Poll Position: What’s your vote on the T-SPLOST?
OK, folks, it’s once again time to declare.
If you live in metro Atlanta, what is your vote on the T-SPLOST?
- No (350 Votes)
- Yes (215 Votes)
- Still unsure (27 Votes)
Total Voters: 592
Loading ...Tuesday is T-SPLOST day across the state, and by late Tuesday/very early Wednesday we should know whether it passed in any of the state’s 12 regions, including the 10 counties of metro Atlanta.
If you’re not up to speed on what this is about, well, I can only assume you don’t live in Georgia and/or have just been released from several months of solitary confinement. I don’t have much more to say about it that I haven’t said in the past: see here and here for the many pieces I’ve written about T-SPLOST.
If you don’t want my opinion, check out the AJC’s compilation of reporting about what the 10-year, $7.2 billion sales tax would mean for transportation infrastructure and traffic relief in metro Atlanta.
If you live elsewhere in Georgia, what is your vote on the T-SPLOST?
- No (167 Votes)
- Yes (67 Votes)
- Still unsure (6 Votes)
Total Voters: 240
Loading ...So, vote in the nearby polls. Yes, polls — plural. I’m posting one poll for those who live in metro Atlanta, and another for those who live anywhere else in Georgia. I know, I know, Savannah and Athens and Rome and all the rest are entirely different and deserve their own polls. But 12 polls on one Poll Position post would be way too unwieldy. And I’m going to make a request of those of you who don’t vote in Georgia: Please don’t vote in this poll — it ain’t scientific, but it’s all I’ve got — but feel free to comment in the thread below.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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260 comments Add your comment
WAW
July 27th, 2012
3:34 pm
I don’t vote against myself. I don’t care if it’s (R) or (D), I will not vote against me. That said, I will not vote to lower my Wednesday 5% discount at Kroger to 4%. All the Legislature had to do was raise the Gasoline Tax to whatever but since they have all signed THE PLEDGE to shirk their duties as directed by their owners, they came up with a way to tax my groceries. So I voted against it already.
Vote No
July 27th, 2012
3:36 pm
A Realist Guy: I’ve conceded the point about the City of Atlanta. My concerns are about the list and how I believe the projects included do a poor job of taking cars off the road. I live in the city, too and would support a plan B.
md
July 27th, 2012
3:37 pm
“Why do so many people want to USE Atlanta, and not even begin to pay for anything from which they benefit?”
Typical little picture view…..you really think it is only atlanta residents using the restaurants, stores, filling up at the gas stations, paying the hotel tax, spending money at ball games/aquarium/coke/etc…..really??
That’s an awful lot of money “those people” pour into your community…….and let’s not forget the main driver located to the south called the airport………
1961_Xer
July 27th, 2012
3:38 pm
I am not in the Atlanta region. I am in the Ga Mountains region, and I will be voting “Yes”, and here is why:
Two roads that I use extensively… one in Forsyth (GA 400 between exits 12 and 14) and one in Hall/Lumpkin (GA 60 between Dahlonega and Gainesville) are on the list for widening. Were it not for these two roads, I would vote “No”. My county will essentially be a “donor” county for Hall and Forsyth for 10 years.
Jefferson
July 27th, 2012
3:39 pm
You folks don’t trust the GOP leaders you keep electing, who is the dummy here ?
Up Up and Away
July 27th, 2012
3:42 pm
“You folks don’t trust the GOP leaders you keep electing, who is the dummy here ?”
ding ding ding
we have a winner
md
July 27th, 2012
3:42 pm
And by the way, that airport is run by the city of atlanta while also being located in Clayton county and the cities of Hapeville and College Park. Atlanta has been taking a disproportionate amount for years, so you might not want to go there with that little picture view.
@@
July 27th, 2012
3:50 pm
Don Grantham, Georgia Department of Transportation District 10 representative, said the Augusta area needs to pass the transportation referendum if it expects much needed improvements.
Of GDOT’s budget, about 97 percent comes from the state’s fuel tax. Fuel tax money is often not returned to all areas of the state, he said.
He probably shouldn’t ah said that.
“We don’t want our money to go to Atlanta. We want our money to stay right here,” he said. “I call it the people’s bill. You get to collect it and you get to know how it’s spent.”–Augusta Chronicle
Or that.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
July 27th, 2012
3:52 pm
‘Homeland’ video gives tips to survive a shooter…
http://www.ruger.com/products/lc9/specSheets/3200.html
Aahhh, just kidding. They didn’t really post that.
This is what they did link to-
Obama Waving the White Surrender Flag Womens Shirt
Streetracer
July 27th, 2012
3:54 pm
I will say again, as I have many times before, infrastructure is intregral to the basic functions of government. Why do we need a special tax to fund it? Shouldn’t infrastructure take precedence over public art at the airport, for example?
That being said, the project list impacts me in no way whatsoever.
Thomas Heyward Jr.
July 27th, 2012
3:57 pm
Not only No …but h#ll no.
Furthermore……….if anybody at the GDOT complains………fire’em…There’s plenty of normal people needing a job, and they’ll probably do it better AND cheaper.
.
And also…..from perusing their website, I can see MUCH fat to be trimmed.
Get rid of those BS Human Resourse and EEOC positions/divisions.
Get rid of those BS wildflower and tree-planting programs.
.
And stop with the million dollar studies.
sheesh.
Government boneheads.
.
My reps will be hearing the same thing.
Rider Inman
July 27th, 2012
3:58 pm
md,
Once again, just cause it doesn’t work for you doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be invested in. If it was built up/expanded so it was available for more commuters, than more ppl could/would use it leaving more road for you and your excuses. If convience means drving alone in a car bumper to bumper for an hour plus to go 25 miles, than so be it…I’ll stick with the “head ache of using transit”.
jose
July 27th, 2012
3:58 pm
md: they can’t build fast enough and are now facing the costs of maintaining the roads they built. The connector cannot be wider and we have, as a state, spent millions in repaving it to overcome wear and tear.
VOTE YES!
July 27th, 2012
3:59 pm
If you vote no and want a higher fuel tax and toll roads keep in mind that money will not be audited and reviewed by citizens like the TSPLOST money will.
Vote YES!
VOTE YES!
July 27th, 2012
3:59 pm
And it will cost you more than 1%
Jefferson
July 27th, 2012
4:05 pm
As they say in the cop business, every now & then you have to shoot an innocent man just to prove a point… keep voting the same way and the politicians think they are bulletproof.
oldfart
July 27th, 2012
4:17 pm
A VOTE YES! means more toll roads just the same as a vote of no. The $10+ Billion in HOT lane expenditures go forward even if TSPLOST passes. Lanes that will not pay for themselves at the current rates until your grandchildren are commuting, if then. Lanes that even GDOT admits do nothing to alleviate overall traffic flow tie ups.
Lets redirect the 25% of the state sales tax on gas being diverted to the general fund to transportation before we talk about a need for hiking the gas tax.
A Realist
July 27th, 2012
4:21 pm
md
The tiny amount of revenue from sales taxes from folks out of town hardly pays for much.
Let’s assume you spend 10K a year in the city, that means you drop a whopping $200 to help cover city expenses. (1 cent schools, 1 cent sewer). That doesn’t cover a whole lot. Would that cover the APD expense for one traffic accident? Hardly.
Most of the folks I know that live out of town, don’t fill up at intown stations, and only eat an occasional lunch intown.
It is really a small amount of money visitors trickle into the community. (and where is that hotel tax going to go now? Don’t get me off on that… ugh …)
And, BTW, the airport contributes NOTHING (zero) to the city budget. All revenue from the airport, stays at the airport.
Jefferson
July 27th, 2012
4:25 pm
The businesses support the tax because they don’t want to pay their fair share of doing business, and bought the legislators.
n
July 27th, 2012
4:26 pm
Here’s a Plan B:
Raise the gas tax.
Amend the state constitution to provide that the gas tax can fund ALL transportation options, including transit.
Force the politicians to do their jobs and quit hiding behind the altar of Grover Norquist.
A Realist
July 27th, 2012
4:27 pm
md….
I did make a bit of a mistake – you would probably pay about 5 cents, on the dollar to Atlanta (too much trouble to get the exact amount). That would mean on the 10K expense, you would pay about $500 toward the city. Still pretty small considering the drain on the intown infrastructure.
A Realist
July 27th, 2012
4:28 pm
n
I love it!
Now all we have to do is wait for that very, very cold day…..
Dr. No
July 27th, 2012
4:30 pm
This T-SPLOST SUX !
NO !
bu2
July 27th, 2012
4:41 pm
No.
Plan A is spend $7 billion with little effect on transportation and a failure to deal with basic problems.
Then in 10 years shut everything down because there is no funding for the $74 million in extra maintenance and the continued deferred maintenance in MARTA.
Another referendum will never pass again if this passes because the 1st will accomplish next to nothing. In some corridors it will actually make traffic worse.
Its a bunch of toy trains to line the pockets of real estate developers, engineering firms (why do we need $100 million! to study Gwinnet rail?) and construction companies instead of a coherent plan with transit that is useful and roads where needed.
n
July 27th, 2012
4:49 pm
Note to corporate bigwigs and craven politicians:
More asphalt will not improve GA or attract business, if we continue to be at the bottom of every list of desirable features and/or attractive places to live; and a leader in all things bad, such as bank failures, foreclosures, unemployment rates, environmental malfeasance, ethics challenges, drop-out rates, etc., etc.
Pour your millions into those issues, not asphalt.
Jack
July 27th, 2012
4:51 pm
I voted no about an hour ago. I’l vote no for any tax increase on a ballot.
GPollard
July 27th, 2012
4:53 pm
I voted early and I voted YESi Quit being selfish ppl! Its about the future and wellbeing of those that come behind us!
Hillbilly D
July 27th, 2012
4:56 pm
one in Hall/Lumpkin (GA 60 between Dahlonega and Gainesville) are on the list for widening.
That’s not entirely correct. It’ll be widened from the end of 400 to the Hall County line, creating a bottleneck at each end.
A Realist
July 27th, 2012
5:05 pm
Hmmmm,
Those ‘toy trains’ seem to get lots of folks around quite nicely all around the world.
I wonder why they wouldn’t work here. Maybe it’s just an education thing, or a serious lack thereof.
Or maybe it’s the seriously sprawled communities that require huge expenses to provide efficient services over the long distances to sparsely populated areas.
Vote No
July 27th, 2012
5:09 pm
This plan is seriously lacking in trains, toy or otherwise. Education is in the reading of the project list.
How Inciteful Is That!
July 27th, 2012
5:10 pm
Raise the gas tax to pay for roads. Put in more toll roads to pay for more roads. Don’t tax food and medicine to pay for roads. Unless you support paying for things with a Fair Tax. Then, you should support TSPLOST because it is a Fair Tax because it is a consumption tax. Vote yes for a Fair Tax or vote no for something else. Just vote.
md
July 27th, 2012
5:11 pm
“Once again, just cause it doesn’t work for you doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be invested in. If it was built up/expanded so it was available for more commuters, than more ppl could/would use it leaving more road for you and your excuses. If convience means drving alone in a car bumper to bumper for an hour plus to go 25 miles, than so be it…I’ll stick with the “head ache of using transit”.”
I’m merely playing devil’s advocate……I fixed my traffic problem several years ago when I made the choice to get the heck out……but, those “excuses” were quite relevant. I quit using marta back in the 90’s after replacing my back window and radio for the second time and was told “too bad, so sad….we can’t help you”.
catlady
July 27th, 2012
5:12 pm
Vote NO on ALL SPLOSTS from now on. NO to all “Constitutional amendments”. All these just enrich the connected.
Hillbilly D
July 27th, 2012
5:20 pm
catlady @ 5:12
You and I think just alike, at least on that issue.
How Inciteful Is That!
July 27th, 2012
5:32 pm
All these just enrich the connected.
I hear that they enrich the job creators, much like tax cuts do. Don’t you want the job creators to be able to afford to create jobs.
Old Timer
July 27th, 2012
5:36 pm
It is time for the Capitol genius to go back to the drawing board. This SPLOST would benefit the Atlanta District at the expense of the other districts. Unfortunatley this was not a stand alone district thing which some advertising would make you think it was.. Other districts could be penalized to pay if they did not even vote Yes on it. The Capitol boys are slick with words.
A dad
July 27th, 2012
5:36 pm
I will be voting NO for several reasons, but primarily, because I just don’t trust, or believe, Georgia’s elected officials. I pay (still) the GA 400 toll. It was supposed to come off when the road was paid for, but our politicians got to used to that pork and decided to keep it. Deal has said it will come off next year, but he doesn’t have the final say so. Anyone wanna bet how the Dept of Transp will vote on it? Georgia is probably the most corrupt state I’ve lived in out of 14, and the level of blatant cronyism here is staggering. Projects awarded to political cronies at “x” only to see massive cost overruns becuase the winning “bid” was so inadequate to ensure the award was received. And we are supposed to trust these bozos? I say no, and by voting against SPLOST, and also voting against every incumbent come November regardless of political affiliation (lets’ face it, R or D, they all stink) is my small contirbution to a revolution to begin taking our gov’t, and out country, back
Michael H. Smith
July 27th, 2012
5:40 pm
Same as before Kyle. I’ll be glad when this tax is finally defeated, I’m tired of hearing about it. Worse, I’m beyond tired of ALL THE DAMN LIES THE BACKERS OF THIS SHAM-PORTATION REFERENDUM ARE TELLING PEOPLE.
PLEASE, PLEASE, VOTE NO!
538
July 27th, 2012
5:45 pm
“Growth at this rate would ordinarily make a president’s re-election prospects extremely tenuous: probably about 50-50, according to our model and others.”
“The reason our economic index sees Mr. Obama as a very modest favorite for re-election is because it also considers inflation, which is assigned 15 percent of the weight. And inflation has been very low.”
“Imagine the counterfactual: that on top of all the other problems in the economy, we also had, say 6 percent inflation. Then gas might cost $4.75 a gallon, and you’d notice the change in prices pretty frequently when you went to the grocery store. Under those circumstances, our model would have Mr. Obama as an underdog.”
At least Bernanke’s good for something.
md
July 27th, 2012
5:49 pm
“And, BTW, the airport contributes NOTHING (zero) to the city budget. All revenue from the airport, stays at the airport.”
No it doesn’t….the City gets millions in tax revenue every year from the airport……as do other cities involved, counties and the State.
Samantha
July 27th, 2012
6:07 pm
I am voting no.
I am not aginst the ida of a tax and not against the idea of a sales tax. While I doubt the competence of the various governments to manage our money well, I would swallow that concern except…
This is the wrong project list…it’s not off by a little…it’s off by a mile. In 20 years when this SPLOST is finished these projects will help us get to where the jobs used to be, but not to where they will be then. This TSPLOST is an attempt to hold onto the past, not one to move into the future.
If Reed and the other politicans had focused on TRAFFIC in building the project list and not “development” or some other pet agenda, we migh have a solution that could win a majority of the votes.
I dont’ think this dog will hunt.
Hillbilly D
July 27th, 2012
6:11 pm
If Reed and the other politicans had focused on TRAFFIC in building the project list and not “development” or some other pet agenda,
That’s what they always focus on. Look at the county commission for just about any county in North Georgia and it’s made up of people who make their living through real estate and development. Most city councils are similar.
md
July 27th, 2012
6:14 pm
“The tiny amount of revenue from sales taxes from folks out of town hardly pays for much.”
And again, that’s the little picture view again. Tax is but one element in the equation. Think a bit bigger in terms of total dollar amount. Those folks coming into the city provide “jobs”……and those city jobs lead to more taxes for the city. Most folks living in the city probably owe their jobs to those from outside the city…..I doubt the actual population of 400k could sustain all those jobs on it’s own.
scotty
July 27th, 2012
7:08 pm
I heard recently that one of our laws called Joshua’s Law – which added a charge to tickets – that money was supposed to be used for Driver’s Education. So far they have collected $57 million. However ONLY $7 million has gone to the intended purpose. The money has ended up in the state’s general fund.
So the question is do WE REALLY TRUST our elected state officials to spend the T-Splost money the way they are supposed to?
People need to vote carefully …
@@
July 27th, 2012
7:13 pm
Are we up?
@@
July 27th, 2012
7:18 pm
Oh ma-a-a-a-aaan!
Just wanted to get one of those thru.
Sue
July 27th, 2012
7:20 pm
The round table meeting for public debate were arranged with pre determined outcomes. Something akin to “Do you want us to lop off your right arm or your left arm?” If you said neither, you were labeled as a trouble maker.
The “Transportation Investment Act, HB 277″ which created this fiasco is a law. It can be changed or repealed with a simple majority of both houses of the legislature and the Governor’s signature or inaction. That does not make it sealed in stone.
Plans for this go out to 2040 or even 2050. If the law is not amended, they will come back again and again for more money for the economic redevelopment of Atlanta (Beltline) and more funding for the already failed MARTA.
It’s your money. I vote NO!!!
bu2
July 27th, 2012
9:48 pm
@realist
Have you been in other cities around the world? Do you have any concept how much more dense they are than Atlanta? Atlanta is significantly less dense than Dallas or Houston or any other major city in the country, let alone the world. And in those other cities around the world, they often have real trains, like MARTA as the backbone. And the big cities like Paris, London and Rome don’t have any toy trains running around on the streets. Atlanta can’t support rail everywhere and can’t support the existing cars on its local arterial streets, let alone adding more from the increased density. Since 4% use mass transit now, its ridiculous to assume 100% of new residents will use mass transit. Even if the Beltline were successful in massively stimulating development (which it will do next to nothing for the next 10 years since Atlanta is so overbuilt), it would start driving people and jobs out of the city by creating gridlock with the extra people. Even the AJC has already fled OTP to Dunwoody.
Its just the wrong plan and will decimate MARTA’s existing rail and bus service by taking resources for marginal toy train projects.
Jim
July 28th, 2012
8:37 am
I’m voting YES. The Atlanta transportation system of roads, buses and trains was designed for a 2 million person metro area … Atlanta is now 5+ million people, and it’s easy to see the transportation infrastructure is overloaded. I think everyone sees that. The question is How do we fund the needed improvements?
Some say that funding should only come from those who use highways and that it’s unfair to tax those that don’t use them. That’s short-sighted. For example, the prices for items at the grocery store (that everyone goes to) are determined in large part by the cost of transporting them to the store. Better transportation means lower prices … for all.
Big numbers have been thrown around on both sides of the issue. Let’s look at the real cost to people. The average person spends about $15000 a year on items that the TSPLOST applies to. The 1% TSPLOST means the average person will contribute $150 a year. Is that too much to ask to help make Atlanta the vibrant community it can, and should, be?
Everyone benefits from better transportation. And that’s why I’m voting YES.
CHICK-FIL-A: Biters of Chicken, Not Pillows
July 28th, 2012
10:45 am
Everyone who proposed the T-SPLOST idea and are campaign for it are lying crooks who will eventually wind up in prison.