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Metro has their half-cent sales tax increase proposal working its way through the capitol, but Schwarzenegger has his own sales tax increase he officially announced yesterday within a large budget compromise. Here's one part of his plan to fix the $15 plus billion budget: "A temporary 1-cent sales tax increase for three years (excluding diesel, gasoline and jet fuel) followed by a permanent 1¼-cent reduction beginning in year 4. The additional ¼-cent reduction would be a permanent base sales tax reduction beginning when the 1-cent increase is no longer in effect." But come November, Schwarzenegger backed initiatives like Proposition 1 for the High Speed Rail train from LA to SF could easily put us back into deficit. And if both taxes are approved, Los Angeles County is looking at a 9.75% sales tax.
Raising the Sales Tax & Not for Transit
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Begley is a raving nutball and he is dead wrong. StrokerMcgurk
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Although budget concerns are huge right now, if we drop the ball on high speed rail implantation we are setting our selves up for far greater economic woes in the future as airlines with short range flights gasp to keep their heads above water, people reducing car trips due to gas prices and Amtrak bursting at the seams, with some trains already at standing room only.
It's a big up front investment, but it will pay off in the long run. In Spain where they recently connected Madrid and Barcelona with HSR at a travel time comparable to SF to LA in our proposed line, it has already captured 30% of the transit market between those cities in 6 months of operation in what was formally a corridor of high air traffic.
So we can toot our cars along the highway filling for gas, pay high air fares for increasingly less comfort and less flight options, or zip across CA in comfortable trains going over 200 mph.
Absolutely ridiculous!
How can Arnold be against every type of tax increase ... except for the most regressive and least sensible version! If you're gonna go back on your no new taxes pledge, than at least do it in a sensible way, don't invent a new tax that will expire and just recreate this crisis in a few years time.