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The state and city budget deficits are really taking a toll on California drivers. Literally. The Golden Gate Bridge is now going to charge a $3.00 toll for Carpools. It used to be free. Parking tickets in San Francisco have increased substantially and even the parking meters have extended hours till 10 PM. It used to be 6 PM. The bridge district's board of directors on Friday voted unanimously, to charge tolls to carpoolers not only on the Golden Gate Bridge, but all 7 bridges. It is all about balancing the budget. Regular toll on all bridges will go from $4.00 to $5.oo on July 1st.
SF Chronicle 5/29/10
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Dont you think that with all of the supportive propaganda about saving gas, the government is being slightly contradictory. Also how negative of n effect do you think this will have on carpoolers? Do you have any idea how many carpoolers there were previous to this change, taking advantage of the free pass since they are sharing cars?
ReplyDeleteAlso this got me to start thinking about how with tighter budgets, our impact on the enviornment might worsen because of the governments inability to promote enviornmentally friendly things.
ReplyDeleteNot only is the state and city budget deficit taking a toll on California drivers, but it is also taking a toll on the law enforcement. For example, in Huntington Beach the budget which is 58 million, was cut down to 57 million. The department was unable to replace the 22 retired officers, and because of this they are risking the safety of many civilians. Maybe these increases in toll for the 7 bridges are now present to try and pay for more law enforcement. What do you think of this?
ReplyDeleteWell Agustin, I feel that in times of trouble, our government will spare no attempt at raising prices or pulling in more money than it already does. I recently had heard that carpool tolls were being put in place, and when I was asked what I thought the government would do, I didn't even hesitate to say that they would charge as much as they could. Our government is similar to a sponge, water (or money) goes in and then is squeezed out. But if there isn't much water to squeeze in, then the sponge practically loses its purpose. So in an attempt to stabilize themselves, government officials will always take more than they should during an economic crisis.
ReplyDeleteI see. So you are pretty much saying that the government is forcing money out of people to stabilize the economy. Since people are not investing, and keeping money to themselves the government forces it out of them by increasing things like the toll. What about the budget cuts for police enforcement? Do you think this is good or bad?
ReplyDeleteAustin's right, the California state government isn't doing so well right now. These changes may seem contradictory, however if it gets them more money so they don't have to do any more budget cuts, I will feel fine about them.
ReplyDeleteWell Mark, there are many things to take into consideration. One being that it would be more beneficial to get the money out of the hands of the rich, because by taking money from the poor we are only putting more people in a bad socio-economic spot. And once we done that enough, there will be more poor than one could have ever imagined. Then there will be a sort of chaos and we won't be helping the government. It's a vicious cycle once it gets started. My second point is that if we are in a position where we are forced to take from our own people, then why don't we put those people to work in some way, shape or form. If we get them working then we strengthen the economy. So we should create jobs and make the U.S. a bigger Cash Cow.
ReplyDeleteThe government is such a stupid concept. I don't see why people have such a difficulty understanding that taxation is theft. The government basically says that they are the only one's allowed to build bridges, and therefore they are forcing you to engage in a unilateral contract involving the initiation of force, which is so blatantly evil.
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