{"id":99603,"date":"2025-10-06T11:23:22","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T11:23:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/actionnc.org\/?p=99603"},"modified":"2025-10-07T09:22:23","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T09:22:23","slug":"transportation-tax-is-a-bridge-too-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/actionnc.org\/es\/transportation-tax-is-a-bridge-too-far\/","title":{"rendered":"25 Years of Promises: Why The Transportation Tax Is a Bridge Too Far"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>\n\t\t\tThey Admit To Their Broken Promises\t<\/h2>\n\t<p>As the years have gone by, we&#8217;re reminded of something much larger than a calendar: we&#8217;ve been watching the countdown on public trust.<\/p>\n<p>Charlotte&#8217;s leaders want you to believe that a new 1% sales tax, a TRIPLING of the transit tax that was supposed to deliver the Red Line to North Meck these past 25 years, is the path to redemption for a transit system long mired in failure. But behind the polished talking points and campaign slogans is a deeper truth: one that even they openly admit.<\/p>\n<p>In a recent meeting, At-Large County Commissioner Leigh Altman laid bare what many of us have known for decades:<\/p>\n<p>After 25 years, &#8220;<strong>Charlotte couldn&#8217;t deliver it.<\/strong>&#8220;<\/p>\n\t<style>\n  .video-container {\n    position: relative;\n    width: 100%;\n    padding-bottom: 56.25%; \/* for a 16:9 aspect ratio; adjust if needed *\/\n    height: 0;\n    overflow: hidden;\n  }\n  .video-container iframe {\n    position: absolute;\n    top: 0;\n    left: 0;\n    width: 100%;\n    height: 100%;\n    border: 0;\n  }\n<\/style>\n  <iframe src=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/13GpgiSMBCSKELSZZHAOsBsGAqJURE6RQ\/preview\"\n          allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\"\n          allowfullscreen>\n  <\/iframe>\n<h2>\n\t\t\tCharlotte Couldn&#8217;t Deliver It\t<\/h2>\n\t<p>Let that sink in. A quarter century. Five mayors. Multiple plans. Billions in spending. And still, no <b>Red Line<\/b>. And where did that money go? Buses in North Meck have been cut. Bus shelters throughout the city are largely non-existent or worn down. Safety, which costs 3x as much, is virtually non-existent.<\/p>\n<p>This is not the first time Charlotte has made transit promises. It won&#8217;t be the first time they&#8217;ve asked residents to &#8220;invest&#8221; more. And if history is any guide, it won&#8217;t be the last time those promises are quietly broken once the check is cashed.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;ve heard it all before:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">&#8220;This will fix the system.&#8221;<br \/>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">&#8220;It&#8217;s a small price to pay.&#8221;<br \/>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">&#8220;This time is different.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>But year after year, riders still stand in the rain without shelters. Routes are cut. Trains stall. Communities that rely on transit are not just overlooked, they&#8217;re forcibly removed through displacement. And the people making the decisions? They don&#8217;t even ride.<\/p>\n<h2>\n\t\t\tThe Trust Deficit\t<\/h2>\n\t<p>Now, those same decision-makers want voters to believe they&#8217;ve changed, without offering a single binding safeguard, accountability measure, or structural reform. Just more promises.<\/p>\n<p>How do you rebuild trust with the public? Not by repeating the same cycle that created the distrust in the first place.<\/p>\n<p>This referendum isn&#8217;t just about a penny on the dollar. It&#8217;s about credibility. It&#8217;s about whether a government that admits to 25 years of failure has earned the right to demand more, from families already trying to make every dollar stretch.<\/p>\n<h2>\n\t\t\tThe Real Question:\t<\/h2>\n\t<p>How much more time and money are we expected to give to a system that keeps breaking its word?<\/p>\n<p>The truth is, time&#8217;s up. Not on public transit, but on giving blank checks to those who keep writing broken promises.<\/p>\n<p>When you vote, remember: You&#8217;re not just voting on a tax. You&#8217;re voting on trust.<\/p>\n<p>And after 25 years, the burden of proof isn&#8217;t on the public anymore. It&#8217;s on those asking for more of your money.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>They Admit To Their Broken Promises As the years have gone by, we&#8217;re reminded of something much larger than a calendar: we&#8217;ve been watching the countdown on public trust. Charlotte&#8217;s&#8230;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/actionnc.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99603"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/actionnc.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/actionnc.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/actionnc.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/actionnc.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99603"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/actionnc.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99603\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99606,"href":"https:\/\/actionnc.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99603\/revisions\/99606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/actionnc.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/actionnc.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/actionnc.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}