Comments on: Growth is Sour Note For Idaho Future

By: Gordon

Gordon — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 23:42:44 +0000

Not much I can add to this; a lotta folks got it right. Now how can we get Butch to read this (assuming he can read, unlike
the W)?

Sometimes it seems the whole point of this and many of the other plans by the many RINOs in our state (and national) government is to drive us all broke in hopes we’ll eventually starve to death and quit bothering them.

Yep, the people voted them into office, but what choice was there?

As someone once pointed out, we get 50 candidates to choose from for Miss American, but only two to chose from for president (and many other jobs).

Seems like mostly only the greedy run for the top offices anyway, and the few “good guys” who do manage to get elected get corrupted — or at least learn they’ll never get any of their bills passed unless they trade off by voting for some of the bills they hate.

What’s the answer? I have no idea. Do you?

By: Yossarian_22

Yossarian_22 — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 18:25:09 +0000

I’m with Bikeboy. The tax should correlate with usage. Like Bikeboy, I bike most of the year and use the ole pickup when I really need it. Why punish us? And don’t say it’s just like schools. We need to maintain what roads we have in the habital part of the infrastructure (in town) and not build new ones in the sprawl zones. A registration fee doesn’t send the right market signal. It’s just a regressive method to get some quick road building dough to keep up the fantasy of the American Car Culture Dream.

By: Inside City Hall

Inside City Hall — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 02:44:21 +0000

Deb – welcome to how this mayor and council do business. The “public comment” portion of this process is only a front so they say they “let you have input”. They do this with the Blueprint for Growth and the other plans.

The city leaders decide what they want regardless of what you saw – then they give you the “choices” THEY want.

They do the same thing with the nieghborhoods – it realy does not matter what you testify. They do what they want anyway.

But remember – – this is what you voted for.

By: Curious Bob

Curious Bob — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 23:47:15 +0000

Not to detract from the main point of registration fees, but since the highway system involves fiscal conservancy and complex economic issues here are some interesting (yes, perhaps slightly slanted) questions for discussion. Perhaps these will also provide future food for thought as well. In terms of the way that the Idaho Transportation Department does business it would be interesting to do some independently run studies on a few of these issues.

To what extent does the department contract or consult work out, and how has that changed in, say, the past 50 years? What balance of consulting/contracting work would be most cost effective to do in-house v. out? These questions are very political because there are some close ties between the business community and various government entities and because often the in-house work is sometimes discouraged because it takes business away from the private industry.

Also, there is a lot of personnel exchange between the transportation department and the business community. Sometimes there seems to be an effect of training ITD engineers and then losing them to consultants because ITD can’t increase their wages very well and consults pay better.

Feel free to discuss.

By: Deb Even

Deb Even — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 23:09:14 +0000

After taking the survey at the Boise Blue Print I have never been so upset for being ignored. We are having the expansion of Boise being shoved down are throats whether we wnat it or not.

It time for Boisians to have a vioce other than the city council telling us what to do. They are money hungry for business and they forget we are a right to work state. Evey time they raise taxes or fees our wages go down. Boisian are being hurt. Its time to stop the growth and recover our state.

By: Meridian Mike

Meridian Mike — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:47:28 +0000

Page 4 if government financial reports give you mego (my eyes glaze over).

By: sharryn clark

sharryn clark — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:16:17 +0000

Pat, I grew up with Butch Otter, he’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer, so be ready to expect anything out your current state adminstration……..

By: CYCLOPS

CYCLOPS — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 17:48:09 +0000

WHOA Dog! Back away from the keyboard before you have a stroke! All that cycling has you on edge.
I am really glad you commute mostly on your bike, because emotionally, you are a prime candidate for road rage. All of a sudden I am a “stinking cager” who shops for Chinese stuff at Wal- Mart and fills the landfill needlessly!Let me thank you for giving ME the roads, parking structures, and the prime spot at Wal-Mart. I would wager that you were among the many, including me by the way, that lobbied for every road in town to have a dedicated bike lane. Now that it’s time to fix those roads, you want nothing to do with them. Those roads belong to ME now, I guess. So what is going to happen when I tell you to get off MY roads? Or what will your reaction be when I decide that we don’t actually need bike lanes any more, and if that means we knock off a couple of bikers a year, Oh Well, Collateral damage.
I am sorry you are having such a bad day. I think I’ll go for a bike ride on the green belt. After all, it IS a beautiful day!

By: Meridian Mike

Meridian Mike — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 17:10:12 +0000

Exactly right Clancy, bikeboy, jo,and MLM. (and I’ll bet I missed somebody) And nobody is saying it any better than dog and paul. Butch doesn’t have somebody around that can tell him the same thing? Take a look at the ACHD budget and its largest revenue source and it’s……..(get ready for this!)… property tax.
http://www.achd.ada.id.us/pdf/2008_Budget/revenue.pdf
I’d say the bike using homeowners (and renters) have more than paid their way. Maybe Butch and crew actually want us to use more oil.

By: dog

dog — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:30:17 +0000

Back off Cyclops. By commuting on my bike I not only make room for your stinking single driver cage on the roads but I also free up parking for you where ever I go. 85% of my commute is on the Greenbelt. People riding bikes is a benefit to cagers like you. Cagers ought to kiss lycra bikers shorts becuase we actually save tax dollars. Like I say, it would be far cheaper to pay or make incentives for people who ride bikes than pouring new pavement and building more taxpayer funded parking. Our bicycles are not tearing up your roads and parking structures designed for and about your precious car culture. You get to park one or two stalls closer enhancing your pathetic Wal-Mart shopping experience, when you see bikes in the rack by the door, so you can go spend this nation down the toilet by buying imported Chinese crap soon to be on it’s journey to the taxpayer subsidized landfill.