LITTLE ROCK — The Legislature is in town and, as the old saying goes, none of us is safe.
Historically, transportation is a key issue before any gathering of the General Assembly, and that is the case today.
It has been suggested that Arkansas has about $19 billion in highway needs. While that number seems astronomical to those of us who still balance a checkbook with a handheld calculator, we probably could all agree that there are many significant transportation demands.
It has been proposed that some of the needed revenue might be derived from the state’s general fund, but a more creative way to make the transaction look like something other than an outright subsidy is to pass a bond issue. That is one of two ideas under consideration.
Details are a bit sketchy, but you would apparently get a chance to vote on the sales tax in the 2012 general election. Money is cheap, labor is plentiful, material costs are low and this is a good time to begin any type of infrastructure improvement.
Of course, before any of these bright ideas ever see the light of day, the trucking industry must approve. It is customary around these parts that, before we proceed with any newfangled idea, the ruling classes must first grant permission.
Recent national elections and last year’s landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision have given big business enhanced prominence. Perhaps we might wish to formalize this new political reality by instituting a new legislative assembly similar to the old English House of Lords.
This legislative function would become the true upper chamber in which the established commercial interests would exercise formal veto power over all measures approved by mere human representatives of the lower houses.
The corporate executives might even be seated in plush leather chairs-or thrones!-and wear black gowns and white wigs.
I can see it now: Lord Retail. Lord Poultry. Lord Electricity. Lord Natural Gas. Lord have mercy on us all!
This is only harmless daydreaming and should not be taken to reflect class envy. It is, nonetheless, almost impossible for a lowly mortal man to imagine the manifold benefits that accompany corporate status, including favorable tax treatment and the gift of eternal life.
Yes, we must get the truckers on board with any proposal to improve highways before bringing the little folks in on the family secrets. If we start taking openly about the common good, soon there will be riots in the streets and things will end up just like Cairo.
The concept of improving Arkansas’ roadways is generally sound, and there are two ideas making the rounds.One put forward by House Speaker Robert S. Moore Jr., a Democrat from Arkansas City, would raise some existing taxes for road repairs. A second by Rep. Jonathan Barnett, a Republican from Siloam Springs, reportedly would give voters the opportunity to pass a bond program for road construction that would be financed by a half-cent sales tax increase.
It is reported that this sales tax increase would raise around $200 million annually. The program would last about 10 years.
One major shortcoming of the bond package is the presumed inclusion of a four-lane grid to connect the corners of the state with Little Rock. This has the political advantage of satisfying lawmakers from every region, but it also means building a lot of good roads to areas that are losing population.
It may be that the highway grid proposal is the most politically doable method. If there is to be a statewide sales tax increase, it seems logical that each geographic sector should benefit. That must include areas where there is lower population.
Using the same political argument, if sales tax funds are the source of this program, roads should not be the sole beneficiary. It is completely logical to use a set proportion of the proceeds for public transportation.
Planners and lawmakers should not fool themselves into thinking that gasoline prices will always float around the current levels. Without raising undue alarm, it is perfectly reasonable to presume that energy prices will generally rise and that will bring an increased demand for public transit.
The aging population will experience an increased need for transportation options. Furthermore, Central Arkansas has been known to experience air pollution. Perhaps instead of building extra lanes for the interstate highway between Little Rock and Conway, it is time to take a serious look at light rail.
We may have a hard time envisioning a new way of getting from here to there, and it would require more than running a few commuter trains every day, but the world has changed a lot in the past 50 years. The future is already upon us.
Several parts of Arkansas are growing and already need better methods of moving people. Sales taxes are paid out of the pockets of working families, poor people and senior citizens. Allocating some of the sales tax proceeds to public transportation makes perfectly good sense.
Free-lance columnist Pat Lynch has been a radio broadcaster in Central Arkansas for more than 20 years.
Editorial, Pages 11 on 02/21/2011