Ballot Measure R would fund widespread transportation improvements in Los Angeles
Articles — By forcechange on September 26, 2008 9:10 am
Another transit oriented measure will now be on the ballot this November in Los Angeles County. Yesterday Gov. Schwarzenegger signed a bill that will allow Measure R to go forward on the ballot. Measure R, if passed by two-thirds of voters, will increase sales tax by half-a-cent. The revenue generated, estimated to be around $40 billion over the 30 year lifespan of the tax, will be directed towards improving transportation in the County. Specific projects that could be funded include the Expo Line extension from Culver City to Santa Monica, extending the Gold Line in the San Gabriel Valley, building the “Subway to the Sea” as far as Westwood, as well as road improvements.
Although Los Angeles’ sales tax is already a whopping 8.25%, anyone who lives here knows the complete failure of our transportation system. While much of the tax revenue derived from our sales taxes is wasted, this is one chunk that would be put to good use.
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Great post.
By the way, the LA Times has endorsed Measure R, joining a long list of supporters like the LA Chamber of Comerece, BizFed, VICA, AFL-CIO, Sierra Club, etc.
Here’s the editorial: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-measurer9-2008oct09,0,2413553.story
By the way, I encourage supporters of Measure R to join this Yes on R group on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=27912921099
Even the LA times said that Measure R’s half-cent sales tax increase hurts the local poor without charging the people who are clogging the streets with cars. They endorsed it, but not wholeheartedly, and I suspect that if they had tasted real financial trouble in their own lives they would be strongly opposed.
Just because the state is in financial trouble and doesn’t want to pass along gas tax monies to the county doesn’t make it right for the county to hurt its own citizens by using the wrong kind of funding.
Vote against it. Truckers who pass through the area can clog our roads without paying anything. Wasteful vehicles are not discouraged by this, and the promise of keeping fares low until 2010 (which will be here all too soon…) isn’t enough to defray the cost of the sales tax increase to the working poor, who will have to live with the sales tax for 30 years.
In these tough financial times, our laws have to become better focused and better targeted, not worse. I agree that these are just the sort of traffic improvements we need — but this is the wrong way to pay for it.
D. Gonzales, interesting points. However, I disagree with your concern about the tax disproportionately hurting the poor. It is the poor who rely the most on public transit, which Measure R would also improve. We also shouldn’t use the fact that times are tough right now as a reason not to do this. There are always reasons not to fund a new project, I think improving our transportation infrastructure is a valid policy regardless of short-term economic conditions.
Finally, re your point about truckers passing through our region without paying, it seems you are implying a congestion pricing scheme would be appropriate? If so, I agree wholeheartedly. It would not only discourage use of roads and peak hours, but it would also encourage the use (and fund) public transit.
Unfortunately, however, congestion pricing is not on this ballot, so I am going to focus my support on Measure R.
Now that Measure R has passed it will be very interesting to see how quickly LA county and the MTA can put that money to good use.