The $Billion$ Tax Man
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Governor Kaine has unveiled his transportation proposal. Surprise, Surprise… Behind the curtain is a boondoggle.
None of this does what we really need in Virginia. For his BILLION dollar tax increase, we get only business as usual in Richmond. No move to re-assess VDOT’s role or reconsider how we manage our transportation system. There is still an emphasis on Metro and bike trails instead of public-private partnerships and new lanes. There is no reform of how land use policy on the local level relates with roads projects which are not planned based on where building is concentrated. There are still no consequences for localities who fail to consider transportation impact in their land use planning. This is not a serious plan.
Maybe the Richmond insider conversations went something like this:
People are upset because they are spending longer periods of time going nowhere while gas prices are rising with no end in sight. Hey, I have an idea. Why don’t we raise taxes so we can keep spending the rest of the tax dollars however we want. We’ll tell the people a tax increase will fix the crisis and hope they don’t look behind the curtain.
It’s time for the Democrats to stop posturing and demanding tax increases. Instead, our legislators must do the hard work of prioritizing Virginia spending. We have the money to address our transportation needs without raising taxes. Right now, that money is allocated to other things but it does exist.
Instead, the Democrats insist that not a penny of General Fund dollars be used to relieve our transportation crisis.
If the Governor really wanted to prioritize transportation, he would have allocated General fund resources to it — even half of what he put into increases in the education budget (this year alone) would have made a tremendous difference for NOVA commuters.
For the record, I’m not talking about cutting other programs — I’m just talking about not INCREASING the spending on them as much as we otherwise might have.
Then, after we begin the process of funding transportation improvements without raising taxes, it’s time to address the underlying issues by connecting land use planning and transportation planning in Virginia - uniting authority and responsibility for a Virginia on the move. And, don’t forget a successful transportation planning option that brings costs and decision making closer together, allowing users to more effectively prioritize their own decisions by choosing free lanes or congestion priced lanes, depending on the urgency of their travel requirements. Then, with a strategy like that, Virginia will be able to attract private investment dollars to jump start our commutes. Now that’s a new idea for the Old Dominion.
This is all well within the range of the possible and if someone (Mr. Bolling, Mr. McDonnell, Mr. Cuccinelli, Mr. Brownlee) wants to prove to me that they have what it takes to lead Virginia on quality of life issues, then they need to look behind the curtain and insist that we meet Virginia’s transportation challenges without raising taxes.
I am one of Virginia’s citizens that would respond to a poll that provides Governor Kaine with his high unfavorability rating.
I am in favor of increasing fuel taxes (and this comes from a truck driver who pays thousands of dollars each year in fuel taxes) as being the most fair way of killing two birds with one stone.
We need to fund needed transportation improvements while motivating fuel conservation. Increased fuel taxes does both at the same time. The revenue increases needs to come from somewhere and an increase in the fuel tax would accomplish both.
But Governor Kaine’s proposals only accomplish increasing revenue while often punishing people who are motivated to buy more expensive but more fuel efficient vehicles.
You tax what you want less of (gas guzzlers) and reward what you want more of (fuel efficient vehicles). No where in Governor Kaine’s proposals do I see evidence of any understanding of the economic factors of high fuel costs and funding transportation improvement.
As for those of you in favor of “public-private partnerships” that’s double speak for toll roads. I am still in favor of Eisenhower’s freeways, not tollways. You Republicans just need to figure out that Republican Eisenhower got it right the first time and you new comers are dead wrong.
Increase the fuel tax. It is the most fair way of providing needed revenue increases while providing additional secondary benefits for society.
Nice to see the liberals’ view of using government to run people’s lives hasn’t changed.
Brian,
So you disagree with Republican Eisenhower’s viewpoint that America should have freeways and not tollways?
If the revenue must come from somewhere I do not see a problem with that revenue increase also motivating changes in society that benefits us. Increasing fuel costs through tax increases instead of tolls encourages fuel conservation. Conservation of fuel leads to lower prices which will pay for the tax increase. (There is some Rush Limbaugh/Republican style false logic in that last sentence, but if it is fair for them, it is fair for me.)
Be sure to view the video at http://www.BeatTheGridlock.com; it really opened my eyes to the state-wide nature of our tranportation woes and the urgency of the situation.
LittleDavid, if our tax burden today was what it was during Eisenhower’s day, you might have some kind of point.
Your point that government should purposely inflate fuel costs to make people drive less is so contrary to free market economics that I truly fear your Party ever being in power again.