T-SPLOST Debate: Not a Perfect Plan, But a Plan Nonetheless

by Callie McLean

First off, let me just say that I don't like sales taxes either. They are regressive and affect poorer people more. There's no getting around that. However, most of that sales tax income actually comes from people outside of Georgia. I forget the exact percentage I heard, but it's astoundingly high.

Secondly, yeah, it's going mostly outside our area, which sucks. But I know many of us in the area, myself included, travel far and wide to get to work, to shop at certain places that are just not in town or in our area. Those really terrible areas that are begging for improvement will affect those daily travels. Not only that, but if traffic is alleviated throughout the entire area, then the stress in other areas, including hopefully our own, will be lessened.

And in general - I am not saying that this is a perfect plan, but it IS a plan. If we vote no, who knows when they will come up with something else, if they will. It will at least be years. And what that will look like - who knows. This took a long time to create, and was bi-partisan and many people were consulted on this. I don't often say this about politics, but I do believe they did the best that they could. Also JOB CREATION. We have a high unemployment rate people.

I also believe that they have the intention for this to be as transparent as possible. I hope that that remains the case.

And finally, something needs to be done. Our infrastructure is broken. We already have a terrible reputation for it, and we will look like fools if we refuse to help ourselves. That prevents us from getting businesses and more investment. No one wants to invest in something that is broken. Ultimately, if we don't invest in ourselves, the federal government will also not invest in us. Think of it as a matching funds grant. That we won't get if we don't invest in ourselves. In fact, we will likely get less funds than we do now, resulting in even further deterioration of our infrastructure and more congestion with the increase in population.

I hope people can think about the long-term effects of this and the bigger picture.

Ms. McLean, a resident of Ormewood Park, is an exhibit designer for a metro Atlanta-based U.S. cultural resources management firm and the writer of the Fit Nerd Girl blog.