I was wondering when Big Jim would get around to this. Since he has not raised our taxes (sic)and only raised our fees to pay for his follies. This IDIOT never once got my vote and if any of you had any sense you would never vote for this tax and spend liberal again. Doyle needs to go I hear Ill is looking to replace some of its scum...Hey Jimmy wanna move?

Total population plays a big role. Wisconsin is maybe 6 million. Orange County CA has over that alone. Average income not that good so less tax revenue. Low sales tax compared with other States. It would be interesting to know what the average wage of the public sector jobs are compared with the national averages? Are we paying top dollar for people that quite honestly should not be the top of the food chain. Accountability needs to start with the public sector and bringing those wages down in line with the state private sector averages is a good start. What are they going to do. Quit. Doubtful. Man up I say and take the medicine like everyone else has. As the private sector averages increase so can the public but to just give yearly increases just because doesn’t make sense from a budget issue.

You all realize that ANYONE can run for public office and if you are so sure you can resolve the issues at hand why don't YOU drop your name in the hat at the next election and let see how you do after you see the whole picture. EVERY STATE and municipality is struggling to overcome the debt we have built up over the last 2 decades and at least this tax is one you have more control over than most. if you want to pay less tax then drive less or get a fuel efficient vehicle to use less of the expensive fuel. It costs money to run all of the services everyone expects from the government and one of the reasons we are in trouble is Politian’s have found all sort of ways to "fund" things besides raising taxes on your home because they knew it was an instant death to their political careers. So instead they raid every fund they can find to fund all of the "must have" programs everyone demands.
What would you like to give up to lower taxes?
Schools?
Police?
Fire?
Trash Collection?
Road Repair / Construction
Higher Education?
Department of Natural Resources?
Mention reducing Police or Fire protection which accounts for 70 or 80 percent of all municipal tax dollars and listen to the uproar you will hear.

SuperDave - I wasn't saying that it was insignificant, I was simply putting an actual cost to it for people to see. It is hard for many people to understand how much $.03 per gallon adds up.

pizza: That's the thing about small tax increases. They seem small when looked at in isolation, but they add up. And according to the article, "Wisconsin's gas tax is already among the top 10 in the nation at nearly 33 cents a gallon". So another three cents is an almost ten percent increase! If it was an insignificant amount of money, they wouldn't be talking about it. I hope this makes sense to you...raise it to 36 cents, and next time they come along and raise it another three cents to 39 cents, then 42.... Gee, I wish my income would go up like that!

kinsohn: It sounds great there in Indiana, are there any job openings??? Keep the gate open. I think there will be alot of us running out of this state hoping to hang on to a little of what we have!! Keep the updates coming!

Well, average annual milage is about 15,000 miles per person http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/onh00/bar8....
and average vehicle mpg is 17 http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_av...
That means that our taxes (for the "average" person)will go up $26.50 per year.

As a transplanted cheesehead who now lives in Indiana, let me confirm for those of you who've always lived in Wisconsin what you have heard but really didn't understand (much like a fish doesn't realize it lives in water until it's removed): Wisconsin is a tax hell.

When I moved, my income taxes dropped in HALF, my property taxes by more than 1/3 (they are capped at 1% of assessed value), and gas is usually about 25 cents less per gallon (I travel back often). The school my kids go to is every bit as good as it was in WI, and they still say Merry Christmas!

To be fair, my car registration is about $200 per year more, but that doesn't come close to mattering in the whole scheme of things.

When I hear people down here complain about taxes, I laugh out loud!

Lets try beer tax instead.

Obama wants the oil companies to fail. He wants coal power to fail. He wants to control cap and trade (emissions trading). It will make him and his cronies billions of dollars.

This is what happens when you have one party in control of everything. The people of Wiscinson have made their bed now sleep in it.

Can't wait until Doyle is out of office! He needs to go!

crafty. after the pic of that killer on the front of the paper...i think scott angus is saying its ok to just go ahead and say the word and they wont delete you since that finger IS that word.

Lying crook! He is breaking a promise a day. Is he trying to get the Republicans in office next term?
Doyle does not give a f*#k about the people of Wisconsin. We should impeach the moron!
He whines about how we are one of only a few states where the police are not allowed to pull you over for a seatbelt violation, yet. His argument, why not join the rest of the group?
When it comes to conceal carry laws, which we are one of only TWO states who do not have it, he sees it the opposite way. Hey idiot, why not join the rest of the group?
His choice to ignore conceal carry laws is what lead to people carrying holstered pistols in Milwaukee.

tax the oil companies so they can charge us for that too...then add some for more profit.

We should just cut all taxes. I'm sure the county and state can find lots of good, smart, hard workers by offering them minimum wage and no benefits. Plus we could save by not spending money on new equipment and machinery. Who cares how long it takes to repair a road, shovel the streets or mow the parks with a reel mower (saves gas) when they're all paid minimum wage. We should close our schools too. Look at all we could save there. Kids can be homeschooled. Shut down the DOT offices and just open one in Madison, Milwaukee and Green Bay. Everyone can drive there to take their road tests. I mean, just because food and energy and materials and new equipment costs go up each year doesn't mean our taxes should increase. We don't need fire protection either, heck we all have hoses and water spigots. Now that Van Hollen has encouraged everyone to carry guns we can eliminate our law enforcement (maybe we could keep a few patrolmen to help enforce the seat belt law since that behavior endangers so many other drivers). Our taxes will be so low everyone will want to move here.

On a more serious note, we should be more concerned with tax waste. Taxes are necessary to provide real services that ADD QUALITY to all our lives. Its your choice whether you take advantage of those services or not. Some of those services are the only thing that keeps some of our less fortunate members of society from starvation, homelessness or even death. (There but for the grace of God go I). By eliminating wasteful spending and the funding of pet projects that Representatives from BOTH POLITICAL PARTIES seem to enjoy we could at least begin a process that gives us taxpayers more value for our money. Those denouncing Gov. Doyle and/or calling for his ouster need to pull their heads out of the ground. We need to make those ON BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE more accountable for spending our tax funds or this problem will continue no matter who is elected Governor.

WE HAVE BEEN SENT DOWN THE RIVER BY THIS SO/SO GOOD WILLED PERSON WE HAVE BEEN TAXED TO DEATH TO LONG PLEASE DO NOT VOTE FOR THIS PERSON BUT PLEASE VOTE

He'll just change the wording to call it a "fee" then use it to fund his own personal agendas. Look what Capt Chrome Dome did to the Registration Fee Trust fund and then CRANKED registration fees up big time to try to replace all the money he STOLE.

Flipflopper....

is there nothing this jerk wont tax? i bet his precious kids dont have to worry about anything,he and his wife dont have to worry how their bills are going to get paid.it doesnt bother him to raise taxes because they can afford it. i would like to see him and his family come to my house and pay bills and buy groceries after the lifestyle they are accustomed to. most of the people in this city could balance the budget better than he can,because most of us have to budget.but not them, all high and mighty living up there in the governors mansion, and everyone should remember this at election time.

I thought Doyle said he wouldn't raise taxes?? Oh yeah this doesn't count does it since it is a GAS tax!! He has never met a tax hike he didn't like! Get this bald headed goon out of office, like yesterday!!!!

Sure is. It's how I cope with this idiot.

thekid3477 Beer is very important in this day and age

This guy has no idea how to do his job. Taxing the hell out of everyone does not promote growth
anyone of us could walk up to his office and say. Stop spending so much and lower taxes and your state your prosper. I think Doyle needs a drug test

creatureinthefreezer: I agree with your proposal for a 20% across-the-board pay cut for public sector jobs. And it should be effective May 1, 2009 (I say this because if it ever happened, they would try to delay it as long as possible). Not fair you say? That's the way it works in the private sector. (Can you imagine a pay cut in the private sector, and it doesn't take effect for two years - no, it doesn't happen that way). If an immediate pay cut is good enough for the private sector, it's good enough for gubmint.
Then CUT the gas tax!

thats awesome we are in the top ten for gas tax and want to raise it some MORE. 33 cents a gallon. Wisconsin has the third lowest beer tax in the country at 6.5 cents per gallon and without debate we KNOW we are one of the top beer consuming states. i read some where that our alcohol tax has not gone up in 40 YEARS. im no political science major but i wonder if that has anything to do with the wisconsin tavern league lobbyists?? why raise alcohol taxes...we got tobacco and gas to try an erase the deficit with. make the beer tax equal to the gas tax(which one is REALLY more important??) and your deficit is gone govna. whether you are a drinker or not...you gotta ask yourself...WTF??

Jim Doyle going back on a promise not to raise taxes? No way! If you couldn't have seen this one coming a mile away when he proposed his sham of a "tax" on oil companies that supposedly couldn't be passed on to consumers, well, then you're probably one of the idiots that voted for this guy the last time then. I guess if the transportation fund needs so much money Jimbo, you probably shouldn't have raided it....again, like you just did to help patch up your budget.

Note to voters, if you people are dumb enough to elect this idiot again then you deserve everything you get. Problem is, you drag us down with you...wake up!

Of course he would be in favor of this tax. When they had to stop the manditory yearly gas tax increase they had to come up with another crack pot way of getting money. Why do you think he was pushing so hard for the oil company profit tax? He knew people would not like it and now he if offering a lesser of two evils. Boy you could see that coming a mile away. Just another way he is trying to screw the people of Wisconsin. Atta boy baldy!

Atta boy. Bring it on! We got nothing else to do with our money.

Yeesh!

hey looks like i ticked off another lib job well done. so called spinmaster:(

We all could see this one coming for months. Tax revenue down across the board, Spending at record levels, No real backbone in Government to trim the fat in its workforce. In fact they're adding people. The only economic boom is our tax dollars going into the government for pet projects and more public sector hiring, bonuses, cost of living increases, etc. Where does it end? Maybe when we all just stop sending the money in on April 15th 2010. I’m thinking a 20% across the board reduction in pay for public sector jobs sounds like a good start.

This guy is crazy!!!!!!!!!!! It seems like all our governor wants to do is keep taking money out of our pockets! Times are HARD enough!! I will NOT be voting for this guy again! What a mistake!!

Obamanomics comes to Wisconsin..............

Come on people how else are we going to pay for that pay raise that Bendict, Robson, Sheridan and Hixson just took?

And please dont respond saying these stooges are donating this money. It is our money they are donating and I bet they will all claim the deduction anyways. Also next year most of you will forget about the raise.

Not me.

Makes you wonder what project around the Capitol that Gov. Doyle is funding now!

It's only 3 cents what the heck. SARCASM

"Dumbycrat"? What, are you 5 years old?

Doyle has never met a tax he doesn't like.

Now Doyle's just toying with us. "Watch this." 'I'm going to balance the state budget and cover my segregated fund raiding by cranking up the gas tax. Have a nice day!' "See, they'll scurry around for a few days, like someone kicked over their anthill, but they'll still re-elect me."
.
Yeah, like the gas companies won't find a way pass that tax right along to us consumers. Let's see... multi-national oil companies with THOUSANDS of lawyers vs J.B. Van Hollen - who's primarily preoccupied by his tinkling match with Democratic politicians in Milwaukee over a state gun law. Who's going to win THAT battle in court?

just another tax and spend lib dumbycrat. wake up wis. get rid of these libs...