Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Doyle's Wish List

Ol' Jimbo Doyle traipsed off to DC to tell of Wisconsin's woes. S'pose he took the private jet? Did he drive? Take a train? Or fly Midwest Express?

He used the standard line...there will be no public safety, and the poor/elderly will die if his regime doesn't get a bunch of money:

Doyle has ordered state officials to cut 3,500 jobs through June 30, but double that number could be cut through June 2011 without federal help, he said.

Jimbo has a very short memory: Doyle himself promised in the 2002 campaign to cut 10,000 state jobs in 8 years, according to press reports at the time (h/t: Walker via Sykes)

Cuts to education, aid to communities to hire police officers and firefighters and medical services for low-income people are also threatened because of the state's shortfall, while tax increases are possible to help pay for services, he said.

Actually, were the State to cut aids, local Governments would have a choice: they could increase the property tax to make up for it, or they could make cuts which they consider to be prudent.

He did have a few ideas for spending money, of course:

...he presented Obey and members of President-elect Barack Obama's economic team with a list of nearly 1,800 projects worth $3.7 billion that could be started within four months if federal lawmakers pass a bailout bill for states.

Those projects include $137.1 million for the eastern leg of Madison-Milwaukee commuter rail, a UW-Madison medical research building worth $135 million and $5.2 million for Madison's bus system.

That 'commuter rail' allocation is interesting, no? Where does that start? What right-of-way will it use?

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