In an ideal world, they would just strip out the Milwaukee bailout and spending increases anyway, but it’s good to see a little party unity.
MADISON – In order to force a deal with Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, Republican leaders of the state Legislature are threatening to strip out measures intended to save Milwaukee from falling off a fiscal cliff in a bill aimed at boosting funding for local municipalities across the state.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos on Wednesday afternoon said he was halting work on the state budget and threatened to strip the Milwaukee-related proposals from the bill if a deal between legislative Republicans and Evers isn’t struck this week.
By evening, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu went a step further and said if Evers did not immediately agree to support a version of the bill Assembly and Senate Republicans had agreed upon, he would move forward with a proposal that did not allow Milwaukee to raise additional sales tax revenue − a key provision for Milwaukee leaders.
Channel 6 ran a story last night fed to them by the Badger Institute about the failure which is the Milwaukee choo-choo. That is a very significant shift in the political wind for the local press.
In case you’re wondering, Mayor Johnson intends to keep building out that utter failure, and he does not apparently intend to charge a fare to ride it.
The bailout language specifically prohibits spending money on the choo choo. This will be fun!
353 million expansion for the choo choo that has not earned a penny in fare revenue. Milwaukee complains about not having money for basic services but has plenty to spend on this type of stuff.
https://www.fox6now.com/news/milwaukee-streetcar-expansion-funding-challenge
But if Milwaukee had its own taxing authority, they could pay for all their extraneous wasteful ventures themselves!
And the non-Milwaukeans would only have to help if they drove to Milwaukee and bought something. Of course we all know that’s a pipe dream in lib minds like JV, the great state driver that is Milwaukee will still get the lion’s share of shared revenue (about 5 times what the city and county puts into it), they will still get the lion’s share of any federal money given back because you know, state drivers have those big (wasteful) projects that only one other city in the State can get away with.
You know JV, if you use a seamanly metaphor, Milwaukee does not compare well with a ship engine for the state (giving out to the state more than it sucks in from the state). However, it compares well with the anchor. I have never heard of a boat that uses an anchor to drive the boat, though. Maybe WI should not be trying to use one to drive the state.
I do know of someone who ran lightly aground. They took their anchor out with their dinghy, set it, and used their windlass to pull the boat into deeper water. So, I guess an anchor CAN drive the boat, but it’s rare lol
Mo’ money will not increase the fiscal IQ of Milwaukee leadership whether it arrives as shared state revenue or additional local taxation. Until Milwaukee leadership lets outsiders help them help themselves there is not a viable path forward. Sadly, there’s no indication that’s going to happen anytime soon.
And the non-Milwaukeans would only have to help if they drove to Milwaukee and bought something.
Or not.
Milwaukee County is already stealing from surrounding counties.
They’re only stealing from Brookfield, Elm Grove, Butler, Menomonee Falls, and New Berlin. The land in those cities is east of the sub-continental divide (roughly Calhoun Road in Brookfield).
But they got ALL of Brookfield to kick in because Dipsy-Doodle Mayor-ette Bloomberg issued an Imperial Decree making it so. I have no idea whether New Berlin and Monotony Falls had the same moronic idea.