Goin' For The Transit Tax

You know I support the County's Open Space ballot issue 1A, and I've been reading, asking around and pondering the transit tax (issue 1B) and this weekend I decided to call the County's bluff and vote for the tax extension.

Why describe it that way? The merits of what the money would go towards I found to be somewhat less than compelling. Good ideas on their own, but somehow not hitting me as crucial. In fact the scope of future transit improvements demand a larger-than-Boulder-County regional scope and funding mechanism. However, unlike the Lafayette transit improvement issues which I opposed for fiscal policy reasons, I see the extension of a current tax as being more practical. These projects and improvements will happen as money comes in as opposed to being financed on credit.

That said, the County is taking a step towards tax saturation with this one. In another couple years when some other issue needs more money and people see how much they're already giving the county, this will make any new tax harder to sell. By supporting 1B now I'll be more skeptical of a new tax later. So quite intentionally I'm looking at 1B in a vacuum, accepting the County's rationale that it's needed, and not weighing it against likely future demands. On their own those projects will be "nice to have" while debatably more crucial issues lurk around the corner, below the horizon. I'll play their game - and call their bluff.