Slog
News & ArtsWednesday, November 9, 2011
Transportation / Election No Bridge for You! (Southwest WA Rejects Tolls, So Fuck 'Em)
Posted by Goldy on Wed, Nov 9, 2011 at 12:26 PM
Tim Eyman's anti-tolling/anti-light-rail Initiative 1125 will fail—not by as wide a margin as a lot of us had expected, but its current two-point margin of defeat will only widen as ballot returns from lumbering King County gradually make up a larger percentage of the statewide totals.
Curiously, one of the areas of the state were I-1125 fared best was Southwest Washington, in a region stretching along the Columbia River from Wahkiakum County in the west, to Benton County in the east, and north to Lewis, Yakima, Franklin, and Kittitas, a swath of contiguous counties that supported I-1125 with decisive majorities ranging from 59 to 63 percent.
Wow. These voters really hate the notion of tolling.
And yet, without toll revenue to pay off its bonds and fund its ongoing maintenance, the proposed new $3.6 billion Columbia River Crossing bridge just wouldn't be possible. Which tells me that a strong majority of Southwest Washingtonians just don't want this bridge.
Which is fine by me. I mean, surely, they can't really expect us here in the Puget Sound region to toll and tax ourselves to pay for our new infrastructure, while giving our neighbors down south a free ride across a bridge they'll mostly use to cheat us out of their sales tax dollars by shopping across the river in Oregon, can they?
1
4
The way to cheat the system is to live AND work in Vancouver, but shop in Portland.
Also, isn't it illegal to import significant items (furniture, say, or electronics) and not pay sales tax? If indeed it isn't illegal - and I'm very much not an expert - shouldn't it be? I suppose enforcement would be well-nigh impossible, though.
6
Its called the Interstate Bridge. But what I find curious is how Goldy was against the Viaduct Tunnel partly because the tolls would create alot of gridlock (people would avoid them and use surface streets) and are unfair to the citizens of Seattle. But tolls everywhere else in the state, thats ok?
We practiced democracy yesterday and it turned out well, that alone is worth celebrating. But by all means, continue to attack the rest of the state population for not voting exactly the way you wanted. "Stupid people, why are you so stupid!!? Why are not you not smart like me!!!?".
7
If you live in a county that voted for 1125, it's time for us in the taxpaying areas to stop subsidizing your stupidity.
8
I'm not saying they're right, in fact I voted against this stupidity, but it's important to know the why in these things not just the who and what.
11
But you can see why Goldy is so angry all the time. He lives in a world filled with demons and devils. They're not real, but he thinks they are.
Aside from SW WA, most of the most anti-toll counties have no skin in the game to begin with, and their anti-toll votes are a way of one part of the state telling another part of the state what to do. And I can assure you, they don't like it when we stick our noses into their business.
13
Advertisement
Most Commented on Slog
-
Hating People Doesn't Make Them Thinner by Jen Graves
-
Los Angeles Gay Bar Bans Bachelorette Parties Until Marriage Equality Is Attained by David Schmader
-
Fill in the Blank by Grant Brissey
-
This Reminds Me of the Great Calculator Scare of the Late '70s/Early '80s by David Schmader
-
Idiot Tries to Defend Bigoted Anti-Gay-Marriage Preacher on Anderson Cooper by Paul Constant
-
The Sunday Morning News by Unpaid Intern
-
Six Moms with Too Much Time on Their Hands and a Shitty Website Decide to Fight Gay Superheroes by Paul Constant
-
The Saturday Morning News by Unpaid Intern
-
What the Hell Is Wrong With Seattle's Pride Parade? by Dominic Holden
-
Why Mayor McGinn's Wife Canceled Her Family's Seattle Times Subscription by Eli Sanders
RSS
Facebook
Twitter
Comments (13) RSS