Transportation Tax - Opposition (Atlanta: section 8, school, high income)

[cqholt]

If this does not pass, then we can't come up with another plan for at least 3 years. That's 3 more years of suffering thru traffic and watching other cities recover quicker than us. We, metro Atlanta, need this to pass. Do I agree on all project, HELL NO, but I agree on the majority and its a good start.

[gtcorndog]

Originally Posted by ericsonga

Isn't that the point of being facetious? Oh, well.

I was poking fun at this board which constantly takes shots at the Tea Party crowd for their anti-tax, limited government stance. I found it pretty funny that an organization as left wing as the Sierra Club is opposing this tax. Opposition to this tax isn't isolated to one political ideology as some on here point out. I mean... I doubt that South Dekalb "I gotsta gets mines" opposition crowd is working with the Tea Party

With that said, I'm in favor of the tax and will be voting in favor of it.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by gtcorndog

I was poking fun at this board which constantly takes shots at the Tea Party crowd for their anti-tax, limited government stance. I found it pretty funny that an organization as left wing as the Sierra Club is opposing this tax. Opposition to this tax isn't isolated to one political ideology as some on here point out. I mean... I doubt that South Dekalb "I gotsta gets mines" opposition crowd is working with the Tea Party

With that said, I'm in favor of the tax and will be voting in favor of it.

That's exactly why it didn't come across as humor. Since it's mostly a roads project, it makes sense that Sierra Club would oppose it.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by arjay57

...
It's our one shot to stay in the game. If we blow this, metro Atlanta might as well hang it up.

This.

[cittic10]

I'm a lefty and I oppose the tax just as I oppose any sales tax as these taxes hit low income earners harder and are therefore unfair.

And also because it only puts a bandaid on the problem and does nothing to solve it.
In 10 years there will be a call for another tax.

Here's what I propose.
All these corporations that are spending all this money lobbying for the tax, why not have them and all the other entities that tear up the roads the most so they can make a profit pay for the improvements rather than people that may not even use the roads.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by cittic10

And also because it only puts a bandaid on the problem and does nothing to solve it.In 10 years there will be a call for another tax.

There's no such thing as a solution.

[gtcorndog]

Originally Posted by cittic10

Here's what I propose.
All these corporations that are spending all this money lobbying for the tax, why not have them and all the other entities that tear up the roads the most so they can make a profit pay for the improvements rather than people that may not even use the roads.

How much do you think "all of this money" these companies are spending on lobbying this cause? Big picture, they aren't spending anything significant. Putting the tax on the corporations doesn't save the taxpayers money. The corporations will react to increased taxes one of two ways.

One, they would increase the prices of their goods or services. Who pays for this price increase? The consumers (the taxpayers). Regardless of who you tax, the cost of the tax gets transferred to the individual.

Two, they could not want to pay the taxes and find a state/city that will offer them tax benefits to relocate. Georgia has enticed several big companies to relocate facilities here with tax breaks. This has become big business as states and cities are competing against each other for these companies.

Providing an environment that is not conducive to them maximizing profit is cutting off your nose to spite your face. That is an awful long term strategy.

[architect77]

Bankrate says that Georgia has the lowest gas tax in the country at 7.5 cents(excluding federal) per gallon. It also says that North Carolina has the highest in the country at 39.15 cents (excluding federal).
Gas Taxes By State (Interactive Map) | Bankrate.com

Could someone please tell me how and why prices in both states are almost the same, with the difference only about 5-7 cents?

I traveled all through North Carolina last week, and the new Sheetz in Louisburg, NC was selling unleaded for $3.59. Here in midtown Atlanta it's still $3.99. Ridiculous.

[cittic10]

Originally Posted by gtcorndog

How much do you think "all of this money" these companies are spending on lobbying this cause?

+++ That's my point. It's a drop in the bucket compared to what they should be paying to cover the their fair share of maintaining the roads. If it wasn't they wouldn't be running this campaign to pin the costs on every man, woman and child that just so happens to buy something.

Originally Posted by gtcorndog

One, they would increase the prices of their goods or services. Who pays for this price increase? The consumers (the taxpayers). Regardless of who you tax, the cost of the tax gets transferred to the individual.

+++ This wouldn't necessarily translate to higher commodity prices across the board. A sales tax hits everyone on practically everything. There's no escaping it. Unless of course you're a corporation in GA, then you don't pay any on anything.

Originally Posted by gtcorndog

Two, they could not want to pay the taxes and find a state/city that will offer them tax benefits to relocate. Georgia has enticed several big companies to relocate facilities here with tax breaks. This has become big business as states and cities are competing against each other for these companies.

+++
That's fine by me. Let them tear up the roads in some other state. If they're here to skirt paying their fair share of taxes they are not doing our state any favors and to them I say good riddance.

Originally Posted by gtcorndog

Providing an environment that is not conducive to them maximizing profit is cutting off your nose to spite your face. That is an awful long term strategy.

It's actually a pretty good strategy. It's a strategy that works well in other countries that have phenomenal transit systems and road networks.

Originally Posted by architect77

Could someone please tell me how and why prices in both states are almost the same, with the difference only about 5-7 cents?

The oil companies are not in business to do us a favor. They're charging what the market will bear to pay because they want the most amount of money they can get their grubs on at any cost. And they do so with our government regulators' blessings.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by cittic10

The oil companies are not in business to do us a favor. They're charging what the market will bear to pay ....

That's the key language.

We're the market.

If we don't want to drive and pay for gasoline, we could move closer to work, take the bus, walk, bike, ride the train, and so forth.