Public Service Commission Stands Up for Taxpayers; Will Milwaukee Follow Suit?
Madison…Recently, Public Service Commission (PSC) dealt a major blow to the Milwaukee Streetcar by refusing to allow the City of Milwaukee to defer all the utility costs to the suburbs. Americans for Prosperity – Wisconsin has advocated against the Milwaukee Streetcar and applauded the PSC Ruling.
“I am happy that the PSC stood up for the taxpayers of Wisconsin and ruled that if the City of Milwaukee wants a streetcar they will have to pay for it, not hide the cost on utility bills across the area,” said Luke Hilgemann, State Director for AFP-Wisconsin. “For a better Milwaukee, they need to focus their resources on more immediate issues that need addressing, not a streetcar boondoggle. Will the City accept the decision and shelf the streetcar for good?”
AFP-Wisconsin teamed up with the MacIver Institute to start the “A Streetcar Named Disaster” project that gathered more than 4,000 signatures in 4 weeks against the streetcar. The MacIver Institute was vital in producing a study that exposed the myth that streetcars generate economic activity and pay for themselves.
“This streetcar will cost more than $120 million to build and $3 million a year to operate all under the guise that this will create jobs and spur the economy,” Hilgemann said. “MacIver has been helped expose this myth and show that these streetcars need massive subsidies to stay running and develop along their path. This is a bad idea for Milwaukee and a bad idea for Wisconsin.”
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