Measure M’s Approach to Traffic Woes

The Times has printed several editorials in favor of Measure M, the half-cent sales tax that would be devoted to a variety of transportation improvements. These editorials all seem to state that Measure M is necessary because we face a serious traffic problem and something needs to be done about it.

No one can dispute that we have a traffic problem, or that something needs to be done about it. The question is, what should that something be? What we need to ask is whether the transportation projects that make up Measure M would be cost-effective and whether a general sales tax is the right way to pay for them. The answer to both questions is no.

Even if all of Measure M’s projects were worthwhile, a general sales tax would be the worst way to pay for them. A general sales tax is regressive, placing a relatively greater burden on those with the least ability to pay. It also forces individuals to pay for transportation facilities without regard for how much they use those facilities. Someone who doesn’t drive at all could end up paying as much of the bill as someone who drives 15,000 miles a year.

Measure M would not provide anywhere near enough relief from the traffic problem to justify the sacrifices that it would impose on each of us.

By voting against Measure M, the people of Orange County can send their transportation officials back to the drawing board. Perhaps then they could come up with a plan that would provide real congestion relief, and at a lower and more fairly distributed cost.

CHRISTOPHER McKEEVER, Garden Grove