Sports News Links Features Business Opinion Obituaries Weather News of record News archives Recreation Golf Hiking, Etc. The state Senate Friday approved a transportation budget that is more symptom than solution. It uses all the revenue available for highway improvements and accomplishes next to nothing. For a state whose great metropolis has traffic congestion rated the second worst in the nation this budget is less than unacceptable, it's horrific. But it is a positive sign that legislators of both parties realize this, and are preparing to do something to make sure this budget is replaced by something that will make things better, not worse.
Courage is required to raise taxes as the economy slows, but there is no other way.
It doesn't have more than a third of that money. There is no question of timing. The money is needed and needed now, and there is no sleight of hand that can produce it without fees or taxation. The issue yet to be resolved is whether the Legislature will pass the necessary tax increases on its own, or put a tax and revenue package before the voters. Putting the entire matter before voters has political appeal and political safety, but there is the possibility that voters will be persuaded to vote it down.