San Diego County passed specific sales tax increases for additional jails and highway relief around 1988-1990. I worked for the County of SD at that time, and BEFORE the taxes were approved by the voters, the various departments had already divvied up the proceeds. True, every nickel collected from the additional 1 cent sales tax increase went directly into prisons and transportation. However, the Board of Supervisors merely reallocated funds from the "General Fund" that used to be spent on transpiration and prisons, so the net increase in funding was much less than the sales taxes collected, and every other department (including social services) gained from the tax increase as well. In other words, the "targeted" tax increase was no different than any other tax increase, i.e. the politicians spent it on their favored programs, not those for which the tax was passed.
And, NO DEMOCRAT POLITICIAN favors additional or improved roads, except in the politically influential SF Bay area, which gets $0.70 of every tax dollar back (in contrast to about $0.40 per $1 in San Diego and Orange Counties). The only "transportation" roadways which will be improved will be those which carry buses or trolleys.
San Diego County's Transportation management agency (SANDAG, and probably other counties work the same way as well) spends $0.85 of every transportation tax dollar on MASS TRANSIT, including the auto gas taxes and DMV auto tag fees which account for most of the transportation revenue. SANDAG spends $0.15 of every dollar on highway maintenance. There has been NO new highways built in San Diego County in over 30 years. [b]The fact that there is no money for new highways or additional highway lanes in California is by design. SANDAG's latest released 40 year plan continues that policy, i.e. no new publicly funded highways or extensions. The goal is to get Californians to voluntarily relinquish their right to drive an automobile, and to play for the mass transit alternatives using the California auto drivers.
Bottom line: Arnie can plan all he wants. The only thing he will succeed in doing, however, is raising the funds. The Democrats will authorize any and every means to raise taxes and increase funds coming to the public treasury. Once they have the money, they will do whatever the heck they want with the new money, and it won't involve building the public infrastructure Californians actually require.
The Governor is either woefully ignorant of the reality of California leftist politics, or has been wholly captured by the Democrat-left. Based on who he has just hired as his advisers and Chief of Staff (top Grey Davis Democrats), I'd say Arnold has just become a born-again, free-spending Democrat.
SFS
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")