A few days ago it looked like the people of Texas were going to get a two-year moratorium on the TTC monstrosity. It looked like overwhelming numbers of legislators in both the House and the Senate had heard the voices of the people. It looked like our House members and Senators were going to get us breathing room in which to continue to spread information and education to our fellow Texans about the intolerable scar Dictator Perry and his campaign contributors want to rip across the face of our state.
After all, the moratorium passed the House with only one dissenting vote out of 150 members, and it passed the Senate by a vote of 27-4.
But my friends, we are about to get SOLD OUT if we do not ROAR once again louder than ever.
The Dictator vetoed the first moratorium bill on May 18. Although the bill originally passed with overwhelming margins, the House and Senate are not moving to override the veto. Instead, they are working on a "compromise" with the Dictator's office that will give him and the Toll Barons everything they want.
Read more
2 comments:
All this toll-road and outsourcing has come about because Texans and others around the country have consistently voted down any increase in user fees/gas taxes to pay for these road updates themselves. As a result, the US Dept of Transporation is saying the Highway Trust Fund will go backrupt in 2009. The only way to continue building roads without a fuel gas tax increase is to oursource the building and make the roads toll roads. If we don't want to outsource, are we then ready to say it's ok to raise these gas taxes? Roads aren't built by the tooth fairy you know. We can't have our roads without paying for them. (From near Brenham, Tx - Ken)
You are absolutely right. Roads have to be paid for some way. We need to index the gas tax, fully fund the mobility fund so that there is money to leverage on the bond market, and to stop diverting transportation dollars to other uses. Then we can stop this TOLL TOLL TOLL everything rush.
Public Private Partnerships are the most expensive way to build roads of ALL THE OPTIONS.
Post a Comment