that somehow it will get to a point where the costs will diminish.

The 'rail crowd' is enamored with how great KRM would be.  It would supposedly elevate our metro area to a status it has yet to attain on its own.  It would make us a daunting force in our quest to stem the outflow of jobs while it also helps to create new jobs due to all the corporate headquarters that would decide to relocate to the Milwaukee area. 

Why don't we get our Milwaukee schools on the track before we build tracks if we want to keep jobs and attract new jobs?  Why don't we build the added expressway lanes necessary to support current traffic demand?  The answer to that question is actually very easy: the rail lovers don't want vehicular commuting to get any easier.  If they keep pounding us with their message at the same time that we get caught in traffic congestion, maybe then we'll weaken and let them have their way. 

KRM should become the favored acronym for those of us who don't want rail:  Keep Rail Money.  Buy a few more buses that can go in something other than a straight line.  What a novel concept that is.  Take those who wish to avoid driving to close to where they wish to get off, rather than on a straight line trip downtown that leaves one blocks or miles away from the real destination.  That is especially helpful in sub-zero weather.

Which reminds me of our charming Milwaukee politicos who are giving Menomonee Falls a hard time over water rights renewal due to Waukesha County refusing to continue to subsidize the bus that ran into Waukesha County.  That is another novel idea.  Make suburbs as bad as Milwaukee and maybe we'll stop the outward migration that has gone on since the 70s.  That's the grand old American way, isn't it?