I-912 Doesn't Pass The Smell Test

The newspapers are starting to chime in on whether to recommend we vote for or against I-912, and they are echoing many of the arguments I and other bloggers have been repeatedly making.

As mentioned a couple of postings ago, on Sunday, The Seattle Times urged voters to say "no" on I-912.

Also on Sunday, The Columbian argued that their readers in Clark County should oppose I-912:

Reflexively shouting down viable solutions brought by people we elected will not fix transportation infrastructure problems in Washington state. That's essentially what has happened, though, with the emergence of Initiative 912 on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Its passage would be disastrous for Clark County, where 13 transportation projects valued at $244 million would be lost. That's why The Columbian strongly recommends a "No" vote on Initiative 912.

Initiative 912 was drummed up in response to a 9.5-cent gas tax increase (phased in over four years) that will generate about $2 billion for statewide projects. Who made that costly decision? The people we elected to make tough calls: legislators. So often they are criticized for ignoring critical needs. But on this crucial issue, the lawmakers made the courageous call.

In addition to Democratic support for this tough call were seven Republican senators, including Joe Zarelli of Ridgefield, and 11 Republican state representatives, including Richard Curtis of La Center. Now those visionaries face anti-tax brigades whose pathological hatred of any new public expense blinds them to severe transportation needs statewide. Were these complainers to offer other solutions, their bleatings might be worth listening to.

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The gas tax increase was thoroughly vetted in the Legislature. It was not crafted cavalierly, but instead formulated only after diligent review and deliberation. That's the way the system should work: Elected officials put their political lives on the line by coming up with difficult and, yes, sometimes expensive solutions. Then they are held accountable in the next election cycle.

We commend the Legislature for taking this task head-on. Let's give their solution a chance to work. Reject the destructive tactics of those who bring nothing more to the table than anger and jingoistic shouts of protest. Vote positively on our local and state transportation needs by voting "No" on Initiative 912.

The paper notes that well over $200 million in investment Clark County road and bridges will disappear if I-912 passes.

On Monday the Skagit Valley Herald also gave a thumbs down to the wisdom of I-912, and strongly recommended residents of Skagit Valley vote against the initiative. The editorial is too well written for me to partially excerpt it, so I present it here in full, with apologies to the Herald:

Ranting about taxes is easy. Attacking government is easy. Choosing personal interest over the common good is easy.

Supporting vital long-term government programs that require additional taxes ought to be easy, too. But the me-first, tax-hating, government-bashing demagogues have made it hard in this state. And their narrow view of the world jeopardizes Washington’s economy. There is no better example of that effect than Initiative 912, which will appear on the Nov. 8 general election ballot.

I-912 would repeal the 9.5-cent-per-gallon increase in gasoline taxes approved by the Legislature earlier this year. Additional money raised by the taxes would fund dozens of important road and transportation projects around the state, including Skagit County. The Legislature’s action was bipartisan recognition that something had to happen to address glaring needs. Even Republicans who ordinarily resist tax increases signed on for the gas tax hike because they understood the positive economic impact of action — and the negative impact of inaction. It wasn’t easy but it was right.

The only reason we have a transportation infrastructure today is that people made hard decisions decades ago — and agreed to share the burdens. An economy that can’t efficiently move its goods and services is an economy doomed to stagnate, especially in the face of ferocious global competition where every tiny advantage is magnified. Some of the state’s largest businesses and trade groups are urging rejection of I-912 because they understand that.

The gas tax has the advantage, and disadvantage, of being easy to grasp. It pays for things that are tangible — transportation improvements that are broadly beneficial in many ways. We literally can see our tax dollars at work. That transparency also makes the gas tax an easy target. We can all tote up exactly how much it adds to the cost of a gallon of gas. But the cost of not fixing our transportation system will be huge and incalculable — there is no way to measure the certain damage to our state’s economy.

I-912 is penny-foolish and pound-foolish. Would road work stop without the additional taxes? No, but necessary projects would cost more and take longer to complete, while the rest of the world literally passes us by. I-912 backers’ solution amounts to, “dosomething different.” That’s an empty response that allows them to say they support good roads. Just not good roads that cost anything.

Of course, there is no free ride. Sometimes we have to step up as a society and agree that future needs are as important as current realities.

The question posed by Initiative 912 comes down to this: Will we do the easy thing or the right thing?

I expect many more such editorials from other papers in the coming weeks for the simple reason that I-912, when put to the smell test, is simply a very bad idea and a very bad anti-tax initiative. Editorial boards around the state are going to have a hard time finding an argument that justifies voting for the initiative, when faced with a multitude of reasons why voters should strongly reject it.