Who would voluntarily send extra taxes today to offset Amtrak deficit?

[daveklepper]

You KNOW I am NOT talking about county roads and city streets. I am talking about INTERSTATES and URBAN EXPRESSWAYS that in fact usually reduce property values. That huge almost square-mile expresway interchange right in downtown Los Angeles is one excellent example.

Do you remember the Boston - Sommerville Fellsway of fifty years ago? A beautiful linear park, something like Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue today, and St. Charles in New Orleans. But even better and more varied landscaping. Even a small pond (ducks and geese) at one point with the highway lanes well separated. And of course 1920's-era Type 5 wood-seat lightweight streetcars running through (and running very fast, too), connecting to the Elevated at Sullivan Square Station. Now completely eliminated with the Fellsway an eight-lane highway.

I saw the GM busses delivered around 1950 with Beacon Street and Commmonwealth Avenue on their role signs. The plan was for the the transit system to cut-back operations of the Green LIne to just the subway portion and use Kenmore Square Station as an interchange with the buses out to the suburban areas. And eliminate the linear parks and tracks on Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenues for the additional highway lanes. But the home owners had more political clout. That and the through service to the downtown area preserved the two subway-surface lines.

[bbrant]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jhhtrainsplanes

I F I actually thought it would get to Amtrak I might consider it.

However, I am sure this administration would say that I actually wanted it to go to Iraq and it would end up there or Halliburton one.

I thought the polical stuff was to have been halted. Since it's obviously not, here comes my opinion.

I'm sick and tired of the liberal left always looking for a handout. They want to coast through life feeding off hard-working individuals. And you keep wanting corporate welfare for Amtrak. You libs couldn't run any corporation and expect it to be profitiable unless someone was handing out ca***o you so you didn't have to earn it!

All you libs know is failure and how to come up with creative ways to blame others instead of yourself! You complain about the war and Haliburton when your really have no clue. The war is to protect our country so we don't go through another 9/11 - which, by the way, your boy Clinton could've prevented if he had the guts to get Osama when Sudan offered him. But libs don't understand that and who would expect them to.

Libs want to complain because we have a Republican White House, Senate and House of Rep. Just for the record, why do you think that is? Could it be that America is sick of liberal ideas and their lack of morals that they voted Republicans with values and ideas for those who want to work and be something? That's my bet.

Remember, liberalism always generates the exact opposite of it's stated intent!

[oltmannd]

QUOTE: Originally posted by RudyRockvilleMD

Not I! I don't even want to see my gasoline taxes siphoned off to support Amtrak

Exactly how happy are you about your share of FEDERAL gasoline tax being siphoned off to fund the $10B+ Big Dig in Boston? (http://www.taxpayer.net/TCS/wastebasket/transportation/4-12-00.htm)

It doesn't create one car's worth of new capacity.

It doesn't improve safety.

It doesnt' improve air quality.

It ONLY benefits a limited number of Bostonians by making one neighborhood a bit nicer.

All it did was move an perfectly funcitonal elevated highway into a leaky tunnel.

[solzrules]

QUOTE: Originally posted by oltmannd

QUOTE: Originally posted by RudyRockvilleMD

Not I! I don't even want to see my gasoline taxes siphoned off to support Amtrak

Exactly how happy are you about your share of FEDERAL gasoline tax being siphoned off to fund the $10B+ Big Dig in Boston? (http://www.taxpayer.net/TCS/wastebasket/transportation/4-12-00.htm)

It doesn't create one car's worth of new capacity.

It doesn't improve safety.

It doesnt' improve air quality.

It ONLY benefits a limited number of Bostonians by making one neighborhood a bit nicer.

All it did was move an perfectly funcitonal elevated highway into a leaky tunnel.

DON'T FORGET GREEN SPACE! [:0][:0][:0] IT CREATED MORE GREEN SPACE SO BOSTON COULD HAVE PRETTY PARKS N STUFF. I am glad I could help out on that one.

[garr]

QUOTE: Originally posted by daveklepper

You KNOW I am NOT talking about county roads and city streets. I am talking about INTERSTATES and URBAN EXPRESSWAYS that in fact usually reduce property values. That huge almost square-mile expresway interchange right in downtown Los Angeles is one excellent example.

Dave,

No, I did not know that you were only talking about the interstates. That fact was not possible to discern from your prior statement. If you did clarify more so in other posts, I did not remember.

However, my point still stands even if you were only talking about expressways. The increased value of property (thus property taxes) located within a mile in each direction of an interstate exit can offset the lost tax revenue from many miles of government owned interstate right-of-way.

Consider that the majority of interstate miles run thru property valued at well below $1,000 per acre, and when constructed the interstates were located well outside of most towns. The subsequent growth of the towns towards the exits incrementily increased the property values (thus taxes) the closer the town grew to and from the interstate exit.

Add in the payroll taxes for all the civil engineers, lawyers, construction workers, maintenance workers, suppliers (asphalt, concrete, steel, construction equipment, paint, etc)... just from the initial construction phase and you go a long way in offsetting the lost property taxes.

I am not trying to start an arguement with you, but I feel that if the total picture is looked at, the lost property taxes on the land within the government owned right-of-way, be it city, county, state, or federal (surface or interstate) is more than offset in other ways.

If you have any studies or websites on this matter that you can point me to, I would like to read further.

Jay