Transportation Referendum - Support! (Atlanta: sales tax, designs, money)

[NY2ATL2NY]

Originally Posted by Adric

It's not a penny sales tax. It's a 1% sales tax which equals to one penny on every dollar spent. So if I spent $100, they would tax me an additional dollar for the transportation splost.

Taxing an additional dollar per every dollar spent would essentially double the cost of everything bought in the metro area. A $50 grocery bill would turn into a $100 bill after tax. A $20 movie would then cost $40. Etc. It would fail miserably. Most individuals can't afford that.

Having said this, I am all for the 1% sales tax for transportation!

Thank you for that clarification dude...I understand exactly now...

[arjay57]

Well, I also think calling it a penny tax is misleading. It's more like an average of $200 per person.

Granted that's not a huge amount of money for some people, but it's not insignificant. For a couple you're looking at an additional $400 a year or more. What about college students, or elderly or disabled people living on a fixed income?

When I hear, "Come on, can't you just chip in a penny?" to me it sounds like "Call now and we'll triple your order and include a free set of Ginsu knives and a handy pocket magnifier!"

If this proposal is worth it -- and I think it is -- we shouldn't hesitate to market it at true cost.

[toll_booth]

To be fair, a lot of 1% sales tax votes are called a "penny sales tax."

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by toll_booth

To be fair, a lot of 1% sales tax votes are called a "penny sales tax."

And that's to improve its chances of passing. A euphemism to make it more palatable to taxpayers.

[BeyondInfinity]

No matter what it's called, we all need to support it. Starting with something will greatly improve the quality of life in this city. In addition, it will create more jobs in the area (Something we really need).

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by MathmanMathman

And that's to improve its chances of passing. A euphemism to make it more palatable to taxpayers.

Duh. That's been a game played for years.

Come on. You think politics doesn't involve just a little game-playing?

[berkeleylake]

Huge local issue for all of us in the metro. I plan to vote yes.

I dislike paying more taxes than anyone else, but the present infrastructure did not keep up with growth and some much needed change needs to happen to improve transportation around here for the long haul.

[PKCorey]

I'm for it as well just on the basis of improving the ramps to 400 and 85 which hinder my commute every day.

The ARC needs a better advertising agency though. The ads and billboards of just voting yes are too generic. They need to hit home on the areas targeted for improvements or buy billboards space near the potential sites.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by tonygeorgia

Yes and anyone voting no is stupid

Interesting perspective. I hadn't thought about it in quite the same way. Thanks for the enlightened insight.

To me, intelligent people can disagree, but to me, dissent can be a mark of thoughtful review and intelligence, and to look at the plan as a whole and not to just have a knee jerk reaction is essential. To me, the substance is important, as is the plan itself, and voting no doesn't make me stupid.

[cityfilms]

Originally Posted by PKCorey

The ARC needs a better advertising agency though. The ads and billboards of just voting yes are too generic. They need to hit home on the areas targeted for improvements.....

Have you read through this thread? Hardly anyone has the mental capacity to discuss the technical details or specifics involved in traffic engineering. Everyone seems to be perpetually stuck in first grade, still debating whether they need infrastructure improvements.

Those dumbed down billboards fit the atlanta populace quite well IMO