For the Light Rail to really put a dent into traffic, 2 things need to happen. The area would have to become pedestrian friendly (development and streets) and the parking ratios for businesses and offices would have to decrease.
No matter how much people want to see transportation alternatives, if there is cheap easy parking, people are going to drive.
[quote=“Charlotte2002, post:41, topic:24357”]For the Light Rail to really put a dent into traffic, 2 things need to happen. The area would have to become pedestrian friendly (development and streets) and the parking ratios for businesses and offices would have to decrease.
No matter how much people want to see transportation alternatives, if there is cheap easy parking, people are going to drive.[/quote]Yep. Anywhere I can drive and park easily in DC I do unless I’m going out to drink.
Anywhere that parking is a pain in the ass, you can bet I’m taking the metro.
[font=arial][size=small]If it is so great, why can’t it pay for itself? The average American pays around 55% of their income to various taxes already. This attitude of “What’s wrong with another tax if it benefits me” is wrong. The country was founded on the premise of being free from unfair taxation. [/size][/font]
[font=arial][size=small]Sales Tax, Hotel Tax, School Tax, Liquor Tax, Luxury Tax, Excise Taxes, Property Tax, Cigarette Tax, Medicare Tax, Inventory Tax, Car Rental Tax, Real Estate Tax, Well Permit Tax, Fuel Permit Tax, Inheritance Tax, Road Usage Tax, CDL license Tax, Dog License Tax (my dog as no income), State Income Tax, Food License Tax, Vehicle Sales Tax, Gross Receipts Tax, Social Security Tax, Service Charge Tax, Fishing License Tax, Federal Income Tax, Building Permit Tax, IRS Interest Charges, Hunting License Tax, Marriage License Tax, Corporate Income Tax, Personal Property Tax, Accounts Receivable Tax, Recreational Vehicle Tax, Workers Compensation Tax, Watercraft Registration Tax, Telephone Usage Charge Tax, Telephone Federal Excise Tax, Telephone State and Local Tax, IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax), State Unemployment Tax (SUTA), Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA), Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax, Telephone Federal Universal Service FeeTax, Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon), Utility Taxes Vehicle License Registration Tax, Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax…among others.[/size][/font]
[font=arial][size=small]Yet, CharMeck, NC and the USA is broke and in too much debt to continue to borrow? Does anyone here pay taxes? Take the bus gus[/size][/font]
Let me add one to MeanJoeGreen’s list that bugs the crap out of me… Privilege License Tax. I have my Professional Engineering License for the state of NC. I owe the state Board of Engineer Licensing an annual fee. But I also owe the State Dept of Revenue an annual privilege tax. The privilege tax covers all sorts of stuff. Maybe someone can explain it’s purpose, but I don’t see it. Sorry, that was an off topic rant.
As for the light rail, I look forward to it’s addition. As much as I was upset they built the southern portion without the approval of citizens, in the end, it seems to have been one of the first insightful investments this city has done in a long time. I just wish they would have started by connecting downtown to the airport. Oh, and I would like to see them change it to the green line.
[quote=“MeanJoeGreen, post:43, topic:24357”][font=arial][size=small]If it is so great, why can’t it pay for itself? The average American pays around 55% of their income to various taxes already. This attitude of “What’s wrong with another tax if it benefits me” is wrong. The country was founded on the premise of being free from unfair taxation. [/size][/font]
[font=arial][size=small]Sales Tax, Hotel Tax, School Tax, Liquor Tax, Luxury Tax, Excise Taxes, Property Tax, Cigarette Tax, Medicare Tax, Inventory Tax, Car Rental Tax, Real Estate Tax, Well Permit Tax, Fuel Permit Tax, Inheritance Tax, Road Usage Tax, CDL license Tax, Dog License Tax (my dog as no income), State Income Tax, Food License Tax, Vehicle Sales Tax, Gross Receipts Tax, Social Security Tax, Service Charge Tax, Fishing License Tax, Federal Income Tax, Building Permit Tax, IRS Interest Charges, Hunting License Tax, Marriage License Tax, Corporate Income Tax, Personal Property Tax, Accounts Receivable Tax, Recreational Vehicle Tax, Workers Compensation Tax, Watercraft Registration Tax, Telephone Usage Charge Tax, Telephone Federal Excise Tax, Telephone State and Local Tax, IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax), State Unemployment Tax (SUTA), Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA), Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax, Telephone Federal Universal Service FeeTax, Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon), Utility Taxes Vehicle License Registration Tax, Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax…among others.[/size][/font]
[font=arial][size=small]Yet, CharMeck, NC and the USA is broke and in too much debt to continue to borrow? Does anyone here pay taxes? Take the bus gus[/size][/font][/quote]I do. There aren’t many students on this board, so I’d guess that most people on this board pay taxes.
Even if they are students, it is funded by sales taxes and everyone, students included, buy things.
As for paying for itself, if everything the government provided came with the requisite that it must pay for itself, most of our roads except for major highways and interstates would be dirt, we’d have no public education system, no law enforcement, etc. We’d be the least developed country on the planet.
Roads and Interstates sure as hell don’t pay for themselves either. They are all taxpayer subsidized. I have never had an issue with any salestax because you have the fundamental right not to pay it. The real issue is that INCOME based taxes from the Federal Government won’t be returned to us if we refuse to build the Light Rail. Instead it will be sent off to some other place that will match the Federal funding.
You pay gas taxes to pay for most of the road costs. Therefore, you can choose not to pay the tax by not driving. Good roads increase commerce and lower the costs of doing business. A light rail sales tax forces all people to pay for something most will not use or benefit from. You have to purchase goods to live.
You can go grocery, gas or clothes shopping in any of 6 counties and an entire other state. There’s not a single point in Mecklenburg County that is more than 12 road miles from a place you DON’T have to pay for the Choo Choo. Don’t want the Choo Choo, vote for someone else.
That’s like saying, “If you are so enamored with light rail and public transportation, move to NY, DC, Europe or China”. I do vote against these type of people every year and have yet to vote for any bond that increases my taxes. I wish more would do the same, but that’s their right. Having a fancy, expensive and impractical choo choo is not.
[quote=“MeanJoeGreen, post:47, topic:24357”]You pay gas taxes to pay for most of the road costs. Therefore, you can choose not to pay the tax by not driving. Good roads increase commerce and lower the costs of doing business. A light rail sales tax forces all people to pay for something most will not use or benefit from. You have to purchase goods to live.[/quote]You can choose not to buy goods and make everything yourself.
Give me some examples of how that might work these days?
You can grow your own food. Everything else is a luxury item that you don’t need to survive. You seem to like to live in the past, I’m sure no modern conveniences would suit you well.
I knew I would get a weak example. Even our ancestors here in the 1700’s had to purchase goods. The next step for any tax crazy lib is to call anyone that disagrees with them names that they intend to be offensive.
The same could be said for schools. The state and local taxes I have paid for the last 15 years I’ve been working have gone towards schools yet I am only now just having my first child. I guess those 15 years were a waste…I want a refund. Cash and/or diapers accepted. Formula preferred.
[quote=“MeanJoeGreen, post:53, topic:24357”]I knew I would get a weak example. Even our ancestors here in the 1700’s had to purchase goods. The next step for any tax crazy lib is to call anyone that disagrees with them names that they intend to be offensive.[/quote]I’ve never voted for a liberal in my life and like I said in an earlier post, oppose most social programs, so I’m not some “tax crazy lib.”
Conservatives however, claim to want what is best for America and proclaim America to be the greatest country on the planet, all while joyfully watching infrastructure that used to be the envy of the world crumble away. The rest of the world progresses, yet we regress year over year.
Fossil fuels in the U.S. are subsidized to the tune over 500+ million dollars per year. If you take into consideration the protection and securing of oil assets around the world, the amount is nearly 1 trillion dollars per year. Those are tax dollars being used to make your car economical to drive.
Nothing of value is without subsidy. Coal? Subsidized. Nuclear? Subsidized. Oil? Subsidized. Food? Subsidized.
The list goes on and on.
Weren’t the colonists more upset about taxation without representation than they were about taxes in general?
I’m fine with taxes, even high ones, if we get a good return on investment. Gov’t needs to trim the waste, but I would rather the gov’t build roads than private entities. If you think taxes are high now, imagine how much a private company would charge you to drive on their highway!
But either way, Charlotte needs more automobile-less transportation, and the light rail is important to this. Need to find a way to get costs under control though!
Someone needs to figure out how to teleport, so we can just eliminate driving. Drunk teleporting could be fun.
NEVER teleport drunk. The consequences will never be the same.
[quote=“Niner National, post:45, topic:24357”]There aren’t many students on this board, so I’d guess that most people on this board pay taxes.[/quote]Over 40% of eligible voters pay no income taxes. I would think educationally the people on this board probably fall above that line but you never know. Having more than half of the voters collecting benefits while not putting into the pot is a very dangerous situation. I am sorry, we were talking about trains weren’t we? :
clt endorses a zep system between the u and uptown.