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Posted Nov. 1, 2002

Do What's Right: Vote 'Yes' on Tax

To the editor:

I am writing to ask you to support the referendum to raise the sales tax by a half percent to support critical transportation improvements in Northern Virginia.

The bottom line is that without the tax revenue that will be generated by this small increase, which will cost most people about 25 cents a day and will not apply to groceries or drugs, our traffic congestion problems in Northern Virginia will continue to get worse.

We currently have the third worst traffic congestion in the nation, and on average, commuters spend 84 hours a year stuck in traffic. That is equivalent to losing a two-week vacation. People from all over the world use our roads and shop in Northern Virginia, and this is a way to get them to chip in. It is estimated that 38 percent of the tax collected will come from non-residents and businesses.

My opponent for Virginia House of Delegates' 32nd District, Dick Black, told the newspapers last spring that his constituents sent him to Richmond "to vote against anything with the word "tax" in it." In my opinion, this attitude is what has gotten us in the budget fiasco we are currently in.

It's easy to scream "I won't raise your taxes!" to the public, because who doesn't like the sound of that. Most of us work very hard for the money we earn, and the last thing we want is for it to be spent on wasteful government projects.

But that is not the issue here. Those who spout the old "no tax hike" refrain, given our current situation, are abdicating the responsibilities of leadership. I ask the voters of Northern Virginia to take responsibility for the quality of life and economic infrastructure of our community and vote "Yes" to the Transportation Referendum. It's time to what's right§ not just what sounds good.

Patti Morrissey

Potomac Falls