Fix Our Roads!!

This is in response to this article in Abridged.org.

For over 20 years I sat through more than my fair share of floor debates for bills to fund transportation that over and over assured members that the money wouldn't be diverted elsewhere.

And year after year, the roads I used to get to the capitol to sit through those debates got decidedly worse and worse, despite those bills passing. Anyone driving Watt Avenue from Roseville through North Highlands and Sacramento will tell you that. Or Business 80 from Sac through Arden.

I can't fix a road on my own. I pay taxes so that the government, which exists to do for me what I can't do for myself, can. I don't want that money to go to bailing out a company that made billions last year and gave a part of those earnings to political campaigns.

I grew up in Hercules, which is right next to Rodeo where the refinery talked about in the article is. I haven't been to Rodeo in a few years, but it's a small town, with one main road running from the freeway through the town and through the hills to the refinery itself. I'd bet good money that road needs fixed. And if it doesn't need fixed now, it definitely needs constant maintenance.

Just like a personal budget - don't go spending money on "can't miss opportunities" when the toilet keeps overflowing and the roof leaks.

And to clarify, I support efforts to improve clean energy, but not taking care of roads leads to less efficient gas usage, contributing poorly to the environment and costing drivers more money on gas and car maintenance.