Scott Walker, our new governor-elect, is one of the few Wisconsin politicians who hasn’t caught the high-speed rail fever. While others joined in the chant of “Monorail! Monorail!” Walker promised to stop the expenditure dead in its tracks. Democrats ignored this as an empty threat, but surprisingly enough, this politician seems to be trying to keep his campaign promises, and is looking to immediately take legal action to derail the $810 million project. While being true to his word speaks volumes for the character of our new governor, to actually follow through with his plan would be both a terrible loss for Wisconsin jobs and a financial indiscretion.
On Wednesday, after being elected, Walker reiterated his plans to stop the train at all costs and told Wisconsinites, “We have had lawyers coming out of the woodwork on options we can take.” For Walker, known already for his work with Milwaukee as a budget slasher, cutting the rail is the only way to go for a state that already has a $2.7 billion deficit. However, as is usually the case (and which many Republicans often fail to understand), the short term cost benefit of stopping the rail is outweighed by larger losses.
Gov. Jim Doyle, who wanted to see the project finished, recently pushed legislation through as a safeguard if Republicans were elected that stated Wisconsin would be spending all of its $810 million on the rail system. That way, it would be an uphill legal battle for anyone who dare try to stop the train. Not only could this process be lengthy, it’s likely to be expensive too; the system does not favor reversal of legislation, and lawyers aren’t cheap. In addition to costing the state an arm and a leg in legal fees, Wisconsin has already put money into the project in terms of contractors, planners and other things, and pulling out now is like reneging on a lease: You don’t get your security deposit back.
Another more important issue is also on the table: jobs. As reported by the State Journal, UW-Madison political science professor Charles Franklin calls stopping the train both a rock and a hard place. “If he doesn’t stop it,” Franklin said, “the train hurts him politically. But if he does stop it, he could end up taking a lot of jobs and money out of the state.”
The project Walker has vowed to destroy was supposed to create a job boom for Wisconsin, yet somehow he says he will create 250,000 new jobs without it. Although we have yet to see a definite plan from Walker on jobs, it’s unfortunate that he would take away such a huge opportunity for Wisconsinites, who already suffer from 7.7 percent unemployment, just because he doesn’t like where the jobs might come from.
This economy is not one in which we can afford to lose jobs, and although Walker’s budget cuts have indeed drastically reduced Milwaukee’s costs, his slash-and-burn technique disposes of the good along with the bad. The State Journal reports critics point out Walker’s tactics left Milwaukee County unable to “provide public services like affordable mass transit and clean and safe parks,” and the county board overrode his budgets nine consecutive times just to meet operating costs.
It’s admirable and rare that a politician would keep his or her word, but by stopping the rail, Walker’s mouth has written a check Wisconsin can’t cash. We can’t afford to lose a project as big as this, especially since the high-speed rail system will bring Wisconsin what it needs most, income and jobs. The train doesn’t have to be a rock and a hard place because its main goals coincide with Walker’s own. His principle goals are to reduce our deficit and create jobs, which coincide exactly with the goals of the rail system project. By allowing it to move forward, Walker will actually be more true to his word than if he halted its development.
Taylor Nye ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in anthropology and intending to major in Spanish.
