PTransportation SD

What's missing?

We have gotten so used to nothing that even a mediocre deal is something.

To me, the transportation deal between Governor Bob and lawmakers is a mediocre deal.

One reader said I was being kind by calling it a mediocre deal.

Neither the bloggers of the Left nor the Right were particularly thrilled about the legislation.

Read Bearing Drift here.

Or Blue Virginia’s take here.

On second thought, the legislation is garbage, pure and simple.

Let’s consider some of these egregious aspects in the deal and speculate on the possible outcomes.

Elimination of the 17.5 cents a gallon tax on gasoline to consumers.
Rather than curb driving, it will encourage more driving, thus leading to more congestion, more accidents, more wear and tear on roads and more pollution. And more costs.

The migration to urban areas may wither, as it will be cheaper to live, work and play in the Burbs.

More housing on the horizon, even further out in the country. 
 
The implementation of 3.5 cents a gallon tax on motor fuels at the wholesale level.

Wholesalers won’t be paying that tax. They will pass it to retailers – Wal-Mart, WaWa, 7-11 – and they will pass it to you.
Truckers will pay a higher tax.

Bottom line: costs will be channeled to products they deliver to supermarkets and retailers.

$100 tax tax on hybrid vehicles.
So you pay not to pollute. What a paradox. 
 
Title costs will rise from 3 percent to 4.3 percent. 
 
It won’t curb the behavior of individuals with higher incomes. But it might be the deciding factor for someone with an income that is less than the median income of the region. 
 
Hiking the sales tax on on-food merchandise from 5 percent to 5.3 percent. 
 
The parking lots will be full at Wal-Mart and Dollar Tree, as consumers will flock to outlets with the cheapest prices. 
 
Mass transit won’t get a dime of the new taxes. Under the legislation, the money can only be funneled to construction on new and existing roads. 
 
How dumb is this? Just when we need more mass transit to offset traffic bottlenecks, the legislature decides to restrict uses of the new taxes. Forget ferries, an extension of Norfolk’s light rail to Virginia Beach or Norfolk Naval Station or even hyper-bus service. 
 
$110 million for intercity passenger rail and mass transit (not sure where this is coming from...)
 
It sounds good. But, no, that money is for the entire state, so expect battles for the money.

Comments from legislators. 

Legislative anguish

“This isn’t any bill, this is the only bill, and we did not reach this decision lightly without hundreds of hours of anguish and number crunching,” said Majority Leader Thomas Norment Jr., R-James City, in a Washington Post article.
 
“Why are we moving backwards on a deal that hurts nondrivers?” said Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, in the Post article.
 
“We’re going to take a bigger chunk of your wages in multiple ways,” said Sen. Ralph Smith, R-Roanoke.
 
Last week, as the legislation finally birthed, Governor Bob called it a “historic day in Virginia.”

His plan has been called both “bold and paltry,” as well as historic.

Hours of anguish and number crunching. Are we supposed to sympathize?

Maybe legislators could have avoided the “hours of anguish” and “number crunching” by simply hiking the gas tax over the next few years.

Instead, we are confronted with a dizzying array of fees and taxes that numb the mind and will, I believe, cost us more.