VALLEY VIEWS WWW. POSTCRESCENT SUNDAY 4D PAMELA HENSON PUBLISHER PRESIDENT ED BERTHIAUME NEWS DIRECTOR LARRY GALLUP AUDIENCEANALYST RACHEL RAUSCH PLANNING EDITOR JEN ZETTEL ENGAGEMENT EDITOR Editorial board I late 2005, the Wisconsin Legislature endedthe of the gasoline tax, a practice that allowed the tax to creep up every year. At the time, both Republican legislators and Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle made a strong point: taxes automatically go up every year without an act by the Legislature. With indexing, the tax nearly doubledfrom 16.5 cents per gallon in 1985 to 30.9 cents per gallon in 2006, where it has been frozen since.
With transportation funding now at the forefront in the state budget, the gas tax is once again under the microscope. The frozen gas tax has left the transportation fund with a lot of road projects to fund and not enough cash to pay for them, leading lawmakers to scramble to find the balance between keeping gas prices low and funding roads. One sweeping planfloated by state Rep. Dale Kooyenga of Brookfield would cut the existing gas tax by between four to five cents, but then make gas sold in the state subject to the 5 percent sales tax. And while such a plan might sound like striking a blow for tax equity why should gasoline be exempt from the same tax most other products are subject to? such a move would get the state right back to the problem that existed before indexing was abolished.
The problem comes in applying the gas tax as a percentage, rather than as a flat fee per gallon. The cost of gas is far more mercurial than other retail chartof the average per-gallon cost of gas over the last 20 years looks like Homer electroencephalogram while running a marathon. When applied as a flat fee, the tax stays the same no matter how much gas costs; as a percentage, the tax itself rises and falls with the cost of gas. For instance, in 2000, the average price of gas per gallon in the U.S. hovered around $1.50 per gallon.
With a 5 percent sales tax, Wisconsin consumers would have had to pay less than eight cents per gallon in tax. But by 2007, the price of gas had surged to over $3.50 per gallon; by 2013, it was reaching $4. With the same 5 percent tax, consumers would then be paying almost 18 cents per gallon in tax. Without any action by state lawmakers, the tax would have doubled in six years, rather than the 20 years it took with indexing. For most regular goods that track along with inflation, the sales tax makes sense.
Prices creep up slowly every year, which allows the state to take in more money. Without any change in the state sales tax rate, annual collections have increasedby nearly a billion dollars in the last decade. But that rate work for gasoline, where prices fluctuate wildly. How much Wisconsinites pay per gallon will be determined not by state lawmakers, but by the capricious actions of overseas oil companies and the effect of foreign events. The percentage standard would then set up a double-whammy; just as gas prices are increasing, so will the tax.
The same philosophy applies to law, which the plan wisely scales back. The Depression-era law generally requires gasoline to be marked up by 9.18 percent, guaranteeing retailers profits but also preventing consumers from getting a good deal on gas. plan reduces the minimum markup to 3 percent, which will help offset any gas tax increases in the plan. Before the budget is passed later this summer, lawmakers will no doubt come to some sort of agreement on transportation funding. Regardless of whether they rely on higher taxes or more bonding, they should drop the provision adding the sales tax.
Wisconsin should be in charge of how much tax its residents pay, not Saudi Arabian oil sheikhs. Christian Schneider is a Journal Sentinel columnist and blogger. Email Twitter: COMMENTARY If you buy gas, the sales tax on it is currently 30.9 percent. A proposal would subject gas to the 5 percent sales tax. DROP THE SALES TAX FOR GAS PLAN CHRISTIAN SCHNEIDER MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL CHRISTIAN SCHNEIDER MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL We are at that magical time of year when seniors are donning their caps and gowns and excited about graduation, but also anxious about the future.
It is normal to feel some level of apprehension a big deal to head off on your own, no matter the path. Iam experiencing firsthand what like for seniors. It is very different than it was when I was in high school. Igrew up in a small farming community where the thought of going to college was a big deal. I never took an for schools to consider.
There was no pressure on what colleges would accept us or to decide at 17 years old what I would be when I So today I wear two hats my and my search firm owner I talk to my own daughter and her friends: okay if you know what going to be for the rest of your life. Frankly, unless you want to be a doctor or alawyer, more likely your career will find you. You will find a company you like (for some this takes longer than others), wind your way up and around the corporate ladder, and bang find your vocation. Heck, I even know what a recruiter was when I graduated from high school, and 21 years later, I still love my job. People who do well in their careers focus on two aspects to get there: they follow their passions and they work to their natural strengths.
Every day will not be a bed of roses, but the passion piece creates the resiliency needed to get through the tough stuff and enjoy their career. Iremember my father telling me, out what you love to do, then figure out a way to get paid for Not all passions lead to income. Some are just hobby-worthy, but you will enjoy your career more if it speaks to your head and your heart. On the natural gift side, all of us have things we are inherently good at, things we educated or trained to do we just had these gifts from the beginning. Remember the natural athlete in high school who played every sport and excelled? Or the student who rarely cracked a book and still got straight It was in their DNA.
Understanding what your natural gifts and passions are will shed light on what speaks to your heart and give insight into why some things just work out. All big decisions in life are based on a foundation of shared values, which are the fundamental values that dic- tate how we view life. They also dictate behaviors how we interact and build relationships with others. Through shared values, we see companies build extraordinary cultures and candidates tell us they finally found a company where they Shared values are the fundamental agreement on how we respectfully engage with each other. None are right or wrong they are just different and figuring out what your shared values are will help you tackle big decisions.
And as adults, we should give you a break if you sure in high school what the future holds. If we truly look in the mirror as adults, probably see that the apple really fallen far from the tree. Trust me, will figure it out your parents did. Sharon Hulce is an Appleton resident. She can be reached at Commentary Graduates: OK to be undecided SHARON HULCE COMMUNITY COLUMNIST Enough of this intolerance Early Sunday morning, an incident at Apple Pub led to the fatal shooting of Jimmie Sanders.
I did not know Sanders, but I do know he was a human being whose life mattered. Regrettably, it appears his life mattered little to those who spewed their hateful, racist comments on social media. The first comment following reporting of this incident was, another heroine dealer off the This woman later admitted her statement was entirely speculative. Another individual cheered, love it when the trash takes itself Sanders was referred to as a and even One woman used the term and asked that diversity goin her inquiry demonstrative of the link between her insult and race. This is but a small sampling of such vitriolic comments.
Perhaps these individuals feel emboldened by the current administration, or perhaps they feel more power as they hide behind their keyboards. Regardless, such discriminatory language should not be ignored, excused or tolerated in our community. This community cannot claim to be progressive if its members stay silent when such hatred is shared with perverse pride. It was inquired, long until the BLM folks show The response to this incident demonstrates the need for the Black Lives Matter movement. False judgments were forged against Sanders largely because of his race.
In addition to rejecting such racist responses, we must also reject the racism-as-hate model, which emphasizes extreme acts of bigotry by malicious individuals. This model makes racism seem remote, and allows the same woman who referred to the shooting victim as a to distance herself from racism. Our community needs to be honest about the existence and extent of racial discrimination. Intolerance is the that needs to be taken out. Angela Schaffer, Menasha Trump should try to make America respectable In a recent Time magazine Donald Trump asked that if he would make America great again, why would people be upset about it? If he could bring great education and safety in our cities why is there so much hatred? Well Mr.
President, maybe it is because of the groundwork of violence and hatred you laid out during your campaign rallies. Maybe it is because of your habitual lies including promising to show your taxes if elected, knowing you had no intention of doing, so thereby creating mistrust and suspicion. Maybe it is because you label the media as even when they quote your exact words. Maybe it is because of your un-presidential, petty, defensively egotistic tweets. The voters expect higher standards of honesty, integrity and maturity from those who represent us.
Maybe it is because you have failed to the as you put it. Maybe because you seem to understand that in private business, loyalty flows directly to the boss while in government allegiance is sworn to the constitution. In pondering why there is hatred in this country Mr. President, I would classify it more as distress, fear and anger. Maybe you should take ownership of your part in creating the negative emotional conditions.
In a growing and changing country, there are always problems and issues that need to be Letters to the Editor.
