Dept. of Transportation Could Cut Spending, Trust Us

MacIver News Service | May 14, 2015

[Baraboo, Wisc…] While the Joint Committee on Finance (JFC) is expected to take up spending at the Department of Transportation (DOT) in the coming weeks, the MacIver Institute decided to see if the department really needs $1.3 billion in bonding authority over the next two years. While legislators and DOT officials keep clamoring for more revenue, no one seems to be concerned with the spending side of things. So, MacIver did a search of department’s spending to see if any of it is wasteful.

The search produced multiple projects that do not spend taxpayers money is the wisest of ways. One of the more glaring examples of waste is the Baraboo Bypass that is being constructed. This $200 million project is meant to alleviate the traffic through the small town. But, as our video shows, there is not much traffic – even during rush hour. This project and many others should definitely be looked at by JFC to reduce the amount of borrowing in the state budget.

Do you have an example where DOT is wasting your tax dollars? Let us know about it in the comments.