Voters reject tax increase to fund transit projects in Vancouver area

[OnlinePoker]

Source: Globe and Mail

Canada’s first-ever attempt to convince the public to agree to a sales tax for transit financing has ended in defeat.

Lower Mainland people who voted No outnumbered Yes voters, with a margin of 62 per cent to 38, in a vote that turned into a referendum on Translink, the region’s transit authority, and was overshadwed by anti-tax sentiment.

About 798,000 people sent in ballots through the mail-in plebiscite, giving the vote a turnout of 51 per cent -- higher than the turnout for last November’s civic elections. Of those, about 38,000 weren't considered because they did not meet the plebiscite rules for some reason and another 2,500 were rejected.



Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/transit-results/article25228292/

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The "No" side spent a total of $40,000 to fight the increase. The "Yes" side spent $5.8 million, much of it from various government sources. A sales tax increase (even 1/2 of 1%) would negatively impact those who could least afford it.

[Cryptoad]

1. All sales taxes everwhere should be abolished !

They are the most regressive and un-Christian tax of them all.

[Angry Dragon]

3. you should have stopped before you got to un-Christian tax

[Cryptoad]

5. Nah

the teachings of Jesus is the supreme manifesto of progressive liberalism.

[bigwillq]

2. I would have voted No.

No more tax increases. Find other solutions, please, before taxing those who can't afford it. Or stop spending. One or the other. I disagree with TAX, TAX, TAX as the solution to the government's financial problems. All they do is tax us, and they still don't have any money. Try something else.

[CreekDog]

6. So which budget do you want to cut to pay for this? Health, Education, Housing or Transportation*

Which one. You're so sure of yourself, it's obvious you have the answer, so tell us what it is, don't tease us.

[bigwillq]

7. I don't have all the answers

I just know that what they're doing seems to not be working. Our governments have no money but yet continue to tax us like crazy. Doesn't make sense. They should have plenty of money. What are they doing wrong?

[CreekDog]

8. You said take it out of something else, take it out of where?

You act like they should just expand mass transit by using less postage.

You said you don't have all the answers --you don't seem to have a single answer, because anyone can say, "you have enough money for that."

[bigwillq]

9. Government mismanges money.

They need to stop giving tax breaks to businesses. Take the tax money from those businesses and pay for things like housing and transportation instead of taxing the average citizen that can't afford it. There are other solutions besides raising the sales tax. That's basically my issue with the system. It always falls on the back of the people who can afford it the least. Not sure if that satisfies your inquiry, but that's basically what I mean by they need to try something else.

[christx30]

10. When we hear about outrageous use of taxpayer money,

it should come from there. Money is spent recklessly, then they want more.


Quick google search brought this up:
http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/99-stupid-things-the-government-did-with-your-money-part-i/

[CreekDog]

20. like I said to the other poster you tell us what budget you want to cut

to fund the transit system.

tell us. you give me a link of spending mistakes across all of Canada and you think you're going to fund the Vancouver transportation system by not doing those in the future?

so, if you stop funding those, that money is going back to those governments, not British Columbia or Vancouver metro area governments.

so tell us, which category of funding are you going to cut to fund this? are you going to cut the health budget, the education budget, the transportation budget (ostensibly outside the transit system, or else how are they going to expand it?).

which of the largest categories of spending are you going to cut to do this?

[christx30]

21. My point is that the voters

don't care enough about the transit system to fund it. They don't think it needs to be funded. They won't accept new taxes because they see stories like those and they see the government as either incompetent or corrupt, and are unwilling to waste any more of their money on them.
If you hear about $300,000 in baseball tickets and dinners out, and they want to add 7% to the local sales tax to build a museum dedicated to Ricardo Mantalban, you'd tell them to get bent.

[7962]

4. So how do they propose to PAY for any improvements then?

Where I live sales taxes have only failed once, and that was because the county didnt list what the money was going to be spent on. And we've had new schools built, new roads built, new sewer installed, etc.
I love the sales tax. EVERYBODY pays and a lot of it comes from people who dont even live here. Spread it out among as many as possible.
Local income taxes? Thats even LESS likely to pass.

[christx30]

14. You're operating under the assumption that people

feel the improvements are needed, or they are a priority in their lives at all.
If someone told you that they were going to add 12% to the local sales tax to fund a museum dedicated to Ricardo Montalban, you'd look at them like they were crazy.
Some people feel the same way about all kinds of projects, transit included. You just have to hope your side has more than the other.

[7962]

17. True; I just assumed improvement was needed since its usually behind.

And I'm not far from Atlanta, where rail transit ALWAYS needs to be expanded!

[christx30]

18. And improvement may very well be needed.

I live in Austin, where we have the MetroRail. Nice, clean train that goes from downtown all the way out to Leander. I'd love to see it go out to the airport. It'd be great for visitors from out of town to see this beautiful train when they get land. But will anyone vote for a tax increase to make it happen? No. Because no one would ride it. Everyone is in their cars all the time. Most of the population has never ridden on the existing train. "Oh, it looks like fun. I'd love to do it some time." But everyone is so busy working, and taking care of their kids and just living, that they are unable to take an afternoon to make the ride. There's also the MetroRapid, which takes an hour and a half to go from the south part the city to the north, which is a great little trip. I'd love to ride, because I think it would be a great adventure. This thing also has wifi. Have I gone? No.
I've been on it a few times just for fun, but it doesn't start or stop anywhere near where I go in my life. So it's expansion isn't anything I'd care about. So I'd vote against it.

[7962]

19. With MARTA, its a bit different

Atlanta's MARTA rail system has several routes, but they dont go out far enough. Most people outside the perimeter think if the trains run out there the crooks will ride the trains out to rob them. Which is stupid because in Atlanta, crooks have cars just like everyone else! And it'd be a little odd to see a guy on a train toting a flatscreen tv. Traffic is awful EVERY day with those people coming into town from the suburbs. Extending the rail system would help that, but like you said, nobody will vote for more taxes.
I'd be happy if they just went south of the airport. Because you have to pay 12 bucks a day to park at the airport!

[Monk06]

11. Translink has gone downhill since it turned the management of the bus system over to

Coast Mountain bus company, a private an poorly run company that used to be based in North Vancouver. Known for surely drivers and indifferent service. I'm handicapped and was verbally threatened by one of their drivers who was subsequently fired.

The Canada Line was a major extension to Richmond that was competed only five years ago. Further extension will take place in Surrey. None of those plans are in advanced development so the money from this sales tax would end up in Mayor Gregor Robertsons greasy hands to fund his pet pedestrian friendly Green projects which have been a disaster and which make transit more difficult for disabled folks like myself.

That's why Gregor pushed so hard for a plebiscite. He just wanted the extra mad money.

Transit ran a lot better before management was privatized.

[LiberalLovinLug]

12. Not the mayors fault

It was Premier Christy Clark that forced mayors to hold a referendum. Her plan was to shuffle all the blame onto the municipalities. Instead of just making the hard decisions herself, funding it from the Provincial coffers, (a small increase in corporate tax would have done it) she off-loaded the responsibility (and the blame). Of course the mayors wanted it to pass anyways, but they did not appreciate being made Christy's toadies.

Now folks like yourself will not be getting any new services any time soon. And the whole transit funding problem with be split up and each municipality will have to tackle it on their own with varying degrees of success or failure, putting the whole transit system into a quagmire. All because the Canadian Tax payers Federation, the Fraser Institute and other right wing loudmouths took it on as a personal attack on their ideology. and now it is all even more confusing and thus will cost all of us more, while we wait longer for any improvements. And that obviously also includes services for the disabled.

[Monk06]

15. No love for the Canadian Taxpayer's Association but nobody likes or trusts Gregor. Vancouver has

turned into one huge construction site since he became mayor. Ad that to the summer closure of Granville Street so a bunch of hustlers can sell ice cream while buses are rerouted a block away from the Canada line stations which was designed to link up with the bus system.

Then the increasing number of special events choking up the West End making it very difficult for disabled people to get on a bus to do their shopping. Why should I have to spend an hour to go five blocks and back on a bus because of World Yoga Day or Canada Day or St Patrick's Day. St Pat's when there are fewer Irish in Vancouver than Somalis. Every time there is a parade the West End is cut off from the rest of Vancouver for four to six hours. You can't even get out of the neighborhood by cab.

Gregor made his fortune in Colorado as an organic farmer (wink wink) before he moved back to BC and joined the Greens which is just a party of middle class denizens of the Jacuzzi Archipelago, rich middle aged hippies selling nutritional supplements and medical pot.

There I feel better now

[freshwest]

16. The privileged over running the rest with pride, once again. n/t

[Fiendish Thingy]

13. It was a bad proposal

Living in BC, many communities who have minimal rail and bus service would still have had a tax increase if the referendum passed. Translink has a reputation for being over budget, behind schedule and filled with corrupt cronies.