By
Celeste Gracey
October 16, 2007
This November, lawmakers are proposing a sales tax and annual car tax increase to pay for a transit infrastructure improvements, including light-rail, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
The proposition will increase sales tax in the area 0.6 cents to the dollar and $8 for every $1,000 value of cars. That means sales tax will be raised to 9.5 cents on the dollar and restaurant food would be raised to 10 cents to the dollar.
According to the P.I., the sales tax alone is an average annual increase of $150 per household.
The worst part about the proposal is that it won't focus much on alleviating traffic. The Seattle Times suggests that extending the tracks into the suburbs will mainly attract people already riding the buses — not to mention it's been proposed before the current light-rail project has laid down any tracks. Seattleites should be given the opportunity to decide if they even like the new system before paying for it.
I don't necessarily oppose light-rail in the city. The project is the best-rated in the nation, but is it worth moving it to the suburbs with a bill that won't be paid off until most of us have kicked the bucket?
As the P.I. put it, the ostentatious tax hopes to bring in money for the $18 billion transit project, or was it the $47 billion transit project? Wait, is it the $160 transit billion project? It depends on who you're talking to and how far light-rail is going to go.
The problem is that if the bill is approved, the money would be up in the air and raining down into the pockets of the most influential bureaucracy.
Did I mention the decision is eternal?
If the bill is approved, it will never leave. That is to say, we'll pay for it when we can finally afford our first nice car, new counter-tops for our kitchen remodel and school books for our children. When we die, our children will be paying it when they buy our headstones.
This November, vote 'no' on Proposition 1. It's a reckless increase of taxes.
5 Comments
#1 WC
on October 16, 2007 at 11:25 a.m.(UW Campus | Unverified Name)
It seems as though every time a tax comes along to help pay for transit and roads it is kicked in the teeth by Seattleites.
We desperately need mass transit that does NOT depend on busses. The monorail was finally killed by those who didn't want to look out the window at it at the expense of people who really did want to get out of their cars and have public transit options. Now it appears that we are trying to do the same with light rail. Of course it is going to cost billions, we delayed doing anything for too long. It isn't going to get cheaper in the future though.
We desperately need more lanes for traffic. I hate to break the news to you, but cars aren't going away. At best we will develop electric or alternative feuled vehicles, but be realistic. The car is here to stay and especially since the transit system we do have is wholly inadequate and continually gets put on the back burner.
It is time we stop procrastinating and actually make a move towards the future. The next generations will pay for it one way or another. They can pay for a system that is in place and running, or pay to build one that we dropped in their laps.
#2 Greg
on October 17, 2007 at 2:50 p.m.(UW Campus | Unverified Name)
With the regional population expected to grow by somewhere near 1 million residents in the next 20 years, we can't afford not to make serious investments in both our mass-transit and highway infrastructures, and that is precisely what Proposition 1 provides for.
Even though the upfront cost of the package seems steep, the unseen costs of transit gridlock are also worth considering. Traffic congestion makes our region undesirable for employers, it impedes freight and commercial traffic consequently adding to business expenses, and it bites everyone’s budget when drivers sit in traffic wasting time and gas.
If we want our future and that of our children to be more than just sitting in traffic, it’s high time Seattleites invest in both roads and transit once and for all. The longer we wait, the pricier it’s going to be. That’s why I plan to support Proposition 1 now, so my kids aren’t stuck with an even greater bill later on.
#3 SouthSeattle
on October 20, 2007 at 2:57 p.m.(Seattle, WA | Unverified Name)
This editorial appears to be based entirely on the opinion piece of the Seattle Times, and a bit on the PI. (The PI has endorsed the measure, and begged voters to support it.) Where is the UW Daily's voice? Don't Daily readers deserve a carefully researched, original perspective? Don't they need to know how this affects the UW community?
A bit of research would reveal, for example, that the funding for Proposition 1 is not "eternal." A conservative revenue forecasts suggest that the bonds will be paid off 10 years after the last project is completed.
A more thoughtful analysis might also look at how this measure would affect the students, staff, and faculty at the UW. Prop 1 will extend light rail that is **already** committed to being built to serve the UW community. Construction begins next year. This measure will greatly expand the reach of that system, providing a fast, inexpensive, eco-friendly way to get to and from campus. It will get people from the UW to Lynwood, for example, in just 21 minutes. To Bellevue in 31 minutes. Especially for the poor and communities of color, the rail built by Prop 1 provides a gateway to the educational and work opportunities at the UW. This is huge.
The measure is a balanced package that improves the safety and efficiency of our roads, while making long-overdue investments in expanding light rail. It is supported by leading environmental groups, including Washington Conservation Voters, Washington Environmental Council, Cascade Land Conservancy, Transportation Choices Coalition, Environment Washington, Futurewise, Tahoma Audubon and Bicycle Alliance of Washington. The plan has also been endorsed by King County Council members Dow Constantine, Reagan Dunn, Bob Ferguson, Larry Gossett, Jane Hague, Julia Patterson, Larry Phillips and Pete von Reichbauer.
The UW community needs Prop 1.
#4 Greg
on October 23, 2007 at 12:54 p.m.(UW Campus | Unverified Name)
Yeah, I also noticed that this piece was based almost entirely on two or three articles from The Seattle Times and PI. The sixth paragraph is almost verbatim, it appears.
Nice work Celeste!
#5 Mike
on October 23, 2007 at 9:36 p.m.(Redmond, WA | Unverified Name)
Seattle, Seattle, Seattle, Seattle. All the money to improve commuting between Seattle and other places. I don't live in Seattle, I drive there once a year, I don't care about the floating bridge. Why should I be paying? You live in Seattle and commute daily to Bellevue across the lake? Simple: move to Bellevue. For someone already living on the Eastside, proposition does not make any sense as no improvements are planned to 202, 520/Avondale, Novelty Hill, Redmond or Sammamish (except very limited improvement to the 520 ramp).
Post a comment