24thstate.com: The Metro Tax Lie
"Some of us ride it. ALL of us pay for it."
***24th State blog (www.24thstate.com) just put out a great piece on more Metro propaganda that completely misleads the public…
The Lie That Is The Metro Tax Advertising
I’ve now heard radio commercials and seen television commercials for the Metro Tax increase we’re supposed to vote on in April, and can say with a straight face it’s not truthful.
Some of us ride it, All of us need it.
How very clever, but that’s not what we’re voting on in April.
No matter how the vote goes, we will still have Metro. People will still ride it to Cardinals games. Wash U students and Wash U faculty and staff will still get free passes, and those who use Metro to get around currently are still going to have the services.
The increase in funding is to be used for expansion. Note that nowhere in the advertising do they discuss extending the line. No one talks about the fact that Metro has been losing money for years, long before the economic crisis hit. Metro is a money-losing operation. If they wanted the money to shore up the program, they should say so.
But they don’t. They want to take money and expand it, leaving us even further in the red in the future. It’s like being underwater on a house, and then using a line of credit to add a garage. It’s insanity, and the purpose is to shovel more of our money to the people building the lines and those running the campaigns.
Who do you think pays for those commercials? Who is paying for the phone bank? Why is SEIU MO/KS State Council, the political arm of SEIU, in the Greater St Louis Transit Alliance?
It’s because this is about taking more of our money, and giving it to their pals.
If the Vote Yes on Proposition A people won’t even bother to tell you the truth about why they want the money, how can we trust them to take care of the money when they get it. The loss in Metro services that will occur when the stimulus funds runs out is still going to occur. This tax won’t fix it. It will instead be siphoned off for $150 million a mile expansion. That means they will have to come back to us in a few years, demanding more.
Educate yourself.
http://www.24thstate.com/2010/02/the-lie-that-is-the-metro-tax-advertising.html
March 1st, 2010 at 4:53 pm
Why do WashU-BJC employees and students get passes much cheaper than anyone else?
Because it is a great way to
inflate ridership statistics by dumping a bunch of free riders into the systemprovide the students with access to our community’s resources and business.March 8th, 2010 at 10:06 pm
You say that overall you support a transit system. Yet name a transit system in the whole of the United States that earns a profit or breaks-even.
Can you?
No you can’t because they don’t exist. So saying, “Metro is losing money” is no real argument.
And last I checked MODOT was also not turning any profit. Nor Lambert etc etc etc
Yes, transit requires subsidy. But stupid transit requires more subsidy. Building a gold plated rail line that carries few passengers is a costly mistake for which we are now paying. The promise of more rail lines is the top reason to vote against Proposition A.
March 10th, 2010 at 8:10 pm
Your using the fact that Metro is not a money maker as basis for your attacks and opposition to gov’t funding (tax) holds virtually no water… there are no “Public Transit” agencies in this country that make money ..all are at least partially funded by local, state and federal aid.. Facts show that of all “Public Transit” entities Metro receives the least state level operations funding of any state..less than 1%..whereas the majority of states provide at least 20% of operational funding..the use of local, state and federal funds are a requisite for the success of any PUBLIC agency ..thus the “Public Transportation” designation… Please do some homework before spreading false and out of context information !!! The fact that your organization has no charter should preclude your being recognized….
Yes, all transit agencies receive subsidies. And I personally (Nick Kasoff, editor of comments) am not against that. Indeed, were this a small operating levy to sustain and modernize bus service, without the Metrolink expansion promise, I would not be opposing it. But any plan to build additional rail lines, and to extend bus service into suburban areas where density is low, are trojan horses which will bankrupt Metro again. That is what Proposition A is, and that’s why I’m against it.
March 11th, 2010 at 10:44 am
If they never mention expansion in the commercials, I wonder how I knew they wanted expansion. I think whoever didn’t know it wasn’t paying attention to this issue. I personally know a lot of people who would benefit from expansion, who don’t work for Metro or an involved construction union. Needs and the people thereof are being ignored. Ignoring them makes you just as bad as the so-called callous and greedy entities you rage against.
March 12th, 2010 at 3:32 am
You think that WashU doesn’t pay for those student passes? LOL.
March 12th, 2010 at 3:25 pm
$900 Million already going to metro expansion (NORTH/SOUTH) from Stimulus package.
The metro is already in the red, please see the link.
http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/view/16924
What grinds my gears is this is “wag the dog” taxing — and even the commercial pushes “Social Justice”.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Get out of my AMERICA!
I lived and worked downtown for eight years. The trains are nice — the places where they let you out are DUMPS.
I didn’t need to ever ride the metro except for time to time to the airport. But pulling a bag for 4 blocks downtown was a nightmare and scary.
Point is, Prop A is a bunch of crap. $900 Million of tax payer money will be spent in another FAILED program soon.
What they have in place now is ok.
March 16th, 2010 at 9:04 am
Some St. Louisans pay $300 in gasoline per month! Yet YOU try to tell people that they can’t afford a $300 increase in tax for the Metro. Prop A is the BEST thing that can ever happen to this city!!!!!!! People just need to be encouraged to use the Metro!
StoptheProp is backwards. Metro is progess!!!!!
If you think otherwise, you are too sheltered!!!!!!
People who are spending $300 a month in gasoline live in places where Metro can’t possibly serve them. At 25 miles per gallon and $3 a gallon, that’s somebody who is driving 30,000 miles a year. Nobody who lives in the city or an inner ring suburb is driving anywhere near that much. And for the person who lives in Wentzville and works in south county, Metro won’t help them at all.
March 16th, 2010 at 3:47 pm
Talk about Socialism! Taking Fed money to pay for our local Metro is fundamentally ’spreading the wealth’. Why should people all across our nation be paying taxes to fund our local project? I ask you! If Metro isn’t strong enough to stand on it’s own it should be scrapped. I do believe that a lot of money is totally wasted in the form of uncollected fares and ‘art’. The 3 times that I have used Metro, each time I witnessed numerous youth coming and going from the cars with no ticket. Just how much is Metro forfieting there?
March 16th, 2010 at 5:27 pm
This is dead on. Furthermore, I don’t want taxes raised for ANYTHING. If they want to spend more on something, they need to cut somewhere else.
March 20th, 2010 at 7:55 am
have you ever looked at St. Louis Missouri and compared to the other great cities of this country…Chicago, Boston, LA, NY, Boston, etc. etc etc. What do they all have and St. Louis does not have….a great light rail/train system. I want St. Louis to have that “big city” feel!!
They all also have ocean views from their downtown … well, Chicago technically doesn’t, but the Lake Michigan view looks just like the ocean. Our downtown has a view of the east riverfront. A hundred light rail lines won’t change that.
March 21st, 2010 at 7:05 am
a city is more than just its “downtown”
March 21st, 2010 at 7:47 am
you know taxes are a way of life…you are always going to have them….so just pay them. I recently got married…I heard from everyone that when you get married you are going to get so much back in taxes at the end of the year….well that did not happen. I’m married now and I got less filing jointly with my wife than I did as a single person. (and we used all the possible deductions that we were able to use like home and school loans etc.). Bottom line…taxes will be here anyway you go about it…so just pay them.
March 31st, 2010 at 12:24 pm
Art increases the worth of the city. We should be pleased that Metro is using some funds (a penny on the dollar of only the federal funds and less than that on federal taxes to buy it). We need to make St. Louis an attractive place to live.
April 1st, 2010 at 4:10 pm
First of all, it’s a great thing that students and employees of Wash U get free passes because there is a major parking problem on campus. Employees who decide to ride Metro (Bus and Train) to work every day decrease the clog of cars at Wash U. Don’t forget Wash U Med Center and Barnes Jewish…people who use Metro are leaving spots open for the rest of us to park so we can get medical care or visit friends/family.
As for Metro not serving outer rings of St. Louis…What???? Don’t forget the buses!! Chesterfield is a perfect example of a county area that will be majorly impacted if Proposition A does not pass. Maybe it won’t be YOU that is hurt, but employees of Chesterfield stores and services will be out of a ride and therefore probably out of a job.
Finally, just because some people say Metro is dangerous, doesn’t mean it is. It is clean, on time, cheap, and fun to ride. Before you decide not to vote YES to Prop A, please ride a bus or train. Ask your disabled friend or family member how they like riding the train, bus or Call-A-Ride. Make up your own mind, don’t just listen to the crowd. Just because we all don’t ride Metro, doesn’t mean we won’t be impacted by prop A not passing. Service will be cut, people will be stuck.
If Chesterfield businesses want to hire employees at very low wages, they should pay for the extension of transit to their area. In fact, that’s what they are doing right now. And that’s why Chesterfield’s mayor is leading the campaign for the tax increase. If you’re smart enough to get into Wash U, you should also be smart enough to understand corporate welfare.
And while I’m on the subject of corporate welfare, have you checked who is funding the $1.5 million campaign to pass this tax increase? No, it isn’t “hard working people who depend upon transit.” It’s the construction, engineering, and financing companies who will make millions of dollars every year if this tax passes. Again, corporate welfare.
So why did you say you support it?
- Nick
April 4th, 2010 at 2:58 pm
Do you realize that copyright infragments are illegal? The picture is a copyright violation of Metro’s “Pro-Transit” educational campaign. I had to take it in to the airport police. Copyright violations can carry up to 5 years in prison or a $5,000.00 fine or both.
It’s not a copyright infringement, it’s a parody. Nice try, though. And copyright infringement is not a criminal matter except in very specific circumstances specified in USC Title 17, chapter 5, section 506. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, try consulting a lawyer before posting foolish things on a blog.
- Nick
April 5th, 2010 at 5:56 pm
Well, it looks like I am going to have to demolish your fantasyland. Miss Cleo is a dirtbag. Psychics lie. I don’t believe in psychics. They are just a bunch of liars! Let me know where your crystal ball is so I can break it! I want my air to be nice and clean!