Elections Disad – Core – Hoya-Spartan 2012
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- Support only theoretical – spending opposition outweighs in practice, and voters prefer private investment
- Spending opposition and efficiency concerns swamp theoretical support
- Voters strongly opposed to paying for it – swamps theoretical support
Ext – Won’t Pay For ItVoters won’t pay for it – causes massive backlashBerstein Research, 12 (Sanford C. Bernstein is widely recognized as Wall Street’s premier sell-side research firm. Our research is sought out by leading investment managers around the world, and we are annually ranked at the very top of acknowledged arbiters. In independent surveys of major institutional clients, Bernstein's research is ranked #1 for overall quality, industry knowledge, most trusted, best detailed financial analysis, major company studies, most useful valuation frameworks, best original research, and most willing to challenge management. In Institutional Investor’s 2010 annual client survey, the leading survey by which analysts in our industry are evaluated, 100% of our U.S. Analysts were recognized as among the best in their respective fields -- more than any other firm on Wall Street, 2/3, http://www.fraternalalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Washington-Research-2012-Preview-Transportation-Funding.pdf) Whether those are just political talking points or a real desire to legislate remains to be seen. Regardless, public opinion largely backs up that view. According to a Rockefeller Foundation survey conducted in February 2011, two out of three voters consider improving the nation's transportation infrastructure to be "extremely" or "very" important, and four out of five believe that boosting federal funding will improve the economy "and create millions of jobs from construction to manufacturing to engineering." Ninety-one percent of those polled agreed that "our generation has a responsibility to the future to invest in America's infrastructure – just as our parents and grandparents did," and 71% said transportation funding ought to be an area of bipartisan compromise. However, when it comes to actually financing increased spending on infrastructure, that consensus quickly melts away. "Voters are far less accepting of proposals that would affect their own wallets," the Rockefeller Foundation survey found. True to form, 71% of voters said it would be "unacceptable" to raise the federal gasoline tax – the main funding source for the HTF – which has been set at 18.4 cents per gallon since 1993. And that's the crux of the issue: the political will simply is not there to raise taxes in a broad-based fashion that would keep the Highway Trust Fund solvent, let alone allow the kind of spending the CBO estimates are necessary to maintain the highway system's current performance – about $57 billion per year, or more than 40% above current levels. As we'll explore in this piece (and as we discussed in our October 7, 2011 Research Call), the parties cannot agree on how to raise the necessary funds to pay for a 21 st century transportation system. Support only theoretical – spending opposition outweighs in practice, and voters prefer private investmentHalsey, 11 (Ashley, columnist @ Washington Post, Washington post, 2/14, lexis) Upkeep of roads, bridges and transit systems is a high priority to an overwhelming margin of Americans, but by an even greater margin they don't want to pay more for it, according to a survey that will be released this week. With the Obama administration's budget due Monday, House Republicans embarked on an effort to reduce spending by $100 billion and a long-term transportation bill stalled in Congress, 78 percent of those surveyed say private investors should be tapped to rebuild the country's aging infrastructure. The poll was commissioned by the Rockefeller Foundation, which has funded a $66 million transportation initiative, and was conducted this month by Hart Associates. "Transportation infrastructure affects so many critical issues for the country - economy, social mobility and energy - and it drives our economic growth," said Nicholas Turner, a managing director of of the Rockefeller Foundation who runs the initiative. "Most people don't realize that transportation is the second-highest expense for most Americans and the highest for those with the lowest incomes. The promotion of accessible and equitable transportation policies is critical to providing affordable options to all Americans." The telephone poll of 1,001 registered voters came four months after a bipartisan panel of 80 transportation experts warned that the transportation system was deteriorating so rapidly that it would undermine U.S. ability to compete in a global economy. Headed by two former transportation secretaries - Norman Y. Minetahttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/23/AR2006062300579.html and Samuel K. Skinner - the group estimated that an additional $134 billion to $262 billion must be spent per year through 2035 to rebuild and improve the nation's roads, rail systems and air transportation. Their report said a major increase in the federal gas tax, which has remained unchanged since it went up to 18.4 cents per gallon in 1993, might be the most politically palatable way to boost revenue in the short term. In the long term, however, Americans should expect to pay for each mile they drive, the report said. The Rockefeller Foundationinfrastructure survey found that Americans don't support either as an option to raise revenues, or any other approach that would tax them directly. Seventy-one percent opposed a gas tax increase, 64 percent were against new tolls on existing roads and bridges, and 58 percent said no to paying for each mile they drive. While 66 percent said they thought spending on infrastructure is important, the same number of those surveyed said the government didn't spend transportation money efficiently. "People are willing to pay if they have faith they are getting quality," Turner said. "Uncertainty in the poll more reflects a frustration with bridges to nowhere from Congress. The answer is that with clear outcomes and better accountability, people want and support investments in transportation infrastructure." Spending opposition and efficiency concerns swamp theoretical supportRockefeller Foundation, 11 (Survey Methodology: From January 29 to February 6, 2011, Hart Research (D) and Public Opinion Strategies (R) conducted a national survey of voters on behalf of the Rockefeller Foundation. http://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/uploads/files/80e28432-0790-4d42-91ec-afb6d11febee.pdf) Moreover, few believe that current government spending in this area is efficient and wise, and voters welcome a range of reforms in how transportation projects are financed. At the same time, as is the case with many spending-related issues today, voters are unwilling to personally pay for additional funding of national transportation projects. While wide support exists for encouraging more private investment, imposing penalties on over-budget projects, and establishing a National Infrastructure Bank, there is very little support for increasing the federal gas tax or increasing tolls on interstate highways and bridges. Voters strongly opposed to paying for it – swamps theoretical supportRockefeller Foundation, 11 (Survey Methodology: From January 29 to February 6, 2011, Hart Research (D) and Public Opinion Strategies (R) conducted a national survey of voters on behalf of the Rockefeller Foundation. http://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/uploads/files/80e28432-0790-4d42-91ec-afb6d11febee.pdf) Voters are far less accepting of proposals that would affect their own wallets. Seventy-one percent (71%) say it would be unacceptable to increase the federal gas tax; majorities also are opposed to placing a new tax on foreign oil (51% unacceptable), replacing the federal gas tax with a mileage fee (58%), and adding new tolls to interstate highways and bridges (64%). Directory: file -> view view -> Western Europe after wwii view -> Author study: paul fleischman view -> Qpa1 7ela study Guide view -> Arctic Oil/Gas Neg view -> November 1970 Approximately 150,000-500,000 deaths Bhola Cyclone Bangladesh view -> Grade Level: 6 Unit of Study: Caribbean glce view -> Citation: Duffield, Katy view -> Table of Contents Lesson # view -> Chinese Wind Energy Disad Download 2.41 Mb. Share with your friends:
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