The Gregoire Gas Tax went up again today:
Washington state's gas tax goes up two more cents per gallon today.Yes, the voters upheld the tax at the polls. But Mrs. Gregoire's main argument for affirming her gas tax was that the tax was needed immediately for a new Viaduct before the existing one fell down. See, for example, P-I September 16, 2005 and Seattle Times September 19, 2005.It's the third annual increase in a row, pushing the state gas tax to 36 cents a gallon, fifth highest in the country. Another 11/2-cent increment will be added next year.
The life-threatening Viaduct is still there, and there's no new Viaduct in sight. The voters were conned.
You rarely get something for nothing. But those who pay the Gregoire Gas Tax are getting nothing for something!
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at July 01, 2007 11:24 AM | Email ThisYou'd think, after the hosing we've taken on this deal (you know, the "so-far" 31% reduction in the project list we were promised if this robbery passed?) they'd be all over this board reminding us what a GREAT deal this particular act of rape really is!
The chirping of the crickets are deafening. I, for one, can hardly wait.
Posted by: Hinton on July 1, 2007 11:25 AMYou'd think, after the hosing we've taken on this deal (you know, the "so-far" 31% reduction in the project list we were promised if this robbery passed?) they'd be all over this board reminding us what a GREAT deal this particular act of rape really is!
The chirping of the crickets are deafening. I, for one, can hardly wait. Gee.... is now a good time to review all of Eric's posts on the matter?
Posted by: Hinton on July 1, 2007 11:26 AMA Transit Now sales tax was approved in King County, supposedly for increased bus service. What Team Ron did is move some METRO budget over to cover the Paul Allen streecar line operations budget; now part of the Transit Now tax increase will go just to make up for that after-the-vote shift.
Voters approved car tab taxes for a monorail: hundreds of millions were wasted by the City of Seattle appointees on that board.
Voters approved car tab tax and big sales tax increases for ST. What did we get? Far less, way late, and we aren't even sure light rail ever is going to get up and running (let alone whether that many people are going to ride the thing).
So Eric Earling, why are you such a strong supporter of the neverending taxes that RTID and ST2 would lay on us? Why wouldn't that just be a bunch of taxes that don't provide what the voters hope for?
Posted by: plebe on July 1, 2007 12:14 PMYet Sound Transit wants even more money, and we still won't be addressing the viaduct, the 520 bridge or anything that will serve a larger percentage of the population. Instead it will all be squandered on rail, that only serves the few.
That's what we get with Dems in Olympia, no leadership, and higher taxes that mostly benefit bureaucrats, unions, crony construction bosses, etc.
Posted by: Jeff B. on July 1, 2007 01:28 PMBrilliant. Just brilliant.
Posted by: Huey on July 1, 2007 01:48 PM
Ken Schram:
When the issue is controversial...
When the problem is a political hot potato...
When the going gets tough, well, the tough don't always get going.
Sometimes they simply hire a mediator.
So, would Governor Christine Gregoire put away that Ouija board and come on down?
Governor Chris has vigorously seized the reins of leadership by announcing that some Colorado mediators will soon be arriving to build community consensus on replacing the Evergreen Point Bridge.
Can't you just feel the magic?
Insisting that replacing the 520 bridge is in need of unflinching resolve and that time is absolutely of the essence, the Colorado colluders must have a progress report to Governor Chris by August first of this year, and a final "here's what we're gonna do and how we're gonna do it" no later than December... of 2008!
I'm sure it'll be worth every penny of the $486,316 we're paying them to do the job that no one in any position of elected or appointed authority here in our state is capable of doing.
Which gets me to thinking...
Maybe we don't need a governor.
Maybe we can just hire ourselves some Colorado mediators whenever something needs to be resolved.
But I digress.
Governor, for passing the buck while spending our money; for trying to build consensus when all we really want you to do is build a bridge, this "Schrammie" is for you.
Posted by: Suzihomemaker on July 1, 2007 02:08 PMThe socialist state of Say WA? does nothing, and gets 36 cents per gallon of gas.
Please tell me again who's doing the price gouging?
Posted by: Obi-Wan on July 1, 2007 02:09 PMOur Queen and King live (and hopefully politically die) by Antoinette philosophy "Let them ride the bus, we have limos!"
Posted by: Ragnar Danneskjold on July 1, 2007 02:49 PMNaw, that's just crazy talk - I'm sure it will go to some pet mass transit project that won't be used by anyone.....
Posted by: H Moul on July 1, 2007 02:57 PMOkay here it is.
Why do we need a new viaduct at all? Because they say it is unsafe. Says who? WSDOT.
But....it is okay to drive on it every day.
suspicious, huh?
Say WSDOT is right and a big earthquake comes and knocks it down. Hundreds die, harm to property, etc. etc.
But won't this quake knock everything else down too?
Why spend billions just to harden this one asset? Is the earthquake only going to hit the Viaduct ???
The Loma PRieta quake killed about 300 people. Say an earthquake here kills about 300 people on the Viaduct. Is that so bad? They all more or less know there is a risk of driving on it due to the fact it will pancake in a big one. Why should we the taxpayers spend billions to protect them against that risk?
Same for the 520 bridge.
You guys say that social service program bureaucrats lie all the time to sell programs that do nothing to get ahold of more tax money and build up government employment.
Think WSDOT is any different?
Why should you be taxed to harden a structure you probably won't be on -- wouldn't you rather spend the money on your own earthquake proofing and your own survival kit?
Posted by: Seattle Democrat on July 1, 2007 03:37 PMYour team controls all Seattle government, all county government in the region, and everything in Olympia. It's pretty much been like that for decades - I'll bet you can't point to a single transportation-related measure since 1980 that the Republican Party sank if the Dem's were pushing for it.
Yes, transportation. Seems we're hearing a lot about that these days. None of it good. For some reason, the whole concept of moving forward in ways that benefit people and businesses at a reasonable cost seems WAY too big a problem for you guys.
Why is it that when we elect you Democrats you turn SO brain-dead when it comes to planning and executing transportation infrastructure upgrades?
Throughout the 1990's you and your guy Gary Locke did absolutely nothing to upgrade roads and bridges. Here in Seattle none of the mayors or city councils budgeted properly for street repairs - Nickels had to get voters last year to pass a property tax increase to fix potholes and bridges. Talk about bad planning!
The viaduct is crumbling. Nickels and Chopp and Gregoire had a big clusterhug, and out popped their Big Idea. What did that Dem brain trust come up with? An advisory vote. Like the four worse-than-useless advisory votes on monorail didn't teach you anything. And the results of the viaduct advisory vote? Murky, nothing more.
The monorail fiasco - that was a total Democrat show. The mayor (D) and city council (D) backed that plan, appointed the knuckleheads they did to the board, and just urinated away close to two hundred grand of car tab taxes. There wasn't a Republican within spitting distance of those SMP executive sessions.
And Sound Transit - where to start? Did Sims reappoint McKenna when he questioned what was going on on that board? No frigging way. Big Daddy Sims wants HIS toadies running that show. That's a 100% Dem institution - no spending controls, wild contracts to the base, and really, really bad execution. No way is that starter line going to be done by 2009. Oh, yeah, we know about the delays in starting the second Beacon Hill tunnel, and we know why.
We know we need to do something about SR 520. Have known it for years. What design will be used? Uh, well, all you BIG D's don't have a clue, are unwilling to lead in one direction, and can't even come up with a plan to pay for whatever it is that eventually gets decided in a couple of years or so. And now you want us to vote for RTID before knowing what any of the designs of the projects would look like, especially SR 520? Not.
Lock in permanent taxes before you lame-brains come up with a feasible design? THAT'D be stupid.
And more choo choo trains before you show you can get one short line up and running? Somehow I don't think your "dump on Condi and GW" mantra is going to get voters in this neck of the woods to hit themselves over the head with another of Nickels' grandiose spending spree plans.
What's it all this Dem output have in common? Bad financial decisions. Bad execution. Not living up to promises. Time and time again.
You've had your shot. We're in a transportation hole now in this state and region, and it got dug by one party only. Why should we vote for RTID/ST2, for example, Seattle Democrat? Tell us how THAT would be a departure from the rest of your Dem efforts in the area of transportation.
Thanks loads for what you Dems have done to us. You sure can get lots of your team elected around here. And you can "bring the bacon home" to the public employee unions. But when it comes to delivering the goods in the realm of transportation, well, you all rise to the level of pond scum.
My point is still valid, that taxes in this state are double/gallon of gas of what the oil company makes.
Posted by: Obi-Wan on July 1, 2007 05:35 PMBut in the interest of dialogue, I aksed a question that you ignore.
Why pay for a hardening of 520 or the Viaduct against a big ol' quake if that same quake is going to crush your house, my house, the Aurora Bridge, the W Seattle Bridge, all the roads, all the hospitals, all the arterials, etc. etc.
Methinks that the $5 billion or $10 billion
Maybe you should have noticed that if I am questioning rebuilding 520....and the Viaduct....I am not exactly in line with what the Dem leaders around here support?? Or is simply my tag line enough to make you see red, and lose your ability to think?
You ahve this GREAT point to make about the FAILURE of transportation planning in this area, and you MUCK IT UP with these mis-placed personal attacks and rants about "all" Democrats. Sigh. It's often said in politics that if you can't make common cause with someone who agrees with you, maybe you should try another line of work? Here you have lots of Democrats who agree with you about many things you say and instead of being civil and making common cause, you attack all Democrats. Go figure!
Yes, there's a lot of prejudice against the word 'Democrat.' Because there's such an insane level of 'party voting' going on all over this region. Actually, beyond 'party voting,' how about 'machine voting.' Just running into people, you recognize that the vast majority are Democrats, but they also _STRONGLY_ disagree with the way the people they voted for have mucked various bits up. But voting against the party in legislative races is complete anathema.
Democrats that disagree with anything in a substantial way are treated as target practice as leadership tries to set new records in removing them from positions of any consequence. There's a very short list of 'maverick Democrats,' and even they don't rock the boat very much.
But if you'll just toe the party line, you can get away with practically anything.
The Republican party here is extremely left of where the national party is, and yet still has zero traction. But at this point, I franky don't care if we start voting in Green party people and Socialists again - we need some flipping turnover. This is turning into Imcumbentistan. A viable second party, any second party, just to get new people.
Posted by: Al on July 1, 2007 06:46 PMI completely agree. I personally think it's a little sick that the total "profits" the government takes is twice as much as the oil companies. I can only roll my eyes when my liberal coworkers piss and moan about the "evil" oil companies and how they're raking us over the coals, but never mention the government's take.
Posted by: Mike H on July 1, 2007 07:35 PM(It's still set up for when Washington's gas tax is fully phased in, but you can adjust the numbers appropriately, or even run the numbers for other states.)
Posted by: Ironman on July 1, 2007 08:48 PMI say, "don't let the door hit Mrs. Gregoire on the way out!" Her term has been nothing but a waste for the good people of Washington who deserve a real leader.
Posted by: mimi on July 1, 2007 10:24 PMMaybe letting more of the morons who voted for her foot more of the bill for her boondoggles isn't such a bad thing.
PAYOFF the TACOMA NARROWS Bridge before one dollar is collected starting this weekend.
Of course we can't do that, the unused tax dollars are collecting interest that fund some other Pet Project.
Posted by: Jim Hub on July 2, 2007 12:25 PMThe tax is funding hundreds of needed projects across the state.
Nothing for something? Tell that to the people in Walla Walla who are getting a new highway that won't grab headlines with headons like the old road that's there now.
And what kind of idiot would expect instantanious highway construction? Give me a state highway department that is making sense about staging investments any day.
The rhetoric that led off this post was more idiodic than normal.
Posted by: redflag on July 2, 2007 04:51 PMAnd 80% of the collected tax was to be spent on UNAMED projects in Pierce, Snohomish, and King county. 60% of the total was KC.
How about instead of a 9.5 cent tax we get a 2 cent tax that would more than cover EVERY SINGLE project not in the tri-county area?
Only an idiot would believe all projects cost the same. Walla Walla county's share? Less than 0.1% of the total money.
Give me a state highway department that is making sense about staging investments any day.
Well, I'd take that. But Washington doesn't have one.
Posted by: Ryan on July 2, 2007 11:15 PM