A majority of voters chose to keep the gasoline tax on Election Day. The status quo played the fear factor and it provided the margin of victory.

Logically, do taxpayers have a choice? Commuters in the population centers of Washington are at the mercy of the Department of Transportation. When no alternative or competition exists, the desperate victim will do anything for something to be done. They will even support the cause of the problem for an answer. any rationalized that a 9.5 cents per gallon tax over three years is paltry. Yet, the average person doesn’t compute the spin-off costs of transporting goods to market.

In a massive public outcry, 420,00 signatures were collected in 30 days to place Initiative 912 on the ballot. The message: We are over-taxed and under-served. With the passage of Initiative 900, we will see if billions of additional tax dollars will improve a broken system.

Ask yourself if you expect all these transportation projects to be on time, on schedule and within budget. Be cautiously optimistic and don’t hold your breath.

Bob Ross

Normandy Park