On Pots Claiming Tea Kettles are Black

Here’s a fun little political story from my neck of the woods. People for Progressive Transportation (PPT) have filed a lawsuit against Whatcom Transit Authority, challenging the language used in the framing of an upcoming ballot measure. The full text of the measure reads thusly:

“Shall public transportation services in Whatcom County be maintained and improved by authorizing the Whatcom Transportation Authority to impose an additional two-tenths of one percent (0.2%) sales and use tax effective October 1, 2010?”

Now before I get into what the PPT find so irksome about the wording of the question, let me give you a little background info. Bellingham and a good chunk of Whatcom County have a great public transportation bus system. Buses start early in the morning and run until around 10 pm seven days a week. They’re used by a plethora of residents, including students, low-income workers, bicyclists (there are bike racks on the front of all buses, many cyclists will hop a bus to avoid the really steep hills), and people who just don’t feel like trying to find a parking spot or feed the meter downtown. Being at the mercy of a temperamental pickup, Kristen and I have become old hands when it comes to buses. And while, like everything else, there are downsides to public transportation (the weird, the loud, the stinky, etc.), we both agree that a dependable bus line is pretty fucking great.

And with the economy the way it is, public transit has become more popular than ever. Buses are a great way to save if you’re strapped for cash. Paying $30 a month for unlimited bus rides is a solid alternative to throwing down hundreds for car payments, insurance and gas each month just to get around. Sure, it’s nice to go where you want when you want, but it’s also nice to pay the rent on time.

Thing is, even with the surge of riders over the past couple of years, the WTA is in a major funding crisis. If I recall correctly, funding for the WTA used to come primarily from a vehicle-related tax. When motorists complained that they shouldn’t have to pay for non-drivers to get around, too, the funding was changed to be reliant on fare charges and a pittance from sales tax (I read this somewhere but I’m too lazy at the moment to dig up the article and cite my sources, so if you locals notice I have my facts wrong, please let me know). Initially the WTA just tightened its belt and got by. But when the recession really started getting nasty, revenue generated by sales tax took a tailspin. As did programs which rely on sales tax, like public transit. In an effort to make up for the nasty budget deficits, WTA raised fare rates from $.75 per ride with a free transfer to $1. They hoped that with the dramatic uptick in riders, an extra quarter per fare would help get the red out. But even with ridership at an all-time high, WTA budget shortfalls are still huge. So WTA’s been forced to do one of two things to balance their budget; either they cut out a good chunk of county routes and all Sunday service, or they go to the taxpayers and ask for a 2/10th of a percent sales tax increase.

So that’s why the proposition will be on Whatcom County ballots in April. Asking for a tax-increase is never an easy thing, especially not in a recession. But the WTA has taken an admirable position; they’ve laid everything on the table. They’re essentially saying that hey, taxes suck, and they really suck right now. But if you the taxpayer want to keep this branch of public service viable and able to meet the demands of increased ridership, you’re gonna have to pony up. The alternative is a loss of service.

Getting back to PPT, the group is upset because of two words within the ballot question: “maintain” and “improve.” According to the PPT lawsuit, “[t]he public will be easily be misled by the ballot title into believing that this tax increase will improve services…”

Basically the PPT is alleging that even though the WTA is planning to use the money (if the measure even passes) to maintain and improve bus service, the question on the ballot shouldn’t say that the money will go toward maintaining and improving bus service, because then voters might get the idea that using tax money on maintenance and improvement toward bus service would be a good thing, and the idea of using tax dollars on good things could sway their vote.

Yeah.

The idiocy of this suit pretty much speaks for itself, I won’t waste time dissecting it in detail. But since the PPT has started the whole “misleading titles” argument, let’s look at one more. Remember, the PPT actually stands for People for Progressive Transportation. Progressive Transportation. Progressive. This is a group of rightwing anti-tax Teabaggers calling themselves People for PROGRESSIVE Transportation in an area whose political leanings are collectively, solidly and consistently left of center. And they’re the ones complaining about misleading titles? Give me a fucking break.

Maybe blatant hypocrisy is just the new calling card for the Right now? That could be why pretty much all of the GOP is up in arms against a healthcare bill that’s pretty much exactly what they wanted to push during the Clinton era and pretty much exactly like the public health bill 2008 GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney authored and oversaw into legislation while he was the governor of Massachusetts. And maybe that’s why Neocon icon Sarah Palin can call for Rahm Emanuel to resign when he calls a group “fucking retards,” and then excuse fellow rightwinger Rush Limbaugh for saying the exact same thing to the exact same group because he was being “satirical.” Or why GOP Congressmen denounce the Democrats’ stimulus bill as Socialist legislation one day, then take credit for bringing funds to their constituents the next.

Maybe they should just change their motto to “GOP: The Party of No… Wait.”

[Photo 1 via localism.com, phot 2 via the Bellingham Herald]