I completely agree with the blog “Can You Multitask?” by
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Commentary on “Can You Multitask?” by Texas is my home
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Funding Texas’ Transportation
There are several issues with the traditional gas taxation. Firstly, with the increase in more fuel efficient, hybrid and electric vehicles, gas usage has gone down, and so has the gas tax revenue. Secondly, the current taxation system is not equitable. The taxation system currently charges based on the amount of fuel consumed, and not on the amount of miles driven. Third, unlike other taxes (sales tax, property tax, etc.) the gas tax is a fixed amount per gallon and not a percentage of the price of the gallon. The gas tax collected for
All of this has resulted in the deterioration of the states highways and bridges and more congestion on some major routes. The toll roads that everyone is much opposed to are a result of the declining gas tax revenues along with increased transportation spending. Experts have provided several solutions for the current dilemma. One solution is to index the gas tax to bring it to current levels. Roughly speaking, this would double the amount per gallon. Second solution is to change it to a percent of the gasoline price similar to other taxes like sales tax and property tax. In addition to these two simple solutions, there is a more complex solution that solves most of the issues, but is relatively difficult to implement. In this method, the tax (or user fee) would be charged based on the number of miles driven, and not based on the amount of gasoline purchased.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Response to Scott's Corner post on "To Strike or not to Strike"
The current proposal seems to provide a good option but with a three year commitment. The current proposal is to provide $1,200 bonus in lieu of a raise for the first year, and then provide 3% raise for the second and third year. The catch here is that this raise does not come entirely at the beginning of the year but is broken down at every six months. That would mean that workers would get 1.5% raise every six months beginning from the second year. According to me, if the union is looking for a long term work commitment, the proposal from the management seems good, but if they want the ability to negotiate better pay once the economy improves, they should avoid getting into a three-year term, and try to negotiate something shorter.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Transportation Alternatives in Austin
Population Growth 1997-2007
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census and The Austin Chamber of Commerce.
In the last few months, when the gas prices were at an all time high, residents of
Capital MetroRail Plan
Source: Capital Metro
One may find relief from the fact that Capital Metro is expected to open the MetroRail line in a few months now (earlier plan was to open the rail line in Fall 2008). However, if the bus service and connections and transfer remain the same, the commuter rail is not going to help as much. Ideally, the integration of the rail and bus service would provide reliable and efficient transportation alternative to the residents of the greater
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Austin ISD Property Tax Rate Increase - Could the timing be any worse?
What is everyone's chief concern these days? Isn't it the economy and jobs, and elections and taxes? The editorial section of the Austin American Statesman has a related article titled "Austin school district tax increase: Voters should approve pay raises for teachers."
Though the title includes the part of raising teachers' compensation, the "Austin Independent School District Tax Ratification Election Proposition No. 1" does not include any language related to the pay raises that will be given to teachers provided that voters approve it. The article is targeted towards citizens of Austin who will be voting this November (or probably earlier, during the early voting period). The editor recommends to the voters to approve this proposition, and provides a number of reasons for doing so.
Firstly, the teacher pay in
The editor puts forward several important factors in advocating in favor of the proposition. But with the current economic slowdown and job losses, it might not have as good a chance to be passed. Also, voters would be concerned whether the tax rate increase would directly help teachers’ pay raises or not?
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Preparing for the Worst, OR, Advocating for the Rich
A very interesting article on post-hurricane Ike redevelopment of
In the article, the editor is mainly concerned about two issues. The first issue is that if state monies are involved in rebuilding
The editor talks about the second issue about building more refineries. The editor mentions that this time, many refineries largely survived because of Ike, but that may not be the case if another hurricane hits the gulf coast. While considering the environmental consequences, the editor suggests that more refineries should be built so that if such a storm comes again, there will still be adequate supply of oil. The editor fails to see the other side of the argument. If another hurricane hits the gulf coast, there is potential for damage to more refineries if they are over there. Again, if they are damaged, they will need to be rebuilt. Also, the environmental consequences should be given appropriate consideration.
In short, the article does not look at all aspects of an issue. In the first issue, the editor would not like to spend tax-payer’s money to rebuild
Monday, September 22, 2008
First Hispanic woman to be Texas Secretary of State
The increasing proportion of Hispanic population can also be seen in the political arena. On September 18, 2008, for the first time in Texas history, a Hispanic woman was appointed to hold the office of the Texas secretary of state. The following article from the Houston Chronicle provides more details on the thoughts and beliefs of Andrade, and what the people of Texas can expect for the future of Texas.