tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263344203998045622.post3122170763633519460..comments2024-03-29T01:16:42.976-06:00Comments on mid coast views: Walker's RR cancellation threatens 15,000 jobs and $100 millionMichael Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00350109037494237071noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263344203998045622.post-50547625963402766342010-11-12T18:29:04.851-06:002010-11-12T18:29:04.851-06:00It is about time we buried the foolish and ideolog...It is about time we buried the foolish and ideological claim that government does not create jobs. <br /><br />Tell that to the workers at Oshkosh Truck who are making trucks for the United States government’s army or the 1000 Marinette shipyard workers who will be hired if Marinette Marine lands a new United States Navy contract to build warships. Or even the Bucyrus Erie workers making mining equipment for the Chinese government. <br /><br />Even many of the small firms that you apparently idealize are making parts for firms with government contracts like those named above. In other words, government purchases, almost 20% of the GDP, are creating those jobs!Michael Rosenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02344680466748084825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263344203998045622.post-68534623559521994652010-11-12T17:01:27.270-06:002010-11-12T17:01:27.270-06:00"If the train ides is so bad, a boondoggle as..."If the train ides is so bad, a boondoggle as you call it- then why are other states stepping all over us to get the money?"<br /><br />Same reason you bend over to pick up a dollar. It's free. We're addicted to "free stuff". And as long as politicians keep giving out "free stuff", they have an unshakable voter base. More "free stuff" = more votes. Politicians learned the concept, so did drug pushers.the other side of the coinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263344203998045622.post-45584380508040715892010-11-12T09:06:41.415-06:002010-11-12T09:06:41.415-06:00If the train ides is so bad, a boondoggle as you c...If the train ides is so bad, a boondoggle as you call it- then why are other states stepping all over us to get the money?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263344203998045622.post-7080035404789879972010-11-11T17:54:03.811-06:002010-11-11T17:54:03.811-06:00Stop the propaganda of bogus job #'s! Now way...Stop the propaganda of bogus job #'s! Now way in the world the train project would ever create 15,000 jobs - ever. Once the install would be done there wouldn't even be 100's of permanent jobs. Elections have consequences and the reckless (as you would call it for anything on the Conservative side "draconian") spending habits of the liberals/socialists is over - thank god! Socialism has been soundly defeated in WI and the nation. Government does not create jobs, the private sector creates jobs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263344203998045622.post-57712689662740125532010-11-11T14:04:41.063-06:002010-11-11T14:04:41.063-06:00Why is everyone ignoring the economics behind this...Why is everyone ignoring the economics behind this, it is not just the "maintenance" costs, but the future impact of cancelling the project AFTER it has already begun. If you were a business and looking at WI to locate, you would think twice because even if money was promised to you, the crazy Governor may take it a way at a moment's notice. You cannot promise money to businesses, start to give it, then take it back. This creates economic uncertainty. The cost of cancelling the project is just too high and it is not just economic treason, but economic death.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263344203998045622.post-54850546990987420102010-11-11T11:24:54.604-06:002010-11-11T11:24:54.604-06:00If we hire people to dig a hole and hire more peop...If we hire people to dig a hole and hire more people to fill it back in, we created jobs. We can even put lots of free money in that hole. We can spend millions of dollars and hire thousands of people. That's a good thing, right?the other side of the coinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263344203998045622.post-79083536315451963212010-11-11T09:50:27.788-06:002010-11-11T09:50:27.788-06:00It "only" cost Wisconsin $750,000 every ...It "only" cost Wisconsin $750,000 every year to run a rail line people want, the route from Milwaukee to Chicago. What will happen when we have a rail line no one will take?<br />Look at the math. The cost of "creating" each of the jobs is outrageous. Give the high speed rail to someone who needs it, like the east coast. I do not know of one person who would waste time driving into downtown Milwaukee to pay for parking to wait for a train to take them to Madison, on a train that will not be able to run at high speed, to pay money to get around Madison and then wait again to get back to Milwaukee. The drive is a much faster way get there and would be even cheaper to hire a driver and a car. You would still be sitting in a train station instead half way there. The Badger bus is a well run operation that brings students or business people to the heart of Madison and is very efficient. Wisconsin needs money for roads and bridges not for some boondoggle that will cost us money forever. If the money needs to be used for "rail" which sounds like someone is being paid off - then fix the freight lines. This is the best use of rail money in the Midwest. If nothing else - look at the constant state and federal subsidies for Amtrack. Commuter rail in highly congested cities with no parking such as New York and Chicago makes sense. Milwaukee to Madison needs roads.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263344203998045622.post-47862964183722642212010-11-11T09:13:58.193-06:002010-11-11T09:13:58.193-06:00I voted for Walker and believe he will do a judico...I voted for Walker and believe he will do a judicous job for Wisconsin. I am inclined to agree, however, with Dr. Rosen that we should not turn down an opportunity. It would be nice to know the breakdown of the numbers you quote. How many of the 15,000 jobs will actually be permanent? What is the projection of growth along the proposed line for business, housing, schools, etc.? Will this create bigger tax burdens on those communities? The traffic going east/west from Milwaukee is horrendous and either way I don't see how the current situation can remain sustainable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com