2015 Metro Vancouver Transportation and Transit Plebiscite - Result In - 62% NO

[ronthecivil]

So...it's only for Metro Vancouver right?

Why don't they do what they always do? increase the tax on gasoline.

Spread out the costs a little?

The fact that gas is already the most expensive in North America?

It's already going to be an uphill battle to get a yes vote?

[ronthecivil]

As long as it is for the southern part of the province I say raise it by 2% and start budgeting for some capital expenditures as well.

250 million a year buys you a lot of capital projects if you want. If you took all of it to pay off a loan for capital projects right now and turned it into a pile of money that works out to 6-7 billion dollars. That would be enough to start building Surrey's light rail, the line out to UBC, the new Putello, with a couple billion left over to put in the 11 Blines they are talking about putting in.

2% would be a billion dollars a year. Transit would probably be free in that situation.

[aGENT]

250 million a year buys you a lot of capital projects if you want. If you took all of it to pay off a loan for capital projects right now and turned it into a pile of money that works out to 6-7 billion dollars. That would be enough to start building Surrey's light rail, the line out to UBC, the new Putello, with a couple billion left over to put in the 11 Blines they are talking about putting in.

2% would be a billion dollars a year. Transit would probably be free in that situation.

If they want ANY hope of this passing they need to get in front of this ASAP and show people a clear concise plan on how/when they plan to spend that money and how much it will benefit them.

Right now all people are going to hear is "extra tax for corrupt, wasteful poorly run transit". That's a VERY tough sell.

[drummer4now]

So glad I live on the Island..

I can't say this enough.

[MoneypuckOverlord]

a percentage of every gas purchase we make goes towards public transit already... why do they want a half a percent increase?

fuck off government.

[Undrafted]

Privatise translink.

If the private company is incompetent, you fire them.

Problem solved.

I wish it were that simple. Even if TransLink could be "fired" (which they should have been long ago, if it were possible), who or what is waiting in the wings of the private sector to step in and replace them?

[DonLever]

They say the average taxpayer will pay $125 per year. Well, they said the HST will cost the average taxpayer $200, yet voters overwhelming rejected the HST. I doubt this tax will succeed either. The HST was sound economic policy but was still rejected since most people don't want to pay more taxes.

[inane]

It's really easy to say 'no more taxes', but OK, then what.

That's the question. No one wants to pay more like this, but what's the cost of not paying? Everyone complains about the current situation, but a no vote doesn't even mean maintaining the status quo, it means getting a lot worse.

Specific projects are identified with a specific amount of money that will be audited and tracked. I don't know how you say no to this.

[Grapefruits]

They say the average taxpayer will pay $125 per year. Well, they said the HST will cost the average taxpayer $200, yet voters overwhelming rejected the HST. I doubt this tax will succeed either. The HST was sound economic policy but was still rejected since most people don't want to pay more taxes.

HST was rejected because the tax payer had a grudge on how it was brought in, and then there was Vanderscam getting involved.

As for the tax, it’s a big NO from me. Translink is far too incompetent for me to want to give them any more money than I already do. Property tax, hydro bill, gas tax, parking tax, etc for a system I hardly use.

[spur1]

Hello...why are we paying taxes period...if we had responsible government for the people they would be giving us a check every month on the revenues and investments that we the people have.

There in lies the myth...the crown is not the same as the government....the crown is just another corporation.

[ronthecivil]

I wish it were that simple. Even if TransLink could be "fired" (which they should have been long ago, if it were possible), who or what is waiting in the wings of the private sector to step in and replace them?

Any large engineering company.

[Grapefruits]

So they just said on the news it will bring in an estimated 250 million a year, and will cost 5 million for the referendum.

[ronthecivil]

So they just said on the news it will bring in an estimated 250 million a year, and will cost 5 million for the referendum.

I didn't just conjure up the ideas for the light rail for Surrey, the Broadway subway, the new Putello, the 11 Blines, and the improved bus service from nowhere. They have been talking about it on CKNW all day.....

[-DLC-]

Because 5% of a six figure salary doesn't begin to dent the budget in billions of dollars in needed infrastructure?

I swear it's going to take the Putello bridge falling into the river on a Friday afternoon commute (which would require nothing more than a MODERATE earthquake to occur) for people to figure out that our whole infrastructure system is inadequate, obsolete, and in a state of general disrepair.

But hey, why think of practical solutions when we can take a shot at the current government right?

Because if the Government constantly mismanages money and makes bad decisions then why not? And they keep giving themselves raises, bonuses and perks so perhaps trimming some fat is in order rather than always looking to the public to dig deeper into their pockets.

The rich get richer but we shouldn't complain, right?

[ronthecivil]

Hello...why are we paying taxes period...if we had responsible government for the people they would be giving us a check every month on the revenues and investments that we the people have.

There in lies the myth...the crown is not the same as the government....the crown is just another corporation.

If that's the case we should be electing goverments that take the short term pain required to have large surpluses to pay off the debt and build that nest egg so that at least future generations have that to look forward to.

But alas, the people that are in charge of hiring the people in charge are not that bright and tend to get bored by dreary things like finance.

[ronthecivil]

Because if the Government constantly mismanages money and makes bad decisions then why not? And they keep giving themselves raises, bonuses and perks so perhaps trimming some fat is in order rather than always looking to the public to dig deeper into their pockets.

The rich get richer but we shouldn't complain, right?

I am not sure who your target is there or what fat we should trim?

But if you are keen on getting rid of waste by all means privatize the hospitals and just about every municipal infrastructure beaurocracy there is.

When I lived in California the company I was working for was the San Mateo county water department. I think it was like half a dozen people working full time with a couple extra once in a while needed. Compare that with the staffing at the comparable GVRD.

Problem is that people like to complain about the problems but are unwilling to embrace the solutions.

[CanadianLoonie]

I am not sure who your target is there or what fat we should trim?

But if you are keen on getting rid of waste by all means privatize the hospitals and just about every municipal infrastructure beaurocracy there is.

When I lived in California the company I was working for was the San Mateo county water department. I think it was like half a dozen people working full time with a couple extra once in a while needed. Compare that with the staffing at the comparable GVRD.

Problem is that people like to complain about the problems but are unwilling to embrace the solutions.

Metal-licker!

[riffraff]

So glad I live on the Island..

I can't say this enough.

Here here good sir....we've said it before....cant even leave the house in Vancouver without a brown bill.

[KoreanHockeyFan]

How about releasing the "plan" to the public first...

[inane]

How about releasing the "plan" to the public first...

The plan is out there. It was in the announcement with the question...