Lack of Support for Transportation Begets Regret (2013, income tax)

[PKCorey]

Originally Posted by arjay57

People are just taxed out.

Take some of the money we waste on other things and use it for transportation instead of sticking people with more taxes.

What a crook. In their dreams...

[CCATL]

Originally Posted by arjay57

People are just taxed out.

Take some of the money we waste on other things and use it for transportation instead of sticking people with more taxes.

People are being taxed less than they ever have, which directly contributes to our growing infrastructure problems. If we want it, we have to pay for it. I agree though that there is a lack of transparency concerning where our tax dollars go - but since people voted for Deal again, I guess they're ok with their tax dollars going to legal fees rather than our state's pressing problems.

[AcidSnake]

The scuttlebutt from the Peach Pundit is that increasing the gas tax may be(back?) on the table.

New Gas Tax May (Finally) Be on the Table - Peach Pundit

I guess the Georgia GOP figures that as long they yell "Obama" and "Muslim" loudly and repetitively, they can easily get re-elected and at the same time sneak a tax-increase past the public.

Originally Posted by glovenyc

SMH...

Two years after metro Atlantans voted down the T-SPLOST referendum that would have funded a $7.2 billion wish list of transit and roadway projects over the course of a decade, a report by the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) indicates that those very same Atlantans believe lack of transportation is the city's biggest problem. Twenty-four percent of respondents in the 10-county metro region ranked transportation as their primary concern in the city, beating out the economy, crime, public education, human services, taxes, public health and race relations.

Lack of Support for Transportation Begets Regret - Off The Rails - Curbed Atlanta

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by arjay57

People are just taxed out.

Take some of the money we waste on other things and use it for transportation instead of sticking people with more taxes.

Amen, Brother Arjay!

[eRosewater]

Originally Posted by arjay57

People are just taxed out.

Take some of the money we waste on other things and use it for transportation instead of sticking people with more taxes.

Totally agree.

And to address the idea that taxes are lower than they've every been... that's completely false. Taxes rates (be it property, income, sales, excise, etc) move around, but the overall trend in combined local/state/federal taxes has been consistently upward for the last century and is currently at around 40%.

40% of the country's time, effort and resources are channeled through the government. I think whenever we demand new services we very specifically need to identify others which we are OK giving up.

[tikigod311]

Originally Posted by eRosewater

40% of the country's time, effort and resources are channeled through the government. I think whenever we demand new services we very specifically need to identify others which we are OK giving up.

If that is true, that sucks.

But what gt and bu2 said, if the TSPLOST was better, I would have voted for it. I want to see a comprehensive STRATEGY for transportation, not just some huge wish list of items.

[eRosewater]

Originally Posted by tikigod311

If that is true, that sucks.

But what gt and bu2 said, if the TSPLOST was better, I would have voted for it. I want to see a comprehensive STRATEGY for transportation, not just some huge wish list of items.

It's true and it does suck.

The "Tax Foundation's" A Short History of Government Taxing and Spending in the United States has some good info and a few sexier graphs than the one I posted.

Back to the point: overall, the crazy thing about T-SPLOST is that it was voters deciding on what should've been a business decision.

Projects should be evaluated on their individual merits, a politically impossibility when the issue is voted on regionally. Obviously few people would vote to pay for services they don't anticipate using. This required of the proposal the impossible task evenly 'balancing' improvements across the 10-county metro area.

Ultimately all projects mass- or individual- transit need to be supported by their associated user fees and tolls. The creation and maintenance of a competent transportation system shouldn't be subject to voter whims.

I'll keep dreaming...

[PKCorey]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

Amen, Brother Arjay!

What exactly do we waste our taxpayer dollars on?

The state and most of our local budgets have barely any pork or pet projects that get funded at all.

[toll_booth]

Boy I'd hate to think what might happen if metro Atlanta started working together to collectively solve its transportation problems. That sounds too much like librul soshalism to me!

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by onemanarmy

People are being taxed less than ever... People just like nice things without paying for them.

Less than ever? Boy, it sure doesn't feel like it.