The L-O-S-T in T-SPLOST refers to public trust
There’s a saying for politicians and for those of us who cover them: The voters are always right. While we’re bound to be subjected to a round or two of recriminations about who’s to blame for the absolute debacle that was the metro Atlanta T-SPLOST campaign, pay attention to those who show signs of understanding and accepting that saying. They’re the ones who will be most likely to find the way forward from here.
For my part, here’s what I think the voters were saying in their 63-37 defeat of the $7.2 billion tax.
The political class has lost our trust.
If that sounds obvious, consider that it’s also a puzzling situation, given that many of the same people who voted overwhelmingly against the T-SPLOST have been voting in large numbers to elect the same Republican politicians who gave us the T-SPLOST. I think there’s a pretty clear explanation: This is the consequence of having a one-party state.
Georgia has been a one-party state for pretty much 140 years now. The first 130 years, it was a one-party state ruled by Democrats. The past 10 years, it’s been a one-party state ruled by Republicans and Democrats-turned-Republicans. (Note: I am referring here only to the party holding the levers at the state level, not municipal or federal offices.) For most of those 140 years, there has been very little credible, effective opposition from the minority party. I’m sure it was worse for the Republicans at times between Reconstruction and Sonny Perdue’s watershed win in 2002, but the situation is pretty bleak right now for Georgia Democrats. And that means Georgia Republicans feel very little electoral heat, which leads them to act in a very insular way.
That’s played out no more clearly than in their attitude toward ethics: If legislators are wise, they’ll recognize that the lack of public trust on display in the T-SPLOST vote means they can’t very well ignore the support of 87 percent of GOP voters for a lengthening of the proverbial arm separating lobbyists from legislators. If I heard one voter say he thought T-SPLOST was all about rewarding political contributors and allies, I heard it from dozens of voters. Legislators cannot go too far in trying to improve the negative public perception around our lawmaking process.
Geographically, at least as it relates to the T-SPLOST, you can locate the center of that lack of trust along the Ga. 400 corridor. Perdue arguably lost Tuesday’s tax vote two years ago when he reneged on the longstanding promise to end the toll when the original bonds were paid off. An opinion poll conducted for the AJC, published last weekend, showed the 400 toll extension was a factor for 55 percent of voters — and that 64 percent of voters doubted the T-SPLOST would end when promised and be limited to the projects on the list.
Nathan Deal obviously thought he could show some good faith by announcing recently that the tolls would come down by the end of next year, fulfilling one of his campaign promises. But the AJC’s opinion poll showed the maneuver actually made voters less likely to vote for the T-SPLOST by a net 6 percentage points. The reason, in my view, is that it sends a signal that state government decides when and how to make these decisions on purely political considerations. Bad political considerations, it now appears.
There are a couple of ways for elected officials to show they understand this message. First and foremost, they must demonstrate clearly that all available transportation money is being spent as wisely and efficiently as possible.
That means showing transportation spending really is a priority for the state. All revenues from the motor fuel tax should be directed to transportation; currently, part of it goes to the general fund. When the inflation-driven formula for the motor fuel tax dictates that the rate should rise to keep spending level in real terms, state government should let it rise. Where money can be cut from lesser priorities and redirected to transportation infrastructure, it should be cut and redirected.
As for efficiency, the state needs to be much more transparent about which projects are priorities based on pure cost-benefit analysis, and begin spending the money we do have on the highest-rated projects. If that means re-examining the wisdom of balancing spending based on congressional districts — they might be equal in population, but they aren’t necessarily equal in terms of transportation needs — so be it.
The money I’ve talked about so far would probably be skewed toward roads rather than mass transit, if only because a constitutional amendment allowing gas-tax revenues to fund transit looks like a sure loser. Transit should be addressed in a two-step manner: First, create a truly regional (if not state-run) governance structure for mass transit in metro Atlanta that incorporates MARTA and the other transit agencies. Second, allow voters beyond Fulton and DeKalb to vote in a referendum to participate in the system, with specific descriptions of the infrastructure and services that would come with it. If they want to join, let them join the same way Fulton and DeKalb joined MARTA.
If some of that sounds like baby steps, well, that’s because they are. One of these days, the people who run our government — at the local, state and federal levels — are going to realize a little modesty on their part would go a long way toward re-establishing the public trust they’ve clearly lost.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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1,018 comments Add your comment
Del
August 2nd, 2012
9:45 am
Logic,
Thanks
barking frog
August 2nd, 2012
9:46 am
Del
check the updated rules
for Kyles’s blog.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
August 2nd, 2012
9:48 am
ooops, that should be 2002, not 1992
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
August 2nd, 2012
9:48 am
Del, the evening shutdown is about 3 weeks old. It began when some of the more irresponsible members of that other blog decided to infiltrate this one, then further decided to identify bloggers over here (like me) with past names and personal information about them. They also blatantly violated Kyle’s then-existing rules of decorum.
Needless to say, it caused immediate problems and a swift response from Kyle.
JDW
August 2nd, 2012
9:48 am
@”Logic”…”Other folks who have offshore accounts: Bill and Hillary Clinton, John F Kerry (who served in Vietnam), Obama’s staff members, Joe Biden, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, George Bush Sr and Jr, Al Gore….”
S. Jackson
August 2nd, 2012
9:49 am
And yet these same voters who scream they don’t trust our elected leaders keep blindly re-electing the incumbents overwhelmingly. A perfect example is Balfour out of Gwinnett County. As crooked as they come. A big abuser of the system. Yet, he gets re-elected very easily. Nothing ever changes.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
August 2nd, 2012
9:49 am
As the AP reported in June 2002:
Mitt Romney the former Salt Lake City Olympics chief now running for Massachusetts governor paid property taxes on a Utah home as his “primary residence” between 1999 and 2001 and received a $54,600 tax discount as a result.
The distinction which Utah officials said was made in error fueled the debate about whether Romney meets Massachusetts’ residential requirements to be governor. The state Constitution requires a candidate to live in Massachusetts for seven years prior to election.
And as the Boston Globe explained that same month:
At the center of the case were Massachusetts tax returns Romney filed while in Utah. Romney filed in 1999 as a part-year Massachusetts resident and in 2000 as a nonresident.
Romney changed those returns to Massachusetts resident in April, after deciding to run for governor, saying his longtime tax advisers at Pricewaterhouse Coopers had made a mistake.
Joe Mama
August 2nd, 2012
9:49 am
Logic — “Ironic that the left made fun of the right for asking about Obama’s birth certificate and now the left is crying for Mitt to release his taxes.”
In the case of Obama’s BC, the REPUBLICAN Governor of Hawaii verified and validated it before the 2008 election and said that there was nothing in it that would preclude Mr. Obama from taking office if he were to be elected. I have a hard time believing that a Republican Governor would say that if there really *was* something fishy about it.
“Libs, if Mitt didn’t pay taxes, the IRS would have been after him years ago.”
IMO, the point that Democratic operatives are trying to make is not that Romney didn’t pay his taxes — they’re trying to use his taxes as a wedge. If they can demonstrate that Romney paid a very low percentage of his income in taxes, or that he took huge deductions that the average American wouldn’t be able to use, then he can be painted as a fatcat on par with the Wall Street banksters.
The beauty of it is that Romney’s returns could be 100% legal and 100% above board in reporting his finances, but that the Democrats could *still* make him look bad for it.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
August 2nd, 2012
9:50 am
You mean those returns that showed that Mitt was a Utah resident at the same time he claimed to be a Mass resident, all the while claim “Trust me, I filed as a Mass resident?”
And those tax returns that Mitt “signed” but did not read even under penalty of perjury?
The majority of voters want to see those returns.
GFY
August 2nd, 2012
9:50 am
Wow. Thought this blog was about TSPLOST in the metro area. Looks like it’s Bookman’s minions with nothing to do since he hasn’t produced a new blog in some time now. He must be prepping for his big day at Chick-Fil-A tomorrow.
Logic was never intended for libs
August 2nd, 2012
9:50 am
“Logic has no proof of his 9:43 statements?”
DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz who refuses to release tax returns invested in Swiss Banks, Foreign Drug Companies, State Bank of India
Nancy Pelosi made up to $5 million in offshore investments last year – invests in company called ‘outsourcing pioneer’
http://www.fireandreamitchell.com/2012/07/11/nancy-pelosi-made-up-to-5-million-in-offshore-investments-last-year-invests-in-company-called-outsourcing-pioneer-in-romney-ads/
Joe Mama
August 2nd, 2012
9:50 am
K71 — “Just like Republicans wanting to see Bozo’s college records….. it’s all a ploy to find something to discredit the candidate. Nothing more.”
One of the rare times we agree, sir.
Logic was never intended for libs
August 2nd, 2012
9:51 am
Tiberius
I remember some folks like KUTGF and others doing that on Bookman’s blog.
JDW
August 2nd, 2012
9:51 am
@Del…it was a meltdown of epic proportions…I’d like to tell you who but I might get sued…
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
August 2nd, 2012
9:51 am
Top 10 possible things Mitt is hiding by not showing his tax returns:
http://www.alternet.org/election-2012/10-theories-about-what-mitt-romneys-really-hiding-those-tax-returns
Logic was never intended for libs
August 2nd, 2012
9:52 am
“As the AP reported in June 2002:”
Not seeing a problem there, sport.
Gimme Gimme Gimme
August 2nd, 2012
9:52 am
I like the strict moderation, must be a hassle for Kyle though. The name calling on the other thread is tiresome.
Logic was never intended for libs
August 2nd, 2012
9:53 am
“Top 10 possible things Mitt is hiding by not showing his tax returns:”
In other words, it’s paranoid delusion.
Othea
August 2nd, 2012
9:53 am
Bottom line: most believe T-SPLOST is all about public transportation in the Atlanta area. The general public isn’t interested in dumping more money down the toilet. First, the politicians have to show the voters that they can spend wisely on what we really need the government to do and not spend on wasteful programs that have no place in the public sector. Does the state really have any business operating golf courses?
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
August 2nd, 2012
9:53 am
from previous link:
8. Is Mitt a Felon?
Relatedly, in 2011, Mitt Romney signed a financial disclosure form and sent it to the Federal Election Commission. In it, he stated emphatically that he had no active role in the company after February 1999. That claim appears to be contradicted by a number of other documents.
It’s a felony to lie on an FEC financial disclosure form . Some forms of tax evasion are also felonies. Mitt’s tax returns might offer proof that he committed a crime.
Logic was never intended for libs
August 2nd, 2012
9:53 am
“The majority of voters want to see those returns.”
No they don’t.
JDW
August 2nd, 2012
9:54 am
@Joe…”The beauty of it is that Romney’s returns could be 100% legal and 100% above board in reporting his finances, but that the Democrats could *still* make him look bad for it.”
Now Joe, Mittens is a smart guy. Do you really think he would keep taking the hits if he could just release say 10 years of nice clean “100% legal and 100% above board ” tax returns….
Keep Up the Good Fight!
August 2nd, 2012
9:54 am
Ironic that the same group that demands the “47% of American who pay no taxes — oops I mean no federal income taxes” with no evidence of any unlawfulness have absolutely no issue with Mitt paying 13% or less on his income and investments. But then consistency is often missing with “conspiracy” theorist and birthers.
Logic was never intended for libs
August 2nd, 2012
9:54 am
“The beauty of it is that Romney’s returns could be 100% legal and 100% above board in reporting his finances, but that the Democrats could *still* make him look bad for it.”
Then again, more people are paying attention to how bad Obama is as president.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
August 2nd, 2012
9:54 am
Yes they do.
Othea
August 2nd, 2012
9:55 am
Kool – Obama committed felonies by doing coke and he admitted it publicly. When are we going to see him prosecuted?
kayaker 71
August 2nd, 2012
9:55 am
The Clinton’s combined wealth now exceeds 100M dollars. John Kerry and his wife are worth over 750M and change. Al Gore has managed to parley global warming into a 100M dollar fortune. Nancy Pelosi and her husband are worth well over 35M, Diane Feinstein has amassed closed to 80M, Colin Powell 45M and the Bush family fortune stands at about 60M. JFK is supposed to have been worth nearly 1B dollars in trust money prior to being president. If wealth is the ax that liberals have to grind, there hasn’t been a Democratic president since Harry Truman who was worth less than several million dollars, placing him solidly in that evil 1% that liberals keep crowing about. Liberals, your indignation is pretty selective.
JDW
August 2nd, 2012
9:56 am
Did you know that offshore bank accounts and investing in foreign companies are totally different things…of course you do…any fool knows that.
Gimme Gimme Gimme
August 2nd, 2012
9:56 am
“The majority of voters want to see those returns.” who watch MSNBC
“the majority of voters want to see Obama’s educational transcripts” who watch FOX
Logic was never intended for libs
August 2nd, 2012
9:57 am
“Is Mitt a Felon?”
Good ole DNC talking points. Rachel Madcow would be so proud of you.
BTW, I saw Bookman on that show and this is how it went down.
Madcow: Jay Bookman joins us tonight from Atlanta. Jay, good to have you with us.
Bookman: Uh….uh…..phew…uh….uh….good…..uh…to be here…uhh…..
Madcow: What is going on down in GA?
Bookman: Uh…uh….phew…uh…uh…the extremists have ….uh…uh….taken over…uhh….
Pretty much the worst interview I’ve ever seen.
Logic was never intended for libs
August 2nd, 2012
9:57 am
“Yes they do.”
No they don’t.
Rock Gaines
August 2nd, 2012
9:57 am
Kyle, this is well thought-out. Your idea of a referendum to let voters in other counties decide on whether they want to join MARTA is a good one. I know this failed many years ago, but times change.
I really hope that just because T-SPLOST failed, the sense of urgency to solve the transportation problem does not fail.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
August 2nd, 2012
9:58 am
“Top 10 possible things Mitt is hiding by not showing his tax returns:”
1. Nothing
2. Nothing
3. Nothing
4. Nothing
5. Nothing
6. Nothing
7. Nothing
8. Nothing
9. Nothing
10. Nothing
There. Covered.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
August 2nd, 2012
9:58 am
And Logic, I suppose you didn’t see the problem with Dennis Hastert and the male interns? Or Larry Craig and the airport bathroom?
They were Republicans so all is good, right?
GFY
August 2nd, 2012
9:58 am
All righty since this has degenerated into a Bookman column……….
So the libs are up in arms about the tax rate a presidential nominee may have paid but yet not a word about the Treasury Secretary actually not paying his legally owed amount. That is rich……..pun intended.
Logic was never intended for libs
August 2nd, 2012
9:58 am
If I had a dog it would look like the one Obama ate.
Obama hates dogs.
Logic was never intended for libs
August 2nd, 2012
9:59 am
Tiberius – pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
How exactly did those folks get a hold of your info? From what I’ve read, it’s illegal for people to steal info from other folks on this blog.
iggy
August 2nd, 2012
9:59 am
If Bookmans hand picked extremeists had taken over GA they would of course be refered to as the moderates, just the every day man/woman/trans etc.
Choleen
August 2nd, 2012
9:59 am
No one cares about Obama doing coke as long as they get their check from the gub’menet. No one gives a hoot about Romney’s tax returns they just want to assure they will get their gub’ment check by reelecting their care giver Obama.
Logic was never intended for libs
August 2nd, 2012
10:00 am
“And Logic, I suppose you didn’t see the problem with Dennis Hastert and the male interns? Or Larry Craig and the airport bathroom?”
I love the diversions from the left. I’m also not sure what those people have to do with Romney.
Do tell.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
August 2nd, 2012
10:01 am
“Mitt’s tax returns might offer proof that he committed a crime.”
Or they might offer proof that Elvis is still alive, Finn.
Probably more the latter than the former.
Logic was never intended for libs
August 2nd, 2012
10:01 am
“Looks like it’s Bookman’s minions with nothing to do since he hasn’t produced a new blog in some time now.”
Pretty much. Like I said yesterday, some of them have been blogging for almost an entire decade. No life, no friends and no money.
Joe Mama
August 2nd, 2012
10:02 am
JDW — “Now Joe, Mittens is a smart guy. Do you really think he would keep taking the hits if he could just release say 10 years of nice clean “100% legal and 100% above board ” tax returns….”
He *is* a smart guy, which tells me that he’s worried about something in the returns becoming public knowledge. Again, it could be totally legal and totally above board, and yet he could recognize that it (whatever it is) would hurt him in the election.
I think he’s calculated that sweating it out and taking the hits is less damaging than whatever the tax returns show is likely to be.
They BOTH suck
August 2nd, 2012
10:02 am
Logic
Hint: Kyle is not big on bloggers going after his counter parts at the AJC.
But do carry on
Logic was never intended for libs
August 2nd, 2012
10:03 am
“which tells me that he’s worried about something in the returns becoming public knowledge.”
If you know that then could you please give us all the winning lotto numbers?
Logic was never intended for libs
August 2nd, 2012
10:04 am
“Kyle is not big on bloggers going after his counter parts at the AJC.”
I didn’t see that one in the rule booklet. I didn’t call Bookman any names. Just mocked his interview on Madcow’s show.
Numbers-R-US
August 2nd, 2012
10:05 am
Ironic is libs getting upset over Romney and taxes yet NOT ONE of you cared when Obama’s own staff members didn’t pay taxes and got caught.
Tim Geithner comes to mind.
Geithner voluntarily submitted to having his tax returns audited and he corrected all errors that were found in that audit and it was well publicized. Mitt, on the other hand, refuses to release his returns for scrutiny. Mitt is hiding his tax returns from the public for a reason and it clearly is a reason that Mitt believes to be harmful for his campaign. Even McCain turned him down as his VP candidate after reviewing his returns.
JDW
August 2nd, 2012
10:05 am
@kayaker 71…”If wealth is the ax that liberals have to grind, there hasn’t been a Democratic president since Harry Truman who was worth less than several million dollars, placing him solidly in that evil 1% that liberals keep crowing about.”
It’s not about the wealth per se. It’s about the desire to pay less than one’s fair share in taxes. Ask anyone on your list if they support legislation that ensures that the wealthy pay a comparable tax rate to the working population and you will get a yes…ask Mittens et al the same question and you get a no. That’s the difference.
Joe Mama
August 2nd, 2012
10:05 am
Logic — “Then again, more people are paying attention to how bad Obama is as president.”
I’d start paying attention to the electoral vote map if I were you.
They BOTH suck
August 2nd, 2012
10:05 am
Logic
Do what you have to do. I just figured I would pass on the information.