Taking a look at some T-SPLOST claims
The closer we get to the July 31 T-SPLOST referendum, it seems, the more claims we hear from the pro-tax campaign about its supposed benefits. Here’s the low-down on four common claims made about the $7.2 billion tax and the 157 projects it would fund.
1. Metro Atlanta commuters already pay a “congestion tax” of $924 a year.
This figure, taken from a study by the Texas Transportation Institute, accounts for the cost of wasting fuel and time in traffic. T-SPLOST supporters argue this is an indirect “tax” on commuters, and that the 1 percent sales tax will mitigate it.
Perhaps. But they don’t acknowledge the average household stands to pay more if the T-SPLOST passes.
Commuters aren’t the only people who would pay the sales tax, so let’s look at households. Based on Census data about commuters (see page 29) and household size in the 10-county region, the household “congestion tax” would be $986 a year. A study by the Atlanta Regional Commission found the projects funded by the tax would cut congestion by 24 percent at most. So, we can expect the household “congestion tax” to fall by no more than 24 percent, or $237.
Given state revenue estimates (see second table), each household’s share of the tax would start at $447.
Of course, visitors would pay some of the $447. But if residents foot even half the bill, the savings from the “congestion tax” is just a wash. If residents bear a larger share of the burden, the T-SPLOST plus the remaining “congestion tax” will cost more than what tax supporters say we pay now.
2. The T-SPLOST will get you home faster.
The very same data used for the “congestion tax” show congestion adds relatively little to the average commute: up to 10 minutes of the hour a typical commuter spends in the car every day. Sheer distance between home and work accounts for the rest of the time.
If congestion were to fall by 24 percent, then, the average commute would shrink by less than 2.5 minutes a day — only about a minute each way.
3. The T-SPLOST will be an economic boost.
You can’t spend $7.2 billion without improving the economy, right? It’s the same theory, writ small, President Barack Obama used to justify his 2009 “stimulus” package.
But taking money out of one part of the economy and putting it in another is an awfully inefficient path to economic growth — at best. And make no mistake: Money that goes to the T-SPLOST is money that won’t go to local businesses.
Worse, it doesn’t even fit the (questionable) idea of stimulating the economy by moving future consumption into the present. Projected timelines for the projects indicate that, in the first three years, the tax will collect $1.72 billion for regional projects — but spend just $812 million. The other half of the money will be pushed into the future. It’s unlikely the spending would catch up with the tax collections until 2018.
That might be a prudent way to plan infrastructure spending, but it looks like a half-decade drag on the economy.
4. There’s no “Plan B.”
As I’ve argued before, this claim ignores the possibility of voting again on a better project list in two years. In fact, the only thing that truly precludes another option is the T-SPLOST.
That’s because we will have used the biggest available revenue-raising tool. Even if the projects prove ineffective, our only option will be to renew the tax — or find another way to pay the tens of millions of dollars a year in operating costs for the transit projects this tax will create. If we OK this tax, we likely will be stuck with it, and without other options, for decades.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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368 comments Add your comment
Bruno
July 13th, 2012
9:27 pm
Gotta cut Reporter in on the action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwIvBNsSywQ
AmVet
July 13th, 2012
9:28 pm
Thanks, B.
A great axeman and under-appreicated band.
Hiya, PB!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8C7bupfY9s
PlatinumBlackAsTheNight
July 13th, 2012
9:30 pm
Was just wondering now what kind of music our host likes… I get a Trent Reznor vibe from him.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
July 13th, 2012
9:33 pm
Aahhh, music night
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7iAn6BMYag
Stephenson Billings
July 13th, 2012
9:34 pm
“I’m all for weaning transportation projects away from the Feds but one person’s “middle of nowhere” is somebody’s backyard.”
Hence the different regions.Anyways, I was just pointing out how much federal money flows to the state for transportation projects and that it has a bigger reach than most people know. It’s all public record but not something people research. If, as most of the conservatives that frequent this blog…and live in Georgia, are successful in November in getting more R’s in Congress and, hopefully, the POTUS, and attempt to bring the federal budget under control and cut spending, transportation funding to the states is one thing that may be cut. If that’s the case, we’ll have to get the money from somewhere.
Hillbilly D
July 13th, 2012
9:41 pm
Hence the different regions.
I think that was just a way to try to make the Metro T-SPLOST more palatable to the counties around DeKalb and Fulton. They could point to it and say “this is a statewide thing”. I think they thought somehow, that would make it an easier sell in Metro. They came up with a statewide solution to a Metro problem. In my opinion, they should’ve left the rest of us out of it.
PlatinumBlackAsTheNight
July 13th, 2012
9:42 pm
Hiya, PB!
Hi, Am. Hope you’re weekend is off to a good start.
godless heathen
July 13th, 2012
9:43 pm
Just popped over to say hi. Is this the group hanging out by the back door passing one around?
j$
July 13th, 2012
9:45 pm
T-SPOST is going to have a hard time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rvFBOIeVpM
Bruno
July 13th, 2012
9:46 pm
Aahhh, music night
What are you trying to say, Reporter??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VPLOVJ0u94
JamVet–Special dedication to you earlier tonight. Some awesome Mahogany Rush.
JamVet
July 13th, 2012
9:47 pm
Well, given the recent change, it would seem that the obvious name change is in order. (Because it’s all about congruency between on-line personae, right?!)
Yep, PB, livin’ large. Hope you two are too…
heathen, shhhhhhhh! (There’s a bunch of Republicans here!)
I’m not certain how cool dad is gonna be with all this hippie music, anyway.
Great choice, mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!
Back at ya…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLSAGnHNqGc
Bruno
July 13th, 2012
9:47 pm
Is this the group hanging out by the back door passing one around?
Yeah, so quit bogarting, heathen.
Stephenson Billings
July 13th, 2012
9:49 pm
Well there’s more to the state than just the metro region. The DOT defines “metro” areas as areas with more than 50,000 people. Since 2000, we’ve added 3 or 4 new “metro” regions and none of them were near metro Atlanta. I’m not sure if any more have been added since the 2010 census. Macon, Savannah, Valdosta, Rome to name a few also have their share of “problems” that are past due being addressed. And speaking to some who live and work in the “rural” areas of the state, they feel as if they’re always left out of the transportation funding and that the metro Atlanta area gets way more than their fair share (even if Georgia is the only state in the US that uses congressional district “balancing” of federal money).
They BOTH suck
July 13th, 2012
9:50 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF0F7BBWokY
They BOTH suck
July 13th, 2012
9:52 pm
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORPMkWtVclo&feature=relmfu
They BOTH suck
July 13th, 2012
9:52 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORPMkWtVclo&feature=relmfu
Bruno
July 13th, 2012
9:52 pm
Great to see you, TBS!!
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
July 13th, 2012
9:56 pm
One for the ladies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWJrPzAUzAs
j$
July 13th, 2012
9:57 pm
Blow up the T-SPLOST baby:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Evu8L2pF7w
They BOTH suck
July 13th, 2012
9:57 pm
Brother Bruno
What’s up dude? Hope PB and yourself enjoyed the Ptree and had a great 4th.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ddD9efO1Hc
They BOTH suck
July 13th, 2012
10:00 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjkzP31GeQY&feature=related
PlatinumBlackAsTheNight
July 13th, 2012
10:05 pm
Reporter:
LOL “She was there through my incarceration/ Wanna show my appreciation to the nation”
Love the romance..
They BOTH suck
July 13th, 2012
10:06 pm
Get the LED out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKzqmDTV0Xs&feature=relmfu
Bruno
July 13th, 2012
10:07 pm
What’s up dude? Hope PB and yourself enjoyed the Ptree and had a great 4th.
We tore it up, TBS.
Hate to leave the party early, but I promised PB we would go to the movies tonight. She wants to see “Dark Shadows” for the second time…..Might give us some inspiration for some role playing.
JamVet
July 13th, 2012
10:08 pm
j$, that was badass.
Bruno
July 13th, 2012
10:09 pm
Get the LED out
One for the road:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZibgdi7hXY
PlatinumBlackAsTheNight
July 13th, 2012
10:11 pm
She wants to see “Dark Shadows” for the second time…..Might give us some inspiration for some role playing.
Bruno is just psyched because now he has an excuse to streak around the house in his vampire cape…
They BOTH suck
July 13th, 2012
10:12 pm
j$ and jam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT_zo9MzRvo
Dusty
July 13th, 2012
10:12 pm
I aint voting for no T-SPLOST.
I aint playing no music
I aint voting for Obama.
I aint got no tomatoes yet.
It’s Friday the THIRTEENTH! Doncha know?
_______________________________
Well, I’ll feel good tomorrow and even better if the Braves win. (They’re ahead!) In the meantime, goodnight one and all and have fun. I cannot keep my eyes open any longer. Here are some nice little lines from Shakespeare as I drift away……
Love’s arms are peace, ‘gainst rule, ‘gainst sense, ‘gainst shame,
And sweetens, in the suffering pangs it bears,
The aloes of all forces, shocks and fears.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
July 13th, 2012
10:17 pm
One, two, one, two, three, four
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3X_ZpL_Hxc
josef
July 13th, 2012
10:24 pm
Ooops….my mistake….posted this down stairs
I hear from next door that I’m being paged. Yes?
josef
July 13th, 2012
10:36 pm
HILLBILLY
Got that! Thanks….
HEY, ALL
Dang, looks like I got two Friday Night Musics to keep up with! Not that that’s such a bad thing…
I’ll have to come back here in the a.m. for a visit…
j$
July 13th, 2012
10:54 pm
Yep, I Report:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shcI6vE-PlE
j$
July 13th, 2012
11:12 pm
good night ladies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWhInhE6emE
Adam Freidman
July 13th, 2012
11:50 pm
I think the location of business is only confined to certain areas of the metro. I work at the south side of town and see no problem at all. It is time to reinvent our real estate planning and evenly distribute business around the metro instead cramming all into a small region causing traffic mess.
The second is I do not trust our local Politicians at all.
Bruno
July 14th, 2012
12:31 am
Jammin movie.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVPFpvQWbKU&feature=fvwrel
Bruno
July 14th, 2012
12:35 am
It is time to reinvent our real estate planning and evenly distribute business around the metro instead cramming all into a small region causing traffic mess.
In case you’re unaware, Adam, you’ve got a whole contingency of Libs who have the exact opposite vision. They think the best developmental model is to cram everyone into a small space and force everyone to use public transportation. They know what’s best, just ask them……
Road Scholar
July 14th, 2012
5:50 am
Bruno, you don’t need to read this since you already can tell what I Think.
SB: There are 15 urban areas in Georgia, based on the Federal law.
Some projects not only rely on the TSPLOST to be accelerated, but also local and federal funds, esp some of the big ticket items. I also would like the Feds to reduce their influence over project selection and the new transportation law appears to go in that direction…more local control. But in 1992 this happened, but the feds then went back to adding dedicated programs without specific funding, thus reducing the states ability to select projects. Some fed spending is needed for Interstate and Nat’l defense hwy projects.
So if TSPLOST does not pass, do we need more transportation funding and how would the projects be selected and paid for?
Jack
July 14th, 2012
6:04 am
I’ll vote no. Even if the money’s collected, there’s no guarantee the dollars woundn’t be spent on other projects. I’d vote for a 1% sales tax to build more jails and hire more police.
Brian Baby
July 14th, 2012
6:07 am
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhwoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Da T-SPLOST only has a third of voter support
No MARTA money
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
July 14th, 2012
6:12 am
From CNBC via Georgia Public Policy Foundation’s Friday Facts: “America’s Top States for Business: Texas was ranked No. 1 for business in a CNBC study released this week, while Georgia dropped from fifth place to ninth in the nation, largely because of a drop in its rankings on education and access to capital. Among the various categories, the Peach State finished third for infrastructure and transportation and No. 1 for its workforce. Ahead of Georgia in the Southeast is North Carolina, at No. 4. Trailing Georgia were Tennessee (16), Florida (29), South Carolina (42) and Alabama (38). Rhode Island finished dead last. Read more at http://www.cnbc.com/id/46414199/.
OK, so if we’re considered third in the nation regarding Infrastructure and Transportation as regards our ability to do business, why all the hype on how bad our commutes are?
Somebody isn’t telling us the whole story.
I’m betting it’s the folks who want the money.
Vote NO on TSPLOST.
Michael H. Smith
July 14th, 2012
6:22 am
I can’t vote no on the T-SPLOST… ’cause I’m voting HELL NO! and looking at doing the same for the politicians who have been behind this thing from day one.
We need some Tea Party-faces to replace the T-SPLOS – ‘R’s
JamVet
July 14th, 2012
6:48 am
We need some Tea Party-faces to replace the T-SPLOS – ‘R’s
Come November, Scott Brown, Joe Walsh and Alan West will be available!
The Tea Party’s “principles”? Delusional gibberish. Sophistry and anti-Americanism.
The lunatic fringe of the GOP’s lunatic fringe…
RW-(the original)
July 14th, 2012
7:01 am
It’s hard to believe that hijacking the thread to turn it into Bookman’s YouTube fest Friday lite doesn’t run afoul of the new “rules” but for you musical groupies a bit of trivia. It was this day in 1967 that The Who began it’s first their first US tour.
They weren’t headliners though. They were the intro act for Herman’s Hermits….I’M Enery the eighth I yam….
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think it was well said upthread, but you need look no further than GA 400 for a reason to vote a resounding no. What isn’t said though is that they didn’t just lie and continue the toll. They decided we were all stupid enough to fall for them ending the toll for one day so they could claim to have kept their promise and then started the toll back up the next day.
Ayn Rant
July 14th, 2012
7:06 am
The striking thing about T_SPLOST is the selfishness and ignorance of the opponents of the proposal. Here is an opportunity to create jobs and infrastructure improvements that will boost the economy immediately and will attract private investment in the future. And, the cost to Georgia citizens is a pittance: a 1% sales tax increase that most people will not even notice.
Michael H. Smith
July 14th, 2012
7:22 am
To Adam and Bruno thumbs up.
Plan A, Plan B doesn’t matter Kyle. The only Plan that will ever come close to voter satisfaction is an acceptable plan that we voters can, first: End the tax on a date certain by our votes, which means a Constitutional Amendment that will force the issue back onto the ballot regardless of whatever these filthy lurker scumbag politicians want to make us do e.g. The GA 400 toll! ( You Republican who think letting that toll remain in place on 400 was a smart move… get a clue… Georgia voters despise you for extending on that broken promise and broken trust. All future votes on any transportation fee or tax will be a reflection of this disdain.)
Second, goes to dispersing the population lump into less developed areas of lower population. The scope a transportation tax should focus on Statewide growth not just Reeeeeeeeeegional as Roy Barnes wanted. As two pervious post pointed out the way to lower congestion is not to add more congestion. So-called “Smart Growth” is plain dumb. Piling more bodies on top of one another doesn’t make the body count go down, it only make the stack higher and rapid rail or buses only doesn’t change the reality of too many people in too small a space. Yeah call it sprawl for lack of better word to attack but it has a good number of advantages particularly economic ones. Third, make using the existing rail infrastructure and or the “rights of way” to create a Statewide public- private join venture rapid rail system is far SMARTA and efficient than expanding a Gub’ment ran MARTA. I would support a public private rapid rail venture of a design similar to Georgia Rail Authority’s that has been around for ever and a day, even though I realize rail cost three times as much to lay as asphalt.
To reiterate the main point Kyle: Without the absolute ability for we voters to kill this tax on a date certain if we don’t like what has been done or if we simply don’t like the tax, there is little hope to get a T-SPLOST approved by our ballots, regardless of however good are the best laid plans.
Michael H. Smith
July 14th, 2012
7:29 am
The Tea Party’s “principles”? Delusional gibberish. Sophistry and anti-Americanism.
Considering the low life anti-American scumbag lunatics that made these type of comments one doesn’t have much the fret when it comes time to vote down the T-SPLOST and most socialist liberal candidates running for office in this State.
Get ready to lose again dunkey.
JamVet
July 14th, 2012
7:34 am
Considering the low life anti-American scumbag lunatics that made these type of comments one doesn’t have much the fret when it comes time to vote down the T-SPLOST and most socialist liberal candidates running for office in this State.
Get ready to lose again dunkey.
Ooops!
You have anger management issues, young man.
Worse, you are a scofflaw who cannot even abide by a few simple rules.
1. Anyone who comes onto the blog with personal attacks and little to nothing of substance to say will be banned permanently.
Good luck in finding another forum, Mr. Smith…
@@
July 14th, 2012
7:35 am
These T-Splost columns have taken their toll on me? I’m not desperate enough to accept mediocre.
Bruno:
I’m kinda hamstrung with this 7p.m. shutdown. Unable to respond in a timely manner. Left a response for you on Kyle’s poll question thread.
Michael H. Smith
July 14th, 2012
7:38 am
JamVet
July 14th, 2012
7:34 am
If what you said in that last comment was true you would have been gone a long time ago.
Oh and anger management isn’t my bag, getting satisfaction watching you lose is.