Beware the hidden costs of this federal stimulus

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By Scott Walker
The latest sales pitch for high-speed rail reminds me of those raffles where the grand prize is a new home.

The winners are thrilled until they encounter all the unexpected costs of accepting the prize. They can't afford to pay the tax on the winnings, let alone the property taxes and upkeep on a brand new house. What they thought was a wonderful prize is now filled with costs they can never afford to pay.
When Gov. Jim Doyle and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett advocate spending $810 million in federal stimulus money on a high-speed rail line from Milwaukee to Madison, they don't talk about all the hidden costs to Wisconsin taxpayers to operate and maintain the line once it's built. Maybe that's because nobody really knows how much it will cost.
 
One thing is certain: Federal stimulus money for high-speed rail is not free; the government is borrowing it from future generations. Accepting this money means obligating Wisconsin taxpayers to spend millions more every year. They say Wisconsin should grab the money before another state gets it and just hope everything will work out. That is just the kind of irresponsible spending that will lead to even bigger state budget deficits and higher taxes down the road.
 
They tell us that spending $810 million on high-speed rail will create thousands of new Wisconsin jobs, but according to the federal government's own estimate, the total number of permanent jobs created will be 55. That's more than $14.5 million per job, not including any hidden costs!
 
As for hidden costs, no one seems able to provide an accurate estimate of what it will cost to operate and maintain the new rail line or who will pay for it. Rail projects in numerous other areas have seen original cost estimates skyrocket once construction begins. For example, California's new, faster system will be about $65 million per mile.
 
In addition, study after study shows that rail passenger fares are likely to cover only 20% of the operating costs. That leaves you and me to pick up the other 80% through higher taxes and fees. Now is not the right time to be promoting a major tax or fee increase.
 
And just how many people will actually ride the new train? Initial estimates predict 338,000 people will ride the train from downtown Milwaukee to the Dane County Airport in Madison each year. That's but a fraction of the state's population.
 
It would take one hour and 20 minutes and cost me between $40 and $66 round trip. I would save time and money driving my 1998 Saturn. I can get there and back on half a tank of gas without making any stops, and I won't have to pay for parking on the front end or taxi service once I arrive. I think the average person could easily do the math and reach a similar conclusion.
 
We need to know where the state will get the money to fully fund high-speed rail when it can't even afford to maintain our current transportation systems.
 
Over the past few years, Doyle and the Legislature have raided $1.3 billion from the segregated transportation fund. That money was supposed to be dedicated to fixing and expanding our existing roads and bridges. Now they can't even keep up with the potholes.
 
Think about how much more stress rail will put on our already scarce transportation dollars. These are dollars that fix the roads and bridges used by the vast majority of Wisconsin residents.
 
Too many politicians confuse more government spending with economic recovery. Despite the claims of Doyle and Barrett to the contrary, this project is not a silver bullet to create jobs.
 
Committing to more government spending without the revenue to pay for it will only lead to higher taxes and bigger budget deficits. And that will drive jobs away when they are needed most.
 
Wisconsin deserves a government that looks for ways to do more with less, not one that looks for new ways to tax families and employers when they can least afford it.
 
Ignoring the hidden costs associated with the "award" of federal funds is like winning the raffle for a house but ignoring the true costs of the "prize" - and that's just not a good way to balance any budget.
 
Scott Walker is the Milwaukee County executive and a candidate for the GOP gubernatorial nomination.
 
http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/86682007.html