WISPIRG Releases a Must Read Report on Road Funding

Just in time for Governor Walker’s special session to address the budget, WISPIRG has released a report on road funding entitled: “Do Roads Pay for Themselves? Setting the Record Straight on Transportation Funding“.  I have only had time to skim the material so far.  Here are a few tidbits I picked up:

• Wisconsin exempts gasoline from the sales tax [ Figure 1, p. 8 ]
• Tolling has a very poor record of success [ Inset, p. 10 ]
• The net difference between user fees and highway spending has been growing for decades, but experienced a huge uptick during the Bush Administration. [ Figure 2, p. 16]

I’ll be back with more on this report later in the week with an eye toward how this information could shape the upcoming debate on Wisconsin’s transportation funding.