Today’s Daily Press editorial (‘Going Somewhere? Transportation progresss requires action, not more roadblocks’, Sep 18, 2006) cites Bacon’s Rebellion as an ‘asphalt adverse Internet blogger’.
Their story about Republican delegates Glenn Oder, Terrie Suit and Sal Iaquinto supporting Republican delegate Chris Jones’ unelected, unaccountable, tax-and-spend Regional Government solution for Hampton Roads leaves out the part about the unelected, unaccountble, tax-and-spend Regional Government and the new, additional sales tax they will impose for perpetuity.
This is the same government the Hampton Roads voters rejected soundly in ’98 and crushingly in ’02. Suit, Oder, and Jones supported the ’02 Sales Tax Transportation Scam. Apparently, their Republican committees and voters are docile or uninformed.
They will stay uninformed, because the DP doesn’t tell the whole story on Jones’ plan. The Regional Government with taxing authority isn’t needed to just collect tolls. Many Republicans will support user fees – tolls – but not the unaccountable. No elected officials will review their policies or spending or be able to fire their board.
The newspaper doesn’t ask, because it isn’t interested, how much the politicians on the new Regional Government will be paid. How big will the staff be? What will they be paid? What will they do besides collect the additional sales tax? And on and on. It is a jobs program for politicians and friends of politicians. It is the biggest invitation to corruption – the Regional Government will have billions in revenue – that I’ve seen in Virginia.
The bid, if I got it right, is $375m a year for Hampton Roads to get a Third Crossing and pour the concrete for other projects that will result in more congested miles 20 years from now (the ’02 study said) than today. That money can be assured annually in user fees and from tax revenue (up to a $72b budget now) pouring into Virginia’s coffers now.
A Regional Government isn’t needed to make this happen.
Maybe a 10% tax on newspapers would help.