So, this radio ad landed in my inbox earlier this week and I’ve been trying to figure out a few things about it. Namely, who’s funding it, where it’s running, when it’s running, who “Progress in Motion” is and, yeah, basically everything and anything about it. I admit defeat at this point, as I have failed to find answers to any of these questions. So, I leave it to you, dear readers, to answer the plethora of unanswered questions I have.
Either way, I back the ad.
Loading ...
Looks like “Progress in Motion” is a project of the Minnesota Transportation Alliance (http://www.transportationalliance.com/).
See the Certificate of Assumed Name at: http://www.legal-ledger.com/legals/index.cfm?fuseaction=ads&cat=Certificate of Assumed Name&dsp=Certificate of Assumed Name&searchdate=04/2/07
Their message erroneously claims a shortfall in road funding due to no increase in the gas tax. However, they do not detail how much gas consumption has increased in 20 years - with each additional gallon resulting in additional gas tax revenue. They also claim that in 20 years we’ll have another million people in Minnesota - which will result in another million people buying gas, increasing gas tax revenue even more! We just voted dedicate millions of dollars to transportation in the last election - let’s wait and see where that money goes before we start handing over more money.
HOORAY PAWLENTY VETO!!
It’s the right thing for Gov. Pawlenty to ‘veto’ any gas tax increase. We don’t need a gas tax increase to fund our roads and bridges.
House File # 619 and Senate File # 500 would provide all the necessary funding permanently now and in the future without taxing or bonding (borrowing). It’s simple.
The new law would allow the state chartered, state-regulated banks to create the money for building and maintaining roads and bridges as bookkeeping entries just as they do now when they make loans. But, this new money will not be a loan. The new money will then be electronically transferred to Minnesota’s road and bridge account then transferred to the account of the road contractor who will pay the workers and material suppliers. The new money will flow into circulation in place of bonding or taxation.
The work gets done. Labor and material suppliers get paid. Everyone uses the roads and bridges in lieu of fees, taxation or bonding of anykind. Nothing about building and maintaining roads and bridges changes except how we pay for them. There isn’t enough space in this newspaper to list all of the benefits but here are a few: Smooth, safe, state-of-the-art roads and bridges geo-thermally heated and cooled, State fuel taxes, license tab and other fees eliminated, high-tech product and business growth in Minnesota, thousands of new, high-paying jobs, costly transport taxes and freight hauling fees eliminated, reduced costs of production, freight, business and living, the purchasing power of our medium-of-exchange strengthened, your standard of living and ability to save improved, increased tourism revenues, improved environment with road water drainage & purification systems, freight, business and living costs would go down encouraging production, employment, savings and prosperity! Government will be smaller, less costly as more citizens take exciting, promising jobs in Minnesota’s new, prospering economy!
I believe the real reason there is a shortfall is that they keep “borrowing” money for our roads to prop up projects like Light Rail. The know they couldn’t get a tax pushed through for this so they take money from the road fund and then say “hey we have no money to repair the roads, please give us more”.
How do they continue to get away with this? B
I have listened to these radio spots and would like to know what happened to vote yes Minnesota that passed this past election ?
I thought that it was suppose to take care of our roads, guess not!
I thought the “vote YES” amendment in the last election was the cure-all for all our transportation troubles. This according, I believe, to the same alliance pushing this tax increase. Just a shell-game they are playing with the ill-informed voter.
The other thing the radio doesn’t mention is that 100% of the gas tax does not go towards ROAD CONSTRUCTION. A high (and could be higher) percentage goes to “TRANSPORTATION.” Which is mass transit, not roads. The only reason the DFL wants a higher gas tax is so more money can go towards light rail lines, and not new roads!!
I agree with Tim. This is getting ridiculous! Couragously voted to increase the gas tax? How about the nerve? We need to as a society be a lot more carefull of the dirtbags we elect to office. It scares me to think we may have let things get too far out of hand with these politicians. But what the h@11, by the time the next election comes around perhaps the sour taste of taxation by democrats will be strong in our mouths again!