Well, we did it.
Yesterday, the MTA board voted to repeal the scheduled toll hike in Massachusetts. Amazingly enough, it took only the afternoon for the blame to be shifted. Suddenly, people were under the impression that the toll hikes were stopped, and instead, the sales tax was used. This is, of course, ridiculous. Of the projected 1 Billion Dollars in revenue, the turnpike will only be receiving 100 million dollars. Even then, Governor Patrick announced today that a gas tax was not out of the question. That tells us that even if the tolls were raised, it wouldn’t save the transportation system. Why, you ask?
Because the Commonwealth owes about 2.4 BILLION DOLLARS in bonds and swaptions. If you’re looking for a good article on what those are, head over to http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/news/toll_talk/index.php/2009/06/23/swaptions-101-if-you-dare/
So, where are we going from here? We’re going to close the tolls. That’s right, we’re going to close ALL tolls. More soon on my newest campaign. 22 years old, and I’m on a winner! Congratulations to Mike Kelleher, the Founder, and Spencer Kimball, the Executive Director.
In unrelated news, I learned a few lessons today. The media that was once on our side seemed to be quick to turn on us. I spent the day stressing about how we would now close the tolls, and then the answer fell into our laps. It’s a rollercoaster!
Hopefully in the next few weeks, I will be going on my road trip, which will undoubtedly be the experience of a lifetime. I will, of course, be blogging about all the shenanigans I get into. More toll talk tomorrow!
Keep on reading!
