The Transit Tax Is Not The Answer
Considering the safety record of these rail systems - considered to the be the worst in the nation when it comes to collisions between trains and pedestrians, vehicles and other tranins - it is not wise to think about building more at this time.
The answer to gridlock in Los Angeles is not more rail but to puruse zoning and economic development policies that put the jobs closer to where people live and to allow for privtazation of transit which will allow market demand to create commuter buses, jitneys and other solutions (such as Personal Rapid Transit) as used in other cities, which are more approprirate for Los Angeles.
By the way, one of the shams the supporters of Measure M and other tax/bond projects try to run by voters is that the measure comes with an "oversight" board. This is something politicians started pushing when they realized the people were no longer likely to vote for bonds and taxes that fund major boondoggles. However the truth is there is no real oversight of the projects before the money is spent. The oversight is after the fact not providing any circuit breakers to waste, fraud and abuse before or while it's happening.
With a number of other tax increases on the ballot, considering the declining state of the economy, raising taxes for this purpose is not wise at this time.
Labels: measure r, transit tax
Posted by Michael Higby @ 10/13/2008 04:00:00 AM
9 Comments:
"With a number of other tax increases on the ballot, considering the declining state of the economy, raising taxes for this purpose is not wise at this time."
Michael, given the state of the economy, no tax increase is wise. I'm voting against the entire package of tax increases and bond issues - it's time our legislators learned to live within their means, as we poor taxpayers are forced to do.
What a disappointment. I thought for sure Bart would've stopped in by now to hurl insults at Higby and tell us streets and freeways are a thing of the past.
Stephen - you are 110% correct.
10:17 - I guess Bart's at the press conference hoping someone will quote him. :)
Michael, as the person that was set to speak for one of the well- meaning organizations I have to respond to some of your points.
Measure R doesn't primarily fund rail transit to the Westside. All you have to do is go check out the expenditure plan here to see that there are projects funded throughout the county. However, the Westside extension does get a substantial amount of funding. As it should, given that there is no fixed transit at all going there and it happens to be one of the largest job centers in LA County.
Another point you make is that there has not been a correlation between more transit and less cars on the road. That may or may not be true, but if it is I would not surprised. LA County has been growing by an average of 23% every decade since 1950, it would logically follow that there are more cars. At the same time, our transit infrastructure has not been growing nearly as fast.
That is why Measure R is so important. It would help our woefully inadequate transit system catch up to the demands population growth will place on it.
Last in terms of your points you mention the economy. At the cost of about $25 a year this is not likely bankrupt anyone. What it will do is bring desperately needed and well-paying jobs to LA County. An endeavor that should help boost the economy.
In LA County, it would be incredibly difficult to find people who do not consider air pollution and greenhouse gases to be a serious problem. It would be even harder to find folks who aren't concerned about traffic. Even Walter Moore now considers traffic a problem(unlike in his last mayoral campaign).
We need to solve this problem now and it is unlikely that we will have the opportunity to get this much funding for transit for a long time to come. So we can sit and complain about how we don't like a specific project or how now is not the time, but the fact is Measure R will help create a system where people can actually get out of their cars and get to where the need to go in a better, healthier way.
In truth, Measure R won't solve all of the problems that years of bad planning has created. Getting people on transit is going to take many factors coming together, including bring housing closer to jobs. We must not forget though that without revitalizing and expanding our current transit system all the other changes will mean very little.
That is why among the many investments we are being asked to make on this ballot, I will chose to put my money into this one so that one day we can all enjoy a seamless ride and a city free of air pollution.
Stephen at 6:52, read George Skelton's article today in the Times. It may be of interest to you.
George Skelton is based in Sacramento.
Everyone agrees (and the densest ones like Janice Hahn finally realize) that this is a bad time for more taxes, especially her property tax on homeowners, when previous gang programs don't work, are wasted and abused, and she doesn't even HAVE a plan other than "gimme the money and trust me to spend it well" (in her district, largely).
But like the LA Times says, if people are going to vote for anything, Prop R is the one. Igor's arguments are absolutely right.
1:37, I read the Wall Street Journal. I consider the Times a third-rate publication in a second-rate city. Los Angeles is no longer the city I once knew, but it could become a first-rate city again if we could rid ourselves of all the crooks in office and in the press.
Measure R still is another burden to taxpayer's that maybe might have been tolerable at another time, but the legislators have made too many trips to the well, as far as I'm concerned.
The post by Igor is correct to the extent that R alone will still not be expected to fix all things, but given the history of transit "planning", coupled with the City Council's demonstrated affinity for development, it won't even get close.
City Council operates in a planning vacuum- and that is the one between their ears- when, on the one hand, they profess support of "green" projects and preservation of the environment and the like, while on the other hand, the consequences of their decisions compare more closely to taking a figurative baseball bat to whatever scheme that they believe will balance the burdens on the infrastructure. The burdens are many and serious in all respects, with transit being just one of the facets presented.
The more money provided to politicians to spend just gives them more money to waste and more reasons to expect that they will have future bond measures approved while they continue to profess that they are on the cusp of discovering how to create the perpetual motion machine.
More certainty of the effect of the transit plans needs to be shown before expecting voters will be well served to approve it. It's mostly all theoretical, not proved when we consider whether it will do what the plan describes.
When applied to conditions that continue to change on large scale, it becomes all the more unlikely to even approach accomplishing what people think it can.
Doubting In CD-14
DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON A MEASURE THAT WILL GIVE THIS CORRUPT CITY GOVERNMENT MORE TO USE AGAINST US. THIS MONEY WILL ONLY END UP IN THE GENERAL FUND AND WILL NOT DO WHAT THEY SAY. THEY IN CITY GOVERNMENT ARE LIARS. WE COULD DO ALL THESE REPAIRS FOR HALF THE MONEY AND IN HALF THE TIME. IT'S ALL ABOUT PROPER MANAGEMENT OF FUNDS.
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