Trickle Out Economics in Georgia

On Transportation Funding, Governor Not Ready To Modify Regional Approach
by Jon Richards  February 6, 2014 16:34 pm

Governor Nathan Deal addressed the board of Atlanta’s Commerce Club on Thursday. In a Q&A session following his remarks, Deal was asked to comment on the possibility of fixing some of the transportation problems that remain in the metro Atlanta area following the region’s rejection of the TSPLOST in 2012.

While bills have been introduced in the legislature to allow for smaller regions and a fraction of a penny sales tax, the Governor does not appear to favor that approach. According to a story in the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the Governor prefers a continuation of the regional approach that was used for the TSPLOST.

According to a couple of the board members in the room, the governor told them that some people would like to throw out the regional transportation sales tax approach. But he said he was not ready to do so.

There also is a new bill making its way through the legislature that would provide a fractional sales tax and permit two counties or two governments to pass a tax for particular projects rather that have a regional tax.

Deal told the Commerce Club board that he is not in favor of taking a fractionalized approach at this time.

House Bill 195, introduced by Rep. Ed Setzler of Acworth would allow two or more counties to join together and levy a sales tax for transportation projects. Two bills that would allow fractional sales taxes are being considered by the House Ways and Means Committee.

Source: http://www.peachpundit.com/2014/02/06/on-transportation-governor-not-ready-to-modify-regional-approach/#respond

Comments:

Bad Deal is asking for trouble. Dalton Mayor David Pennington looks better than ever for Governor. Regionalism is opposed by most Georgia voters as “trickle out redistribution of wealth”.

Cities and Counties need their own tax receipts to fix their own roads, sewers and bridges, but federal grants promote mal-investment. Regionalism feeds federal stimulus bribes for “economic development”, the modern equivalent of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. These grants give local politicians the incentive to avoid finally fixing our basic infrastructure by squandering the tax dollars we need to fix roads, sewers and bridges. Instead, politicians are encouraged by developers seeking tax subsidies to create “cool places” for our unemployed mellennials to hang out.   

For the State, water reservoirs should be a priority to ensure more than a sufficient supply for populations and agricultural irrigation.

Our national economic downward spiral needs to be stopped at the State and local level. Real wealth creation requires production of everything we can produce and sell.   In Georgia, that includes agriculture, mining, tree harvesting and the design and manufacturing of durable goods.

Our Republican politicians really aren’t Republicans. They ignore the Platform and the Resolutions and the State and U.S. Constitutions. Their solution to not having tax increases approved is to sell Bonds we don’t get to vote on.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader