I'd like to see a ban on state road projects in counties that take more in state expenditures than they pay in with taxes.

@1 - YES YES YES. This thing had me madder than a hornet yesterday and I'm not much less upset 24 hours later. Imbeciles. BUILD TRANSIT NOW.

@1&2 I'd like to go one step further, and give those counties that actively vote in favor of spending money on transportation, and generating the taxes to cover that, the larger share of the state's transportation budget.

1-3: And if a rural bridge washes out and the tax revenue is insufficient, then tough luck for those fly-overs, right?

@1! Right! Amazing!

@4: Of course, just like the homeless and poor - right?

@8. Hypocrisy only works one way here. You should know that by now.

@9: Indeed, it never ceases to amaze me.

I hate defending Republicans, but holy shit, Charles, get your facts straight. The Republicans in Indiana did not ban transit. They banned spending on light rail. To quote the Indy Star (which is part of USA Today):

The law gave Indianapolis and most surrounding counties the ability to raise income taxes for public transit through a ballot initiative. But to get enough votes from the Republican-dominated legislature, fiscal conservatives insisted on the elimination of light rail, fearing that high costs might eventually require a taxpayer bailout.

Such a position is not one I would favor, but given the way that light rail projects are built in this country, it is a reasonable one. Often light rail (like streetcars) are built based on bullshit. They are built to please suburban interests, who feel like their little sprawling town is the same as Brooklyn, and goddammit, they deserve some light rail. That often means that cities spend a bunch of money on poorly performing rail lines, and very little on buses, even though the buses move way more people (and would move even more if they were adequately funded). Given the fact that Indianapolis is a sprawling low density "city", the actions of these Republicans are quite reasonable. They may have prevented Indianapolis from fucking up transit in ways that so many cities have.

But now, of course, these same Republicans are chasing the all mighty Amazon bucks, so they aren't worried about blowing billions on a bullshit rail line that runs every half hour, and carry fewer than a half dozen of our buses (Sacramento here we come). As long as you please the Amazon gods, who cares whether you provide good transit for the people.

Jesus, Charles -- do your fucking job. I know you are smart, but do some real fucking research. The article and the density map I linked to are very easy to find. I hate defending Republicans, especially Indiana Republicans. I need to go drink something.

@11: Now you're nuancing this to conflate geography and political stereotypes with taxation policy to try to take the blemish off of your own hypocrisy.

It's not working.

Now that the precedent has been firmly established, it's important that Seattle reps meddle with local projects voted on in Spokane, Vancouver, Walla Walla, etc. Sauce for the goose.

"It's now accepted that the young people of our day dig transit."

You should clarify that it's "young people in a few major urban areas." If you leave Seattle, you'll find that young people dig cars.

So, what was our legislature supposed to do in this situation? Wait for legal challenges to Sound Transit's valuation methodology to succeed, resulting in a much larger loss of revenue?

The Crossroads of America! Where tornado alley meets with stifling humid summers and unbearably cold “polar vortex” winters! Sounds perfect for Amazon, but its going to take a lot more than streetcars or buses. Wherever Amazon goes, it has to have a thriving liberal city base with short-sighted political leaders willing to bow easily to commands with already-well-established municipal revenues to support its needs and wants. Much like Seattle did with development, gentrification and housing to accommodate its employees. “Sure- we’ll build whatever’s you want for your employees and we’ll make it all look mind-numbingly indistinguishable. And we’ll go one better and tax the residents on everything so we can keep Amazon here and happy! Would you like fries with that?”