Alan Oslin’s Oct. 17 letter to the editor regarding his support of I 976, concludes with the following sentence: “So, don’t let the commercials using doom-and-gloom tactics scare you into voting against I 976. We have a gas tax to pay for repairs on each gallon of gas you use.”
Oslin has summarized the issue regarding the recent TV tactics being used to scare the people of Snohomish County to reject I 976. He reminds the readers that there have always been funds (which seem to increase more often than not) available for transportation infrastructure.
The basic problem is that the state Legislature has for decades abdicated the responsibility for planning for the use of funds for highway infrastructure. For decades the Legislature has ignored problems with our roads and bridges, the education system, the environment and the rising cost and mismanagement of our health and the general welfare of its residents.
The Legislature has done very little planning on issues to find solutions to problems in any of these areas. The answer they come up with every time, is to get more money from its citizens, to raise taxes. Think of all of the new fees that have been imposed on the residents of this state in the last twenty years.
Oslin’s reminder is simple. Do not let the Legislature bamboozle us again with scare tactics again. Even the use of publicly paid employees to make political statements on TV should not scare us into believing that we must approve another tax or doom will follow.
Vote for I-976. The approval of I-976 might even force a new Legislature to make better planning decisions.
Ignacio Castro Jr.
Edmonds
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