AJC Sponsored T-SPLOST Debate

Letter to AJC  7-14-2012

The  AJC  sponsored debate between the supporters and opponents of the proposed T-SPLOST brought to light several very important facts for all Atlantans to be aware of.

First: Growth, employment, and prosperity of a metro area are directly linked to the quality of transportation and ease of access. Atlanta, as we all know, falls far short on these attributes.

Second: House prices and real estate values are related to the perceived quality of transportation and ease of access. Atlanta's  house prices have declined faster than all other metro areas in the USA and have failed to rise like other cities due to our lack of transportation and ease of access.

Third: Over the last three decades,  Atlanta has dropped from being amongst the leaders to being number one eighty nine out of two hundred metro areas in the world as rated on an economic desirability scale. This is mainly due to our poor transportation and lack of planning for the future. This rating deters new business and will hinder growth of  our local economy.

As an observation on the positions taken, it is clear to me that both sides in the debate agree that we need to do something. The disagreements on the T-SPLOST seem to be partly ideology and partly the choice of the projects to be funded. If we could put aside our differences and work towards a common solution for the good of the entire region  we could once again see Atlanta surging ahead and prospering. 

To that end its clear to me that  we should proceed  to implement the one percent additional  tax and establish a board of overseers to ensure the funds are properly utilized. I also think that the lower priorities on the list of projects could be revisited to ensure that all of them are directed to improving our economy and not just short term traffic fixes. 

The long term view needs to be the guiding principle in this decision and short sighted attitudes to developing the region will only make our city decline further and reduce the value of our real estate  even  more.