The plan is a multi-billion dollar project financed with government loans going to a foreign firm. Somebody's pocketing an absolute friggin fortune out of this.
This is killing Perry in the rural parts of the state, which are normally Republican strongholds. The resentment of Perry right now is palpable. Central Texans feel invaded by illegals already, and the concept of taking land to turn over to a foreign company has them furious. The only reason Perry's not running second is because Kinky and One Nutty Grandma are splitting the anti-Perry vote.
The proposed cost of using the corridor will be $15 to take a one way trip from Waco to Austin (100 miles) and nearly $100 for a big truck.
A lot of people in Texas are becoming convinced that the Perry wing of the Texas GOP doesn't give a d*mn about Texas, but simply wants to advance the unified North American Continent, eliminating countries.
I still think Perry will hang on, but if One Nutty Grandma dropped out, I think Kinky would take it. If Kinky dropped out, I think the Rat would. However, Perry is topped out at 35% of the vote, because 1/3rd of the state will never vote Republican, and another third will never vote Democrat, but will also never vote for Perry.
No, they are indicative of the vocal few opponents. People who are satisfied or don't care usually aren't driven to go to the trouble of seeking out and spamming forums for spouting off, taking time to write out responses, etc. Even here in Texas you can always go to various forums (including newspaper websites) and find numerous vitriolic posts against President Bush, the war in Afghanistan, in support of Michael Moore, yet actual scientific polls have time and again shown that this vocal group is not in any way representative of anything close to the majority. Same here, but nice try.
There are four main areas of objection:
The plan is a multi-billion dollar project financed with government loans going to a foreign firm. Somebody's pocketing an absolute friggin fortune out of this.
Same ol' bullsh!t lie told time and again, "Halliburton is profiting from the war, as are all their bought and paid for GOP hacks", just cut-n-paste the faux villian de jour. The truth is that the plan is for only 30% fed LOANS (apparently you either need to look up that word in a dictionary or try to learn actual facts before starting into a Michael Moore rant of slander and lies) and 70% privately financed. The loans are from a program specifically designed for encouraging toll roads because that will leverage private funding. Traditional road funding has been as high as 90% fed paid for (most to all NOT loans) so this program is designed to greatly reduce the amount of taxpayer funds spent on roads. Very simple, but almost non of the anti-TTC spammers seem to grasp the difference between taxpayer funding and private funding.
This is killing Perry in the rural parts of the state, which are normally Republican strongholds. The resentment of Perry right now is palpable. Central Texans feel invaded by illegals already, and the concept of taking land to turn over to a foreign company has them furious. The only reason Perry's not running second is because Kinky and One Nutty Grandma are splitting the anti-Perry vote.
Yes, the ignorant knee-jerkers and the liars have been somewhat effective in scaring and fooling many rural folks who haven't had the time or inclination to research the actual facts. Bill Clinton was often able to pull off the same, but that is nothing to be proud of.
The proposed cost of using the corridor will be $15 to take a one way trip from Waco to Austin (100 miles) and nearly $100 for a big truck.
Again, ignorance is not your friend. That is based on a proposed maximum rate allowed, but of course the rate will vary with market demand. Early on the toll rate may be lower until demand justifies it, but notice that most of the cost will be paid for by trucks. Right now taxpayers pay for most of the road maintenance, while taxes and fees on trucks only cover about 15-35% (depending on which studies one believes most accurate) of the damage they do to highways. This plan will better match costs to users (trucks) and there are plenty of options (especially incentives) that the state can employ to encourage truck use of the tollways. But most importantly, you will only pay for this road if you CHOSE to use it. Why are you so insistent that every taxpayer pay to build roads that they may never use?
A lot of people in Texas are becoming convinced that the Perry wing of the Texas GOP doesn't give a d*mn about Texas, but simply wants to advance the unified North American Continent, eliminating countries.
Same ol' Michael Moore-style bullsh!t. Actually examining the facts would demonstrate that claim to be total nonsense, but kooks never let facts get in the way of their grand conspiracies.