Hey! More gloom and doom! What a surprise!
This time it is Richard Vinroot and Harvey Gantt meeting in a empty parking garage, Watergate Deep Throat-style.
The topic? Transit tax repeal.
Vinroot: It’ll hurt our economy and set Charlotte back for years.
Gantt: And millions in federal dollars will go elsewhere.
What the hell? What are they talking about?
As Wachovia economist John Silvia noted the other day, congestion is the biggest threat to our economy — and our current transit plan does nothing to address that.
Millions in federal dollars? There are no more federal dollars for light rail. At least not for the $470 million North line that the MTC is already half-way to building. That is why $66 to $76 million in debt backed by future local property tax dollars will have to be set aside help build the line. That is the official financing plan.
Vinroot and Gantt have to know all these facts. Don’t they? I really hope that they don’t, though.
I’ve always respected them, but my opinion would fall several notches if they intentionally joined the campaign to mislead their community.
