2012 Tuesday: Millions of dollars might not buy a T-SPLOST
Each month, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney — and their respective parties and PACs — report their fund-raising totals. One result is a monthly debate about the propriety of big money in politics, and many participants in that debate begin with the apparent assumption that money is everything in an election.
On the local level, however, we are watching the final days of a campaign in which a gilt Goliath appears mortally wounded by a dollar-poor David. Yes, I’m talking about the T-SPLOST.
The pro-tax campaign yesterday finally released its financial statements (on the last day of its past-due grace period), and it shows pretty much what we all expected: a campaign that has had millions of dollars to persuade voters to tax themselves $7.2 billion during the next 10 years to fund transportation. Here’s how the AJC summarized the standing of the pro- and anti-tax groups:
Citizens for Transportation Mobility — the political action committee pushing the July 31 transportation referendum in metro Atlanta — took in $6.5 million from spring 2011 through July 16, according to a campaign finance report filed Monday. Records show the group dramatically outraised opponents of the tax increase: The Transportation Leadership Coalition, which is fighting the referendum, raised $14,418.
(Full disclosure: Cox Enterprises, parent company of the AJC, donated $250,000 to the pro-tax campaign.)
That’s a 450-to-1 financial advantage for the pro-tax side, which is why virtually all the advertising you see about next week’s referendum is in support of the tax. The tax has the backing of the governor, the mayor of Atlanta and most other local and state elected officials in the 10-county region. It has the research apparatus of governmental and quasi-governmental agencies behind it. It has the area’s major businesses making not-so-subtle suggestions to their employees that they should vote for it.
And yet, according to every recent opinion poll, it’s trailing. In all but the one done for the pro-tax campaign itself, it’s trailing badly. In all that have measured support for the tax over time, that support has fallen by double-digits.
What gives?
For starters, this campaign shows once again the effectiveness of real grassroots organizations, and their ability to tap into large networks of passionate supporters at little or no cost. When the Tea Party Patriots, NAACP and Sierra Club all decide to oppose something, their members tend to be much more firmly committed to that stance than are people swayed by advertising or political endorsements.
We must also acknowledge that any effort to increase taxes amid a still-stagnant economy is something of an uphill climb, even when the purported payoff — easier commutes — affects many people’s everyday lives. That said, the most believable poll two months ago was not one that showed the tax ahead or behind by double-digits, but the one that showed it at 42 percent for and 45 percent against, with the rest of the people undecided. Given the nature of Atlanta’s transportation needs, the referendum was bound to be close despite the economy and the low level of trust in government when it comes to transportation. (And, for the record, I still think it will be fairly very close in the end: single-digits either way.)
But the most important factor — and really the only way this campaign’s financing and evolution are similar to the presidential race — is the ability of those proposing a change to make their case clearly and effectively. Barack Obama’s approval ratings may still be mediocre, but all the money in the world won’t help Mitt Romney if he can’t convince the American people he is suitable alternative. Likewise, traffic in Atlanta may be exasperating for a lot of people, but all the money in the world won’t help the folks at Untie Atlanta if they don’t have a credible pitch about how the tax revenues will help reduce traffic congestion.
And that’s where I think the referendum is in danger of failing.
The message from the pro-tax side has gone something like this:
1. Traffic is bad.
2. Look, there are a lot of projects!
3. In the end, we have to do something.
While hardly anyone disputes Nos. 1 and 3, a great deal of people doubt No. 2 is an adequate bridge between them. To be honest, the pro-tax side has hardly tried to convince the doubters otherwise. It’s simply harped even more on Nos. 1 and 3.
That means there’s no clear, coherent message about how the T-SPLOST projects will help the region today, from the urban core to the suburbs. There is no consistent narrative about how the projects work together in a specific corridor or chokepoint. To the degree the message is something other than “trust us; it’ll work,” the message is the map with 157 projects scattered across it. And that map has become a regional Rorschach test that leaves it to individuals to see future relief or wasted money.
In large part, that’s the fault of the people who put the list together, not the ones now tasked with selling it to the public. But however the blame is eventually assigned if the referendum does indeed fail, that’s the central failure of the T-SPLOST — and the crucial task for whoever has to pick up the pieces if Plan B becomes necessary.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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403 comments Add your comment
Road Scholar
July 24th, 2012
12:05 pm
Rafe: Where is the state’s upper leadership from (not counting Chip Rogers, who is more rural than in an urban area)?
JDW
July 24th, 2012
12:06 pm
@kyle…”I’m heading to that family funeral now”
Sorry for your loss.
Rafe Hollister, suffering through Oblamer's ineptocracy
July 24th, 2012
12:07 pm
Common Sense
Hope to change that screen name on 7 Nov!
Common Cents
July 24th, 2012
12:08 pm
@Rafe, I am feverently hoping (and voting) with you!
Rafe Hollister, suffering through Oblamer's ineptocracy
July 24th, 2012
12:10 pm
Road
I guess the country folk are just more persuasive, have more common sense and are better leaders. I am sure you would have another reason, right?
Ga Values
July 24th, 2012
12:12 pm
Why did Clear Channel give nearly $300,000.00 to a pro TSPLOST organization?? They are part of Reed’s corrupt cronies. Below is the 1st few paragraphs of this story of graft & the link to the entire story. By the way Barbara Fouch was a laddy friend of Maynard Jackson.
Late last Monday afternoon, a federal jury awarded $17.5 million to Corey Airport Services after finding that the City of Atlanta, Clear Channel and Barbara Fouch, Clear Channel’s minority partner, conspired to deprive Corey of its equal protection rights while bidding for the advertising contract at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in 2002.
The City of Atlanta, Clear Channel and Fouch will share the compensatory damages of $8.5 million equally. Clear Channel was ordered to pay another $8.5 million and Fouch $500,000 in punitive damages. As a matter of law, the City of Atlanta cannot be held liable for punitive damages.
“This was a clear case of favoritism, cronyism and bid-rigging,” said co-lead attorney for Corey Airport Services Jeffrey R. Harris of Harris Penn Lowry LLP (HPL), the firm brought in by Corey to try the case before U.S District Judge Charles A. Pannell. “The jury not only found that the bidding process at the airport was tainted, but that the City, Clear Channel and Barbara Fouch conspired to ensure the lucrative advertising contract remained with political insiders and City-favored vendors.”
The case, which was filed in 2004, concerned how the City of Atlanta procures contracts for advertising at the world’s busiest airport. Clear Channel and Fouch were first awarded the contract in 1980. Until 1997, the contract stipulated that the City receive 50 percent of airport advertising revenues. The contract expired, but Clear Channel and Fouch maintained the advertising concession on a month-to-month basis from that point forward. Until 2007, they were paying the 1980 rental rate of 50 percent of revenue.
At the start of trial, Clear Channel and Fouch owed the city $15.6 million in unpaid rental fees due to the month-to-month holdover provision of the advertising contract. “The fact that the City of Atlanta left more than $15 million dollars on the table, never taking steps to recover that revenue, is compelling evidence of favoritism,” said Darren Penn of HPL and co-lead counsel for the plaintiff. “The jury obviously agreed. It is our hope that the City doesn’t continue to waste taxpayers’ money by dragging out this process.”
http://savannahbusinessjournal.com/news/law/733-aug-02-savannah-attorney-wins-175-million-in-atlanta-airport-bid-rigging-case
Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
July 24th, 2012
12:13 pm
Birth of a “No” vote
Pay too much in taxes already.
Estimated graft and corruption – 70% to 80% – who knows?
Poorly thought out projects, based more on politics than efficacy – 40% to 50% – who knows?
Tax will never go away – refer to MARTA. I’ll believe the 400 toll is going away when I see the booths come down.
Jefferson
July 24th, 2012
12:19 pm
Too bad the voters vote on emotion and not logic, but that’s what you wanted.
yuzeyurbrane
July 24th, 2012
12:21 pm
Good piece, Kyle. I only disagree that it will be as close a vote as you predict. No scientific poll. Just my gut based on random comments from friends whose politics I know and my own conflict re the issues. Normally, these friends and I would be expected such a project. But all have mixed feelings and more and more are telling me they have decided to vote “no”. Combine that with those who are always against new taxes and I think TSplost will be defeated by wide margin.
catlady
July 24th, 2012
12:26 pm
TGT: I’m there, too. What is your read on why it is so disfavored?
Logic was never intended for libs
July 24th, 2012
12:27 pm
” I’m not sure that will suffice for Romney. If it would, he would be up big in the polls right now. He has to prove himself as a credible alternative first. He’s got three months.”
Alternative: Jobs, repeal Obamacare. Seems like a credible alternative to me.
Just Say No to New Taxes
July 24th, 2012
12:28 pm
Support of the politicians (bribes and kick backs for all) is a reason not to vote for T-SPLAT!
Logic was never intended for libs
July 24th, 2012
12:29 pm
“How do they get re-elected to multiple term?”
Um..voters. Duh.
SwamiDave
July 24th, 2012
12:29 pm
Darwin
“Wouldn’t raising the gas tax be more equitable? Heavy users of the roads would pay a more proportionate share of the infrastructure needs. Utilizing a sales tax unfairly targets the low income and others who don’t drive much, carpool or use public transportation.”
Couple of questions:
- Would there be an electricity surcharge on their household rates for those who own electric cars? What about those use who natural gas?
- Are we to assume that the gas taxes would be targeted for roads only? Since autos use roads, the other options(like transit) would need funding for their development and maintenance.
This should be interesting…..
-SD
Logic was never intended for libs
July 24th, 2012
12:30 pm
“Too bad the voters vote on emotion and not logic, but that’s what you wanted.”
Georgia was a solid blue state up until the year 2000. The people of GA got sick and tired of Democrats and threw them out. It amazes me that libs always seem to forget that fact.
Jefferson
July 24th, 2012
12:32 pm
You are the forgetful one, knowitall.
Hillbilly D
July 24th, 2012
12:33 pm
The only way to solve traffic problems is to burn Atlanta to ground, start over and build it on a grid system like NYC.
A grid system looks good on paper but given the Atlanta region’s topography, it’d be easier said than done. That’s why the roads weren’t on a grid to start with.
Logic was never intended for libs
July 24th, 2012
12:34 pm
Hillbilly D
I’m just throwing out a suggestion. There is a lot of poor city planning and has been for decades.
Hillbilly D
July 24th, 2012
12:35 pm
Logic @ 12:34
I wouldn’t argue with you on that.
Just Say No to New Taxes
July 24th, 2012
12:38 pm
Atlanta is irrelevant, the businesses and people who count are moving outside 285. The locusts can have downtown Atlanta…..
Hillbilly D
July 24th, 2012
12:38 pm
The county unit system died years ago.
Yep, 1962 to be exact.
Common Cents
July 24th, 2012
12:42 pm
Just Say No:
The problem is that the locusts from Atlanta will rapidly begin moving OTP when everything else does. Problem not solved, just delayed…
Logic was never intended for libs
July 24th, 2012
12:45 pm
“You are the forgetful one, knowitall.”
What a profound statement, sport.
john
July 24th, 2012
12:46 pm
Gena’s SRTA sold a new round of bonds right after the election to secure her 200k job.
Jefferson
July 24th, 2012
12:49 pm
You must knowitall, eh ? You forget why the D’s are gone ? There’s your hint.
Aquagirl
July 24th, 2012
12:49 pm
Oh, and condolences to you and the family Kyle.
PM
July 24th, 2012
12:57 pm
My home is not far from a train station and my office is literally on top of another train station. It would be a snap to take the train to work. But. It would take a lot of sacrifice. The 15-minute headway on the trains is unbearable. The cost for train fare is more than I’d spend in gas. And my car gives me freedom to leave work at any time, or even at the normal time, and go anywhere I want. So I have driven every workday.
Besides this, I did ride the bus and train for almost 20 straight years when I was too young or too poor to afford a car. My whole family was MARTA bound. So when the day came that I could afford my own car, I jumped at it and never looked back. MARTA represents a regression for me, not progression. The big hunk of metal parked in my driveway represents success and progress and breaking free of being stuck riding the bus. I hope I never again have to carry home a week’s worth of groceries on a bus and I feel sorry for those who are still stuck with it.
For the TSPLOST, I voted for it, but only while holding my nose. Traffic needs help, yes, but the state and local authorities have a horrible track record of wasting money on stupid projects and badly-constructing many of the others. So I expect more than half the money will basically be thrown into a fire and lost. So I voted for it. But not happily.
catlady
July 24th, 2012
1:04 pm
I voted against it. I simply do not trust those “in charge.” And, besides, I am joining those with the mantra of “If it doesn’t benefit me, I won’t support it.”
I will vote against every SPLOST unless it has my name on it (ie, SPLOST to support catlady for the rest of her life.)
I also am voting no for every constitutional amendment, unless it benefits me directly, for the rest of my time in Georgia. I have noticed that most of them are designed to reward one group or another. I am an official group of one, now. When we give one group a break, IT MEANS THE REST OF US PICK UP THE SLACK!
Why I am against TSPLOST
July 24th, 2012
1:09 pm
Because it will allow the gays to reach further out to the suburbs where I live safely with my family. I dont want them infecting my children or my life with their gay ways.
Logic was never intended for libs
July 24th, 2012
1:09 pm
“You forget why the D’s are gone ? ”
Uh..they were voted out of office.
Logic was never intended for libs
July 24th, 2012
1:10 pm
“Because it will allow the gays to reach further out to the suburbs where I live safely with my family. I dont want them infecting my children or my life with their gay ways.”
I’m gonna go out on a limb and take a guess that the person who typed this is a left winger pretending to be a right winger. I don’t know any right wingers who use the term “gay ways.”
Hillbilly D
July 24th, 2012
1:12 pm
In my experience, when it comes to voting on constitutional amendments in Georgia, it’s best to vote no. The wording is always so convoluted and designed to obscure the real purpose that I’d only vote for one, if I was 100% sure of what I was voting for. When they do get voted in, they almost never turn out to be what people thought they were voting on.
As for voting on things like SPLOSTs, bond issues, etc, I’ve noticed something about that, too. When they get voted down, if it’s something that’s really needed, they always seem to find the money somewhere, to go ahead and do what they were asking for more money to do. Their first instinct is to ask for more money, rather than prioritize what they already have. It’s awful easy to spend somebody else’s money and that’s what politicians excel at.
Common Cents
July 24th, 2012
1:12 pm
Why I am…
They already live in your nice suburban neighborhood AND they have interior decorating, landscaping and more money than you too…
Rightwing Troll
July 24th, 2012
1:19 pm
Voting no… After the last 20 years of watching what wingnuts do versus what they promise to do it would be a huge waste of money that woud result in nothing but more wingnuttery…
Hell NO
July 24th, 2012
1:22 pm
I’m voting NO for several reasons – and all the spinning in the world won’t change my mind…
1) I won’t vote for a tax increase on myself. My representatives might do it, but I don’t have to do it for them.
2) $470 million to perform maintenance on MARTA…which had losses of over $500 million last year. Extravagant parties, expensive location for maintenance yard, 24 minute off peak times, PR touting leadership, lousy security, etc., etc. Throwing money at a corrupt system won’t help it. Sack the bureaucrats first.
3) Lack of faith or trust in the GaDOT. Northern Arc, 400 tolls, HOT lanes, Atlanta to Macon (via Lovejoy) rail line, etc., etc. Hell, they can’t even get the (temporary) McGinnis Ferry lanes over the river right.
4) It WON’T free up the roads.
JF McNamara
July 24th, 2012
1:34 pm
@Kyle,
I think the problem, if the referendum fails, is the list didn’t represent what most people “want.”
I’m laughing on the inside at this one. You know 80% of the posters haven’t actually looked at the list. They are just miming talking points…
MrLiberty
July 24th, 2012
1:34 pm
All of these businesses that will benefit can come up with millions of dollars to fund a campaign that will empower the government to steal from all of us with every purchase we make, yet these same folks can’t put together a private bond offering, business plan, etc. that would enable them to address the transporation problems they claim to be “suffering” from.
This is the fundamental problem with government and its takeover of everything essential in our society. Before we had a US government there was road construction and maintenance and today there are still plenty of examples of private road construction and maintenance worldwide without any government involvement. Maybe if business wasn’t always the beneficiary of government largess but actually had to be part of a real and private solution, traffic patterns, housing development, infrastructure improvements, etc. wouldn’t be so screwed up and would instead be more in line with the way our city has grown up. Government central planning doesn’t work. The massive opposition to this horrible initiative is just an indication that more and more people are waking up to that obvious fact every day.
md
July 24th, 2012
1:35 pm
“I’ll add: you’re a believer in the propriety of Citizens United, right? Hey, corporations are people too, you know. We reap what we sow.”
One owes it to themselves to watch the Scalia interview on CNN…….Morgan pretty much shut up after the answer about Citizens United. Scalia asked him if the media should have limits as well, and that was pretty much the end of that part of the discussion…………
Common Cents
July 24th, 2012
1:38 pm
Thank you Mr. Liberty for making my point so much more eloquently than I seem to have been able to. Mine amounted to “You raised $6.5 million for this ad campaign. Couldn’t that money have been better spent on those projects y’all wanted to do?” LOL!
No Artificial Flavors
July 24th, 2012
1:39 pm
The T-SPLOST debacle, no matter which side one may be on, further demonstrates that there are too many counties in Georgia of which too many competing interests have doomed true regional progress.
Even if it passes we will still be left hungry because too many buzzards are eating on that carcass.
Don't Tread
July 24th, 2012
1:39 pm
Let the pro-tax crowd spend all the money they have….still voting NO.
When they clean up the corruption, graft, fraud, waste, coercion, and good-ole-boy back-room deals in government, then we’ll talk about raising taxes. (Cleaning up all that might require a really big piece of equipment…and a good respirator.)
HDB
July 24th, 2012
1:43 pm
Logic was never intended for libs
July 24th, 2012
11:03 am
All Obama has to do is to KEEP nailing Mitt over and over again with these charges and he wins:
‘Do you want a businessman for President whose business practices do NOT CREATE jobs but destroys them, profits from the job losses, and takes the money offshore??”
“Mitt…your father set the precedence; what do you have to HIDE?”
Mitt Romney: “Are you happy with 8.2% unemployment and a president who said small business owners didn’t build their business?”
@@
July 24th, 2012
1:44 pm
JDW:
At the time of its (Obamacare’s) passing, the majority in Congress were democrats. Obama delegated his “signature” healthcare plan to democrats, not republicans.
Taxing, I know.
schnirt
=====================================
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Monday that someone at the White House was responsible for the recent leaks of classified information.
“I think the White House has to understand that some of this is coming from their ranks,” Feinstein said in an address at the World Affairs Council, The Associated Press first reported.
Feinstein said she was certain that President Obama had not disclosed any of the classified intelligence, but believed others in the administration were responsible.
The buck stops with Obama.
md
July 24th, 2012
1:47 pm
“The wording is always so convoluted and designed to obscure the real purpose that I’d only vote for one, if I was 100% sure of what I was voting for. ”
Isn’t that the truth…….when one has to read them 5 times and decipher where the “no” is placed in the sentence to figure out the real meaning, we can very easily screw ourselves by voting the opposite of how we think we are voting.
Sometimes, the lawyers need to drop the legalese and just put it in laymen’s terms……..
Don Abernethy
July 24th, 2012
1:49 pm
You cannot trust the government with more money. They can spend zillions of dollars on ads and I will still vote NO.
@@
July 24th, 2012
1:51 pm
Oops!
http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/policy-and-strategy/239661-sen-feinstein-says-someone-at-white-house-is-behind-leaks
md
July 24th, 2012
1:55 pm
‘Do you want a businessman for President whose business practices do NOT CREATE jobs but destroys them, profits from the job losses, and takes the money offshore??”
Let’s see and the answers are NASA, Solyndra and the Russians………..
NASA jobs gone, outsourced the missions to the Russians and the money is certainly going offshore.
Or maybe profits from job losses is referring to Solyndra, where the bundlers running the place took their huge cut, shut down the business and recently showed up at an Obama fundraiser and donated it back to him…….in essence, Obama used tax dollars to donate to himself.
Jefferson
July 24th, 2012
1:55 pm
The ads are catchy.
Obama is over
July 24th, 2012
1:58 pm
The problem here is that Atlantans have no confidence in our elected officials’ ability to be responsible stewards of our money. All you need to do to understand this concept is open your monthly water bill. Atlantans pay the highest water/sewer rates in the United States because of generations of mismanagement, cronyism, and blatant incompetence. Our city officials consistently put self interest above the needs of the citizens with the attitude of “now it’s our turn to cash in.” Look what Campbell and his posse did to the Atlanta Olympics turning what should have been a crowning achievement into a third world street market. The airport concession award process has been a joke. To add insult to injury, our esteemed mayor has appeared on Sunday morning talk shows preaching Obama’s tax the rich mantra. How about rather than a new tax, the State take over Hartsfield-Jackson from the city. Profits from the concessions could go towards transportation infrastructure improvements rather than wealthy Obama bundlers hiding behind city minority status business programs.
Logic was never intended for libs
July 24th, 2012
1:58 pm
HDB
Obama has sent jobs over seas. See: Jeffery Immelt of GE. The Bain Capital thing just ain’t working out for Obama and the polls show it.
Unemployment has been over 8% for Obama’s entire first term. That’s bad, HDB. The health care ruling just pissed off the base and others all over again.
Mitt Romney: “Are you happy with 8.2% unemployment and a president who said small business owners didn’t build their business?”
Yep, and Mitt is winning on that issue alone.