You go Al!!! Win those Oscars!!!
But...
While Al Gore is receiving much deserved acclaim and recognition for his work to raise awareness of the environmental challenges we as the human race must deal with...
The GOP is following their usual path of charge it today and let our children's children figure out how to pay for what we're doing...
Virginia Republicans want to raid the general fund to pay for their lack of fortitude by robbing some $250,000,000 from the state general fund and programs that help education and the elderly while at the same time pushing off the responsibility of paying for today's transportation backlog with two and one half BILLION dollars of debt heaped upon future generations.
President Bush wishes to DOUBLE our spending per month in Iraq to make up for all the tanks and bombs that he used up in the invasion, and let our children's children pay for it....
The big Dubbya has just announced that He has just discovered the value of electric cars almost seven years after his administration sued California to make them stop promoting a successful effort in, of all things, developing ELECTRIC CARS.... While at the same time giving HUGE tax breaks to people to buy autos that only get 12 mpg….
Being President is HARD! Being an unthinking Republican is HARD! Who knew that world domination and ignoring the environment and the economy would be, well, so HARD?!!!
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7 comments:
If transportation is a vitally important expenditure this year and I have my doubts that it is as life and death as usually debated then the bill passed is about as good as it is going to get. Gov. Kaine should amend the bill so that half the money is paid back via a new revenue stream, i.e. gas tax increase or increase in increases in the registration tax.
TAW,
This is only the "best we can get" if this is the best we are willing to settle for...
Are you willing to accept this?
Already we are paying $1.00 of every $5.00 in transportation dollars to relieve debt that is already in place for work that has already been done.......
You "have your doubts that it is life or death"????
Answer me this...
Life or Death...
How many people have to die on our roadways TAW, to make this issue worth your while?
What is your point of investment? At what point do you care?
This country has been building roads for a hundred years and the number of deaths on the roadways keeps going up. I'm in favor of raising taxes to maintain current roads, to hire more state troopers to monitor speeds, and to fix unsafe roads built by engineers with no common sense, but I'm not in favor of increasing taxes to build more roads that will lead to more traffic and the cycle never ends. With that being said the General Assembly is Republican. The governorship is Democrat. The perfect bill will never be passed given those two things regardless of how much we huff and puff. I say we try to work with what we got and make the best of it. Tranportation issues will not go away with the passage of a bill.
TAW,
So, if we refuse to build more roads, traffic will decrease?
The last time funding for transportation was addressed in VA was in 1986. The dollar now has about 45 cents less purchasing power than in 1986. steel has gone up, concrete has gone up, asphalt has done what? Gone up. Everything costs more.
And the road system keeps getting older.
Do we need to build new projects?
Yes TAW, we do. Not building where needed won't prevent more traffic.
The deal that was made to present to the Governor is based not on dedicated funding for transportation, but on general fund money.... $2.5 billion of which does not yet exist!...
Let me ask you this:
Do you buy your groceries with a credit card? Do you pay your electric bill with a credit card? How about rent?
General fund pays for things like schools and teacher pay and help for old people and anything we might want to do for handicaped or mentally challenged folks.
What has been set before the Governor is basically an election year gimmick. One they hope they can fool people with in order to hold majority power.
How much debt and burden should we pass on to our kids just because we don't have the courage to do what is necessary and right, right now?
I hope people can see through the politics. Can someone give us some information on where the state stands regarding transportation funding? I was not able to attend the town hall meeting. The article in the paper was good, but I'd like more information if possible.
First, I'm fine with raising taxes to fund road projects. It makes more sense to do that then borrow the money. Taxing the recepients also internalizes the costs and impacts behavior, i.e. where you live, work, and play. Raise away I say. Second, whether we are talking about the Republican transportation plan or Governor Kaine's plan, they both believe that building more roads will lead to less traffic congestion and safer roads when in fact that philosphy has been disproved time and again. Name me a road project in the state of Virginia that has lead to less traffic and safer roads? Is the world going to end if we don't build more roads? No. People will get tired of sitting in traffic and driving on dangerous roads and move to areas that don't have either problem. I don't believe the constitution provides for a right to not sit in traffic. I don't believe that 2, 4, 6, or even eight more lanes on I-81 will reduce the congestion one bit or make them safer. By adding lanes you reduce the cost of driving and when the price for a good or service decreases the demand increases. This will lead to more trucks, more traffic, and more unsafe roads. We should tax the behavoirs we want to change i.e. smoking.
The whole statement about not building new roads because it will just increase traffic is beside the point. Folks use the same argument against building new schools and new hospitals, (but strangely not against new jails, hmm). It just depends on what ideology you support. Fact is, new roads have been built for hundreds of years, mostly following the movements of commerce and population. Business moves in, people move in, support services need to be provided. Good commonsense development policies are the answer. When development happens, allow for the inevitable growth that will occur and seriously plan the support services that will be needed. Don't let one or another ideology stand in the way of common sense.
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