The vote is scheduled for the end of July.  Voters in the Atlanta region are going to be asked to vote a 10-year one-percent addition to the sales tax to fund needed transportation infrastructure improvements.  The proponents of this plan are prepared to spend $8 million on a publicity campaign to get this thing passed.  Opponents will not have nearly so much to spend, but they’ll have anti-tax fervor on their side.

I’m registered to vote in Florida, not in the Atlanta area, so I’ll have no vote in this matter.  Frankly I haven’t spent much time at all studying the issue, but I’ll correct that situation so that I can offer and moderate some interesting conversation on the subject on the Atlanta-centered portion of my show.

Right now I just have a few thoughts … we’ll make them bullet points.

• I don’t for one minute believe that this will be a 10-year tax.  Unless there is some impenetrable firewall in the legislation to prevent it, there is no doubt in my mind the politicians will find a way to extend this sales tax well beyond the 10-year limitation.  Remember the Ga. 400 toll booths? 

• I understand that 50% of the revenue from the sales tax will go to fund mass transit.  A lot of voters in these parts just flat-out don’t like mass transit.  The Fulton and DeKalb County experiences with MARTA have soured people.  Let’s see … we’ve had (1) race-based pressure to run a rail line to a welfare housing project; (2) a career welfare recipient as chairman of the MARTA board of directors; (3) bypassing a station what is now the Braves’ stadium so the city wouldn’t lose parking revenues.  Fact is, many people won’t get on that system after sundown.  We need more spending on THIS?  I’m telling you now, no matter what plans are presented before the vote, after the vote racial politics will enter the picture and those plans will be changed. 

• Just how is this money really going to be spent?  Will the same imbeciles that came up with the rail line from Centennial Olympic Park to the MLK Center have a say in all of this?  If so – count a number of voters out.

• Are the same people who had a hand in designing the Ga. 400/I-85 Interchange going to have any say-so whatsoever in the planning and engineering for improvements paid for by this money?  Again … if so, not good.

I’ve taken a look at some --- just a few --- of the projects that are to be funded with this money.  Among those projects I notice the synchronization of traffic lights.  Are you kidding me?  Things are so rough around here that we need to raise taxes to synchronize traffic lights?  I think one could be excused for being just a tad bit suspicious that projects and improvements that should be made under our present tax structure are being shoveled into the list of improvements for this tax increase.

Sorry … not convinced.  I might be convinced … but not yet. 

So you can start studying this for yourself … Here’s an interactive list of the improvements that are going to be made – or that they say are going to be made – with the one percent sales tax increase.