New Tax, No Plan

All for Transportation's $16 Billion tax hike was created by a few urbanist transit advocates over drinks. Their campaign funded by special interests sold their creation as a 30 year "plan" to fix transportation in Hillsborough County.

But there is no plan for implementing anything.

Pass the $16 Billion Tax Then Ask Questions

After the $16 Billion Vinik funded rail tax passes, the Vinik bailed out Tampa Bay Times is now asking questions they should have been asking before the election.

The Times began asking what happens to the 10 year $812 million road funding plan the county commissioners had already voted to fund. The Times made endorsements in county commission races and they somehow "forgot" to ask any of the commission candidates this question. They did not ask any sitting commissioner before the election either.

30 Year Rail Tax Passes With Big Claims But Little Public Scrutiny

Good public policy requires healthy debate, plenty of scrutiny, input from diverse stakeholders, and almost always results in some compromise.

That is not how the $16 Billion rail tax hike charter amendment policy passed Tuesday was created.

Confirmed! $16 Billion Rail Tax Never Intended for New Road Capacity

Former County Commissioner Mark Sharpe is now a spokesperson for the $16 Billion rail tax sending text messages in support of the massive tax hike. He helped lead the 2010 rail tax boondoggle that was overwhelmingly defeated 58-42%.

Sharpe was challenged on Facebook recently about All For Transportation's (AFT) rail tax hike not including any dedicated funding for new road capacity. He tried dancing around but finally admits:

Paid Political Facebook Ad Runs Without Proper Disclaimer

Is All for Transportation shoveling money wherever they can trying to stop the wreckage of such a bad week for their Rail tax?

Are they paying to have old articles run with outdated and misleading information run as paid ads?

Arrogance and Deception Wrecks Havoc With Rail Tax

With the election days away, the All for Transportation campaign funded by billionaires and fronted by millennials must be in panic mode.

All for Transportation spent multi-millions on a deceptive campaign trying to disguise their rail tax as fixing traffic congestion.

But they finally admitted what we have stated all along - their 30 year $16 Billion tax hike is a RAIL tax.

Hillsborough NAACP In Opposition to County Transportation Referendum

TAMPA, FLA (November 2, 2018)—The Hillsborough County National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) officially announced its opposition to Hillsborough County Referendum Number 2, the All for Transportation backed plan.

Throwing Good Money After Bad

Randal O'Toole, Senior Fellow with the CATO Institute, submitted this Op-Ed weeks ago to the Tampa Bay Times who refused to print it. We are printing it with his permission.

Randal O'Toole
CATO Institute

Tampa Bay transit ridership has declined 9 percent in the last year and 20 percent in the last four years. This mirrors a nationwide transit decline that is taking place in almost every major urban area and calls into question the tens of billions of dollars in subsidies taxpayers spend on transit each year.

They Got Caught! It's a Rail Tax That Makes Traffic Congestion Worse

They have been caught.

The exaggerated claims in those glossy mailers hitting voters mailboxes daily from All for Transportation transit hike campaign have been officially debunked.