May 6, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Although well intentioned, the gas-tax holiday proposed by Senator McCain last month would actually do more harm than good for Wisconsin’s highway and utility construction industry.

The proposal suggests eliminating the 18.4-cent-per-gallon federal tax on gasoline and the 24-cent-per-gallon federal tax on diesel fuel from Memorial Day to Labor Day as a way to put more money in consumers’ pockets in order to stimulate spending.

While this sounds good on the surface, the fact is that the gas-tax money the federal government takes out of our pockets with one hand, it puts back into transportation construction with the other.

April 18, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Wisconsin legislators continue to tussle over ways to fix the remaining $527-million shortfall in the state’s 2007-2009 biennial budget.

The wrangling about the budget fix appears to be dragging on the same way that the battle over the original budget did. That original marathon wrestling match went on for nearly four months after the budget’s due date.

The Senate is controlled by Democrats; the Assembly by Republicans. Both houses have passed their respective budget proposals, which have to be blended into one final compromise proposal to present to the state’s governor.

Significant for the state&rsq...Read More

April 9, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

On Friday, April 4, I attended the American Council of Engineering Companies of Wisconsin's annual awards dinner.

This year's event celebrated the organization's 50th anniversary, honored the best engineering projects in Wisconsin over the past half century, and also honored the best engineering projects of the past year.

Eleven projects were honored in the Wonders of Wisconsin Engineering 50-years competition, and 26 received awards in the 2008 Engineering Excellence competition.

Having had the good fortune to be one of the judges for both competitions, I had ample opportunity to review the information for the entered projects, including many amazing ones that didn't receive awards.

Looking at the range of projects in both competitions brings home how much o...Read More

March 28, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Wisconsin's State Assembly, Senate, and governor are now working to fix a shortfall of about $415 million in the state's 2007-2009 budget. 

The budget, originally due for completion in July, 2007, was passed almost four months late, as the Republican-controlled Assembly, Democrat-controlled Senate, and the governor gave ground grudgingly toward compromises in their respective budget proposals.

After the budget had been passed in October, the legislative fiscal bureau determined that the proposed expenditures would be $650 million more than the state's expected income over the two-year life of the budget.

After a pass of trimmings by state departments, the budget was still about $415 over expected income.

When a proposed state budget exceeds expected income by 5% or more, Wisconsin law requires the Legislature t...Read More

March 17, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Despite the gloomy economic predictions that have been appearing in the national media lately, the mood at the recently completed Conexpo construction-industry trade show in Las Vegas seemed buoyant.
 
Exhibitors and attendees both seemed excited about the raft of new products on display and about the prospects for the industry.

Although the final attendance figures were not yet known when I left to travel home to Wisconsin, the estimate often mentioned during the show was approximately 135,000 -- which would make it the largest Conexpo in history.

All of the major manufacturers I visited, or even viewed in passing, had large displays packed with equipment -- and visitors.

The press conferences and booth visits were also nearly all upbeat, with lots of new products and programs to talk about.
...Read More