Posted on Tuesday, 10th March 2009 by Bruce
Wow, this sure clears it all up.
A couple weeks ago, the Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel published a story about an additional $10.00 being tacked on to Wisconsin’s driver’s license renewal fee which the state began collecting last year. The money was to be used to help Wisconsin comply with the federal “Real ID” anti-terrorism legislation, but, according to the report, our state has apparently never used the money for that purpose.
In fact, since state Democrats admit that they fully expect the law to be changed under the country’s new single-party control, there’s no reason to expect that this money will ever be used to comply with this controversial federal law.
When reached for comment by the J/S, U.S. Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, a Republican who co-authored the federal legislation, went so far as to call the state’s collection of the fee, while providing no service in return, “stealing” from the people who paid for it.
I rarely write my state or federal legislators, largely because I believe it to be a colossal waste of time. Yet, I was disturbed enough by what appeared to be our state’s willingness to collect a fee, while offering no service in return, that I drafted an e-mail to my state senator, Jon Erpenbach. On the topic of writing my lawmakers, frankly, this experience hasn’t done much to change my opinion.
On February 24, the day after the report on this fee appeared in the J/S, I sent an e-mail to Senator Erpenbach at his published state e-mail address, the full body of which can be seen at this link. In my e-mail, I opined rather clearly: “If Mr. Doyle isn’t going to use the $10.00 fee tacked on to the renewal of driver’s licenses for the purpose for which it was intended, then I expect you will be representing our interests in having that $10.00 fee rescinded, and returned to those who have already paid it.”
Today, I received Senator Erpenbach’s written response.
In the letter, a scanned copy of which can be seen here, Erpenbach explains that “when the State of Wisconsin collects money through taxes or fees, all of the money that is collected is put into General Purpose Revenue (GPR). Money is then used in budgeting and dispersed to different programs from the GPR.”
“The ten dollar driver’s license renewal fee that you have mentioned,” Erpenbach writes, “is one of those that is put into the GPR. Since the money goes to the GPR we are unable to pinpoint a specific program that the money supports, except to say that it supports the many programs and services that we as a society have decided to support.”
Huh? I’m trying to imagine myself authoring a letter to one of my company’s customers, explaining that, although we hadn’t actually provided any goods or services in exchange for the funds they had sent us in good faith, they should rest assured, knowing that their money had been put into our company checking account, where, even though they hadn’t received anything in return, their money had “supported the many programs and services that we, as a company, had decided to support.” You know, noble and necessary services like the insurance on my company car, the new Herman Miller Aeron desk chair I really wanted, that trip I took to Tampa last month. I’m sure my customer would stare at that empty spot on her/his plant floor, where their undelivered machine was supposed to be, and feel warm inside, knowing that, even though I had stolen from them, they had helped my company fund “programs and services” that we, as an organization, had deemed appropriate.
I guess you have to be in state government to understand this stuff.
In the words of my fellow BadgerBlogger contributor, Roland Melnick, “Isn’t [Erpenbach] admitting that all fees collected go into a general fund with no control over how the money is spent, regardless of what the fee was intended to go toward?”
Well, Roland, reading Senator Erpenbach’s letter, it would be hard to interpret it any other way.
Posted in Home | Comments (14)
14 Responses to “Senator Jon Erpenbach attempts to explain state spending to a lowly prole”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
March 10th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
Well done, Bruce. While this is just nickel and diming us(to death)…it shows how drunk on their power these Dems have become. Not even feigning an appearance of accountability to the public anymore. Sickening.
March 10th, 2009 at 11:52 pm
At least you got a response. Senator Lena Taylor has not even responded to my email. Sen Taylor and I are batting zero in communicating.
I think my license is due this year. I’m going to see what will happen if I don’t pay the extra $10.
March 11th, 2009 at 4:58 am
Of course we peons can’t be expected to understand this stuff, that is why those smart people in Madison and Washington so selflessly dedicate themselves to this noble service… I just threw up in my mouth typing that.
March 11th, 2009 at 5:34 am
Unbelievably moronic response. If he can’t figure out which service benefited after the fee got sucked into the black hole, then take an equal amount from each!
March 11th, 2009 at 9:11 am
….it supports the many programs and services that we as a society have decided to support.â€
Doesn’t he mean that we as your lawmakers have DECIDED your GOING to support?
Because I’ll tell ya, a lot of the crap that gets funded out of the GPR I quite honestly don’t remember supporting.
March 11th, 2009 at 9:59 am
Okay, so if I went to XXX Company and paid them $10 for XXX service and they never delivered, but kept that money for, say, business lunches…wouldn’t they be in trouble?
But the government does it and, bah, it’s no big deal!
March 11th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
I’m still stuck on the “not complying with federal requirements” part. Shouldn’t someone in D.C. be grounding Doyle and the legislature until they mow the lawn like they were told?
March 11th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Erpie is just flat out lying to you…or he’s dumb. But, I suppose without a college education and a job stacking Fritos Corn chips at Woodman’s will do that to you.
Fees collected by the DOT do NOT go to the General Purpose Revenue account. They go to the Transportation Fee Trust. Which, by the way, Doyle raided and moved into GPR.
But ehichever staff member wrote that letter (it wasn’t Erpie, by the way) is complete idiot…or a liar.
By the way, you e-mailed him and he replied with a hard copy letter. I wonder why?
March 11th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Sorry about the typos…I was a little blind with rage.
March 11th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Oh, but check out his typos:
“…with you(r)concerns regarding…”
“I will keep(y)our views on fees…”
My guess is a low level staffer wrote it and then just stamped it. Erpie probably never saw your letter, or this reply.
March 11th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Jon Erpenbach is a first-class PINHEAD! Typical democrat. Talk about making me mad. He’s gotta go!
March 12th, 2009 at 10:00 am
Again, these fees target the general population – not the rich as Obama and Doyle promised. When are people going to wake-up and see that Doyle is grinding WI to screeching halt. He is targeting the people with fees that he is supposed to be helping with his programs that either don’t work or are corrupt (taken advantage of). All in the name of our children that he is stealing from.
Why can’t Doyle stop stealing from our children in the name of our children? We have to stop putting money in Doyles bottomless pot.
I would suggest all businesses take a 1 week mandatory layoff, where all apply for unemployment that week. Its the only way to empty his pot. The lost tax revenue and unemployment benefits to be payed out might send him a clearer message. If not, then I would suggest another week. If he is to kill business in WI, then give him a preview of what his pretend programs are costing WI.
March 13th, 2009 at 6:44 am
[...] Owen talks specifically about the fee charged for enforcing the Real ID act. Doyle intends to steal the money collected from this fee for other purposes because he doesn”t agree with the law. Wisconsin bloggers are all over this one. Christian Schneider catches a Democrat in a bald-faced lie via Real Debate and Badger Blogger. [...]
September 6th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
[...] few weeks back, I posted a letter which I received after contacting my State Senator, Jon Erpenbach, about what I believed [...]