Tomorrow, please go
to the polls and vote! I am hopeful that you will vote FOR TSPLOST.
In a nutshell, TSPLOST would increase our sales tax to 9 cents in order to fund
a laundry list of projects – some make sense, some might not – but all of which
are designed to help alleviate our increasingly difficult traffic
problems. The project list is lengthy and encompasses all ten counties
which are voting on the TSPLOST but particularly benefit those of us who live
intown. The AJC ran a detailed list of the projects in the paper
yesterday – and the list is also available online.
TSPLOST may well NOT
pass – no one likes a tax increase, and some in areas outside the immediate
Atlanta area feel as if they will not be getting enough from the tax. The
Marietta Daily Journal ran a headline: “Cobb County Not Getting Much Bang for
the Buck [with TSPLOST].” But helping intown Atlanta also benefits
those who live farther out, in that all of the Atlanta metro area is losing
business and relocations because of our difficult traffic – anything and
everything that helps alleviate traffic helps Atlanta AND the areas surrounding
Atlanta.
Why vote on it
NOW? The political negotiation process in the Legislature that resulted
in the list was a lengthy, involved process (no surprise). We need
solutions, and even though these solutions may be imperfect, they are before us
now. If rejected, and the process has to begin anew – who knows how long
that could take, or even if the outcome would be very much – if at all –
different?
