Comment by mikestew | Hacker News Reader

Comment by mikestew | Hacker News Reader

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Not because of the tax increase, but because the amount of taxes you pay goes into never ending government pit of inefficiency and incompetency.

From my POV, having lived here for 20 years, WA residents used to get a reasonable deal on their taxes. Sure, they were high from the perspective of this Midwestern boy, but the ferries ran on time and shit got done. I do not feel that's the case anymore (well, the ferries are probably still timely).

I was just asking my wife the other day, "I don't mind high gas taxes per se, but for having some of the highest fuel taxes in the country, why is this highly-trafficked road such a piece of shit? They haven't paved it since we moved here." As one example; but where the hell is that money going? We don't even have hard winters to tear the roads up. Why are four-banger compact cars running practically open exhaust and rattling windows? Don't we do inspections anymore? Or have cops that pull people over for such things? Speaking of which, in Redmond I'm kind of surprised when I see a cop driving around anymore.

Blah, blah, blah, no one outside of WA cares and those that live here know what I'm on about, so I'll cut it short. I'm with parent: I'll gladly pay taxes, they buy civilization. But lately I don't feel I'm getting as much civilization for my tax dollar as I used to, not even close.

> well, the ferries are probably still timely

Someone isn't on the wsdot ferry email list (anymore?). Most of the lines are currently running single boat service, or only announcing both boats will be running in the morning. I don't personally count it as being on time if you're doing half the normal number of sailings, but those are mostly on time.

I'll give a pass for the regular delays on friday afternoon and sunday evening though. As far as I know, those delays are like clockwork, and we're stuck with them. (Maybe when coleman dock construction finishes, the super peak times will run more smoothly, but I'm ok with just pretending the ferry doesn't run during those times, cause I don't want to be there)

> I was just asking my wife the other day, "I don't mind high gas taxes per se, but for having some of the highest fuel taxes in the country, why is this highly-trafficked road such a piece of shit? They haven't paved it since we moved here."

Suburbs in the US have too much roads per capita (thanks to SFH obsession), you'll end up with this issue almost no matter how much taxes you raise.

Yes 100%. I’m not familiar with Washington state specifically but if you Google “induced demand” you’ll see why building more lanes and repaving them doesn’t really solve the problem.

I’ve heard of this and I’m skeptical of this narrative. And then being applied in pretty much any infrastructure. Unchecked.

It’s a great way to build nothing and leave the next generation without good infrastructure.

American cities are infested with lack of spirit that led to huge infrastructure projects in post-world war between 1945-1980.

If you talk about building anything new in SF Bay Area, you’ll be met with contempt.

The Bay Area is a dense region with earthquakes and it’s share of NIMBYs which complicates planning but they’re still opening four new stations next year as part of the Central Subway.

I’d certainly like to see a lot more infrastructure projects but building more lanes on highways is not actually the solution according to the vast majority of urban planners. Try visiting cities that went all in on highways. For example, here in Bangkok they’ve been investing a ton into the metro systems (MRT and BTS) because even after covering the city in highways the traffic doesn’t move in many areas.

I see you deleted your other comment where you said I’d clearly never left the United States. It’s a bizarre thing to assume about someone you’ve never met who has spent six months in European and Asian cities this year. Next time read the content of what is written instead of inventing things.

Michigan solved their shitty road problem: they created a state insurance fund that you could file claims against if a pot hole tore up your car. Some of their pot holes were (and I assume still are) more like craters.

I moved back home to Indiana in 2005 and don't miss the shitty weather or roads.

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