Massachusetts Transportation Plan Wobbling

Some time ago I congratulated Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick on his ambitious transportation funding plan – a plan that would raise significant revenue and implement critical improvements to the state’s transportation system.  Unfortunately, the Legislature appears ready to settle for something totally inadequate. 

The AP story (here) notes that legislators are skittish about tax increases “when the economic recovery was sluggish at best and many constituents were still feeling aftereffects of the recession.”  Ugh!  It’s disappointing how few political leaders and opinion leaders appreciate the extent to which transportation funding is the ideal anti-recession medicine!  (The AP, in its inimitable way, characterizes the argument between the governor and legislative leaders as “squabbling over details” as they often do in the case of major policy and political debates.)

So, good luck to Governor Patrick and MassDOT.  They are doing the right thing and hopefully will prevail in the end.