Gov. Walker fails to go into detail on transportation during state-of-state address

Onalaska state rep. Steve Doyle says Republicans are split on issue.

Governor Walker has laid out his agenda for the coming year in his State of the State address. 

One thing that has not been part of Walker’s plan – and still isn’t – the idea of raising taxes.

“Whether you agree with me or not, I hope you can respect that I’ll keep my word,” Walker said, promising to not raise taxes.

Walker says he won’t increase the gas tax or user fees to provide money for highway maintenance. Walker’s promise conflicts with other Republicans who want some increases to be discussed, instead of borrowing more money for transportation.

Onalaska state rep. Steve Doyle, who was in attendance at the speech in Madison, said on WIZM afterward that there’s a great divide even among Walker’s own party about transportation funding.

“There is, not only a lack of consensus among Republicans, but there are lines drawn in the sand,” Doyle said.

Walker mentioned transportation but without the details that will be needed to end a stalemate about how to pay for transportation improvements.

It was one of the things Doyle wanted details about.

“I was hoping that he would give us a better idea what his proposal in the budget is going to say,” Doyle said. “I guess we’re going to have to wait for his budget address in about a month to hear those details.

“There just isn’t that money laying around and we’re going to have to make some tough decisions.”

Doyle is skeptical that there’s much in the way of extra spending that the governor can address.

“Six years worth of budgets from Governor Walker,” Doyle said. “If there was some fat to cut or if there were some rocks to look under that people haven’t looked under to find some revenue, I think they would have been found during that time.”

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Also during the speech, Walker said unemployment levels being at their lowest in almost 15 years and the percentage of people working being one of the highest of any state in the county.

He also said he was justified in not taking federal money as part of the President Barack Obama’s healthcare plan.

“A few years ago some argued we should take the Obamacare Medicaid expansion money,” Walker said. “In turn, I warned it would come back to hurt Wisconsin taxpayers. What happened in Minnesota suggests that we were right.”

Walker brought that back to taxes, saying Minnesotans are now stuck with higher taxes because it followed the example of Obamacare. The governor said Wisconsin has benefited from tax-cutting measures, and he’s “not done yet.”

Of course, that doesn’t mean Wisconsin’s health insurance rates are lower than in Minnesota.

In 2015, the average benchmark (second lowest cost silver) plan in Wisconsin cost $373/month (before any subsidies), which was the fourth highest average in the country. In Minnesota, the average benchmark plan cost just $183/month, according to healthinsurance.org. Rates in Minnesota could dramatically increase this year, but should still be lower than Wisconsin.

In 2016, Wisconsin has the seventh highest pre-subsidy rates among the 38 states that use Healthcare.gov – Minnesota uses MNSure.