pandora
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|  [RANT] Toll bill approved!
Tolls aren't law (yet) but they are another step along the way. I can't believe we would do this to our state. What are the folks in Hartford smoking?
»www.greenwichcitizen.com/localne···12007703
Despite an outcry from Fairfield County legislators, members of the state's Transportation Committee recently approved a bill proposing that the state's planners consider ways to install electronic tolls at state borders in municipalities such as Greenwich and Danbury to fund transportation projects.
In an hour-long discussion, legislators from Greenwich, Norwalk, Stamford and Stratford spoke against the bill before the legislature's Transportation Committee voted 22-13 to approve it and send it to the Legislature for consideration.
"I'm concerned that this is a study on where the state will put tolls, rather than a further discussion of them," said state Sen. Antonietta "Toni" Boucher, R-Wilton. "My vote will be 'no,' to highlight the concerns I have."
The bill's sponsor, state Sen. Donald DeFronzo, D-New Britain, chairman of the Transportation Committee, asked Fairfield County legislators for support, saying that a state report on border tolls would determine the feasibility and negative effects of reintroducing tolls and address financial, legal, and environmental issues.
**** more of the story at the link above ****
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Grumpy
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2 edits | They need to sit for an hour in line at any NYC bridge toll booth during any peak period, then tell us how electronic tolls are the cure all.
And where would we be without a good ol' million dollar study
»www.stamfordadvocate.com/ci_11950385 |
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MrFixitSC
Premium,VIP,ExMod 2001-06
join:2000-12-01
Moncks Corner, SC | so we have to have tolls to pay for the study regarding tolls.. typical CT move, cant wait to get out.. |
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meskinct
Mad Scientist at Work
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join:2002-01-07
Danbury, CT
clubs: | reply to pandora
So what does the gas tax pay for again? |
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PeteC2
Got Mouse?
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Bristol, CT
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| Yep, meskinct touches my main concern: Once you add another tax, it never goes away...and no other taxes get reduced in kind. The folks in CT are getting cooked like boiling a frog: If you put a frog in a pot of cool water, and slowly turn up the heat, they will never even notice until they get boiled!
Also, anyone who believes that the electronic era will avoid the congestion that toll stops create...guess again! Yep, that is all that we need, more delays and congestion on our already over-burdened highways!
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Grumpy
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| reply to meskinct
said by meskinct  :So what does the gas tax pay for again? It's earmarked for funding studies |
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DrStrange
Technically feasible
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join:2001-07-23
West Hartford, CT | reply to pandora
The only time I've ever seen a tax reduced was when Governor Lowell Weicker [with the help of the legislature] enacted the state income tax. The sales tax was 8% before the income tax. Weicker wanted it cut to 4.5%. The legislature cut it to 6%. |
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PeteC2
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1 edit | said by DrStrange :The only time I've ever seen a tax reduced was when Governor Lowell Weicker [with the help of the legislature] enacted the state income tax. The sales tax was 8% before the income tax. Weicker wanted it cut to 4.5%. The legislature cut it to 6%. Yep, but considering that 2% "cut" was at the cost of having a state income tax, again, that was no real cut at all, rather an additional source of revenue that will never go away...
In fact, the sales tax may indeed be back on the rise, it is one of the measures being seriously considered...and my wife and I pay a pretty hefty state income tax to CT every year.
I am not arguing the various merits of an income tax versus sales tax...but I would have been more content had they replaced one with the other, rather than having both. The cost of living in this state compared to the services received is not a very good value whatsoever!
BTW, some may remember Weicker fondly...not I! He was a blow-hard and a great revisionist of history...he thought nothing of saying one thing, doing another, and acting indignant and offended when it was brought to his attention! Every once and awhile, someone dusts him off and asks his opinion about the current state of affairs in CT, of which he could really care less...and he always has some bombastic B.S. comment...trying to remind everyone how he "saved" CT from some grisly fate...
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Rungel
Run A Mile Live Awhile GT2110's
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join:2001-12-05
Ya I'm Here
| said by PeteC2
said by DrStrange :
BTW, some may remember Weicker fondly...not I! He was a blow-hard and a great revisionist of history...he thought nothing of saying one thing, doing another, and acting indignant and offended when it was brought to his attention! Every once and awhile, someone dusts him off and asks his opinion about the current state of affairs in CT, of which he could really care less...and he always has some bombastic B.S. comment...trying to remind everyone how he "saved" CT from some grisly fate...
[/BQUOTE :I agree.. What really got me at the time was the Kennedy's giving him some big honor. I forgot was it was now.. But it had to do with getting Conn out of it's hole.. So they shoved it up ours. --
'rocking the awakening mind'!
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pandora
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|  said by Rungel :I agree.. What really got me at the time was the Kennedy's giving him some big honor. I forgot was it was now.. But it had to do with getting Conn out of it's hole.. So they shoved it up ours. Our experience with the Connecticut income tax, the state sales tax, and now the proposed toll increases should warn us that government will always take more whenever it can.
Many seem to advocate for a flat tax, or a VAT tax. If these are ever implemented, I can assure everyone they will be in addition to income, sales, gas, other taxes and tolls. Anyone who thinks a new tax will come in and get rid of the old taxes is dreaming IMO.
It appears our fearless legislative leadership held a hearing about tolls in Waterbury, a safe distance from Danbury and Greenwich. They convinced themselves that a toll will not result in any increased traffic delay. Only in government could a consultant making such a claim not be laughed off a podium.
Anyway the story is here - »www.rep-am.com/News/413228.txt
The next step seems to be to wait for May 21 and see if it is introduced to the General Assembly for a vote.
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"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use." |
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disconnected
@snet.net
| reply to pandora
This is the final phase of government power 'run away', or that exponential upward spiral in the grab for dictatorial power by the State. It happens near the end of every once-great nation's reign. Looks like it will happen here, within out lifetimes. |
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Glenn
I'D Rather Be Skiing
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join:2000-10-05
Wallingford, CT
| reply to pandora
Unbeleiveable. Between the crap going on in CT and the crap going on in DC...I'm at a loss. I'm tired of the government pillaging my money so they can spend it in the most ineffective means possible in order to "ensure" their reelection.
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Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less. |
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Sr Tech
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join:2003-01-19
New Fairfield, CT
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| said by Glenn :Unbeleiveable. Between the crap going on in CT and the crap going on in DC...I'm at a loss. I'm tired of the government pillaging my money so they can spend it in the most ineffective means possible in order to "ensure" their reelection. Glenn, I could not have said it any better my self.
What is the car tax for, was that not implemented when the tolls were removed? If so then why is the car tax not going away??? |
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disconnected
@snet.net
| reply to Glenn
You can grumble all you want, but since voting doesn't work (both parties are Statists/Altruists, differing only in method) the only thing that works is if we all, en masse, withhold our taxes for a year. That would stop the government dead in their tracks, if faced with a solidarity of tax protest across the nation. But it won't happen because too many people believe there is a moral obligation to pay taxes. |
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pandora
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| Our federal government plans to borrow 50 cents for every dollar it spends next year. If we stopped paying taxes, our government could just spend and tax us via inflation.
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"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use." |
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cowboyro
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Shelton, CT
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| reply to disconnected
said by disconnected :
But it won't happen because too many people believe there is a moral obligation to pay taxes.
Try NOT paying and see what happens  |
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disconnected
@sbcglobal.net
| For such a protest to work, it would take tens of millions stopping their payment at once. I doubt the government could do much when a third of the US population has gone on strike. But that kind of organized revolt will probably never happen. Most people have Altruistic beliefs and will sacrifice themselves to the Collective quite willingly. |
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TrainBuff
The New Haven Railroad
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join:2003-05-01
Buffalo, NY
clubs: | reply to pandora
I think that both the New York State & Connecticut Governments reads the same books on how to keep taxing the citizens. You should see all the new taxes and fees that we got nailed for here in New York State. |
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Phantom 2
On no he can't
Premium
join:2002-05-13
1 edit | reply to disconnected
I have to disagree that voting doesn't work.We have two options a the voting booth,either vote the same crooks back in or give someone else a chance.Voting the current scoundrels out sends a clear message that we've all had enough.We also have to get off the Republican and Democrat mindset.Both parties are the the same,both money spending liberals.I'm sure that we'll see other philosophies represented at the next elections.Let's give them a good look this time
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"For those who have fought for it,freedom has a taste the protected will never know" |
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disconnected
@sbcglobal.net
| I disagree. Voting does not work because Democracy doesn't work. Why, you ask? Because in a Democracy, there will be a time when the constituents figure out that they can vote themselves a handout. That is what has happened in the US in the last 75 years. Every Democracy throughout history has eventually failed. The US was intended to be a representative republic, not a democracy. Democracy amounts to 51% of the people deciding what to do with the property of the other 49%.
As for voting, either party is dominant and both are cut from the same cloth--both believe in Altruism and that the rights of the Collective outweigh the rights of the Individual. It is just a minor difference in the specific methods use, but otherwise both parties are the same, so voting is a sham. Oh, sure, you can 'vote' for a write-in candidate, but realisticly, who is going to win? The same statists as usual. |
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