Right On Daily Blog

Much has been made about the Placer County Transportation Agency hiring a local PR firm to send mail and conducting town-hall meetings floating the idea of a Transportation Sales Tax Increase measure on the local ballot.

We have written here several times that our local Partisan electeds have been absolutely useless in helping local government with anything. Until recently, all of south placer was under the dark cloud of Gaines. (Roseville has a different Senator now)

While the “third house” poured money in to Beth Gaines at the behest of the failed former Assembly Permanent Minority leader – Placer County got nothing out of the deal. (but the donors got their vote and the failed former permanent minority leader got her leadership vote)

Placer County got less than zero. I believe because some had the temerity to stand up and ask why our Assembly-member was so incompetent that she had to vote against her own amendment on the floor of the Assembly and why our State Senator is rarely seen at any events that are not fundraisers or self-promoting appearances – Placer County has received the only thing either Gaines are of average intelligence at doing, getting even.

In this case – their revenge is doing nothing to help Placer County with the highway 65 problem. You know the nice four-lane freeway that ended up with several traffic signals on it and an abrupt lane reduction at the Lincoln City Limits? Yeah, not an extra dime from the state, that is why there aren’t interchanges – instead, the low-budget traffic signals. But – there were Ted and Beth posing for the pictures of the grand opening of the additional miles in Lincoln.

Where did the money for the recent inadequate additions to the Lincoln part of Hwy 65 come from? (besides out of the strapped budgets of local government?)

Part one was raiding 20 years worth existing, long since budgeted state money, without a single extra dime brought in by our incompetent duo of Gaines… and the rest?

… evil earmarks from our former congressman John Doolittle – who the Gaines helped run out of office. (Doolittle was one of many that helped build the political career of the Gaines, only to get screwed over like so many others – now we all get our turn)

Who is our Congressman now? Well – he voted no on the 5 year Highway Bill.

Why is this an endorsement of a tax increase by he who is our Congressman now?

I-80 is a disaster. Hwy 65 is a disaster. But – we can’t afford to fix it because the state raids local government funds and spends 80+% of the budgets of local governments due to state mandates.

Highway 65 needs to be three lanes and the traffic signals north of Lincoln need to go + it needs to be widened to four lanes to the county line. (Like it should have been years ago until Jerry Brown killed funding in the 1970’s for it and the Highway 99 freeway in the north state) I-80 is still backed up and the interchange with Hwy 65 is a 50’s era engineering boondoggle – forced by NIMBY’s who refused to grant right-of-ways when what little of 65 was built forcing the bizarre angle of it.

That Congressman – Tom McClintock is nowhere on this issue like the Gaines – but, worse if anyone from local government asks for help, they get a lecture about corruption in government and a foot in their back out the door.

When given a chance to actually do something about the problem – he chose the paradigm of demanding ideological perfection in the bill – (HR 22) rather than attempting to amend it or help South Placer County. His No vote likely means we will not receive a dime – but we deserve that dime, because I-80 is a federal highway.

The irony is that the PCTPA has been doing all the environmental impact BS and the planning for said projects. How have those reports been paid for? Earmarked money brought in by John Doolittle. Doolittle has been out of office for 7 years, yet that money (That self-righteous ideological zealots attacked him for bringing home) is STILL paying our bills!

Please note – there is no more state money for 20 years unless someone does something. Now where is the money we need going to come from if our Congressman, and the Gaines Dynasty could not be bothered?

The pursuit of pious self-righteous ideological narcissism is indeed destructive in many areas of government, and in this case it is going to force the citizens of Placer County to tax themselves in order to not be threatened with death and/or injury from driving on our only two freeways (which are woefully inadequate). In my mind’s eye – freeway safety is a pro-life position and a quality of life issue. (you know that oft-used word Liberty)

… and we were told, and lectured about how wrong the primary challenge to Beth Gaines was by some of the very donors whose businesses are adversely affected by her lack of action. … and we were told, and lectured about how wrong federal earmarks are. Now, we’ve went from wrong to nothing at all – and now to less than zero, a 1/2 cent sales tax increase in order to do the job ourselves that our local partisan electeds won’t do.

The fact that we have a debate on the Tax-Increase Measure because we did it to ourselves by refusing to stand up for Andy Pugno, John Allard, Les Baugh – and anyone else not named Gaines who demonstrated that they did want to govern versus reign.

Perhaps Tom McClintock may have cared if he actually had to drive through the I-80 / Hwy 65 area – but he still lives in Elk Grove (as he has the entire time he has been our congressman). Perhaps the Gaines no longer care about Placer County Issues – as they live in El Dorado County.

The sick irony is that the causes of this pending tax increase won’t even have to pay the tax as none of them live here.

While I agree with Tom McClintock on almost all issues, he has been a colossal failure as a representative – and that failure is going to raise my taxes (not his).