Read between the lines
By Will Collette
Mind you, tolls on passenger cars are wildly unpopular, so much
so that even Gov. Gina Raimondo has declared that passenger cars will NEVER be
tolled on state highways.
However, she does want to toll interstate trucks passing into
and through Rhode Island to raise the money needed to fix our roads and bridges.
A recent AAA poll shows 55% of Rhode Island AAA members favor
this approach.
Raimondo says that these trucks are one of the major reasons why
our bridges and highways are in such terrible shape. Thus, it is only fair that
they should pay to fix them. If you have ever driven on I-95, I think you will
agree that this makes sense, no how much just the idea of tolls gives you agita.
But Flip Filippi and his wingnut cohorts in the General Assembly
believe that there is a magic unicorn that is due to magically appear with
enough money to fix our roads and bridges.
They call this unicorn “Pay as you Go,”
and they are using the right-wing mantra of “waste, fraud and abuse” to carry
on the myth that we can squeeze more millions of dollars out of our already
stressed state budget.
Not only can we squeeze the state budget for the billions of
dollars to carry out desperately needed road repair work without new taxes,
tolls or user fees, but we can even find an extra $4 million to give
to the Quonset Air Museum under a legislative grant bill co-sponsored by
Tea Party Republican Rep. Doreen Costa
and Rep. Bob Craven[1]
(who is one of Charlestown’s Solicitors).
But meanwhile, we have this new brain-fart from Flip to amend
the state Constitution, the venerable document that most legislators respect
enough not to trivialize by creating a new Constitutional right to never have
your car subject to a toll.
OK, Flip, if you want to create new Constitutional
rights for Rhode Island drivers, how about a Constitutional right to safe
roads and bridges? Or a Constitutional right to travel the state in relative
safety?
Filippi’s grand gesture is really just another example of the
Flipper’s one demonstrable talent: the ability to grab media attention. The
fact that this legislation will never happen is irrelevant to his need to be in
the media. The fact that using the state Constitution for such purposes is an
insult to the Constitutional process is irrelevant to Flip’s needs. He already
got what he wants: a five-column, above the fold headline in the Westerly Sun.
Here is Filippi’s original news release. I have taken the
liberty – my Constitutional right, I might add – to insert comments in red and
footnotes to redress the many liberties Flip has taken with truth and common
sense.
Representative
Filippi Introduces Constitutional Amendment to
Protect Passenger Vehicles from Tolls
 |
| Filippi doesn't believe the government can be trusted which is why he spent so much of his own money to become part of government. |
STATE HOUSE -- Independent House District 36 Representative Blake
“Flip” Filippi (Block Island, Charlestown, South Kingstown and Westerly, even though he doesn’t
live in any of those towns. He lives in an apartment in Providence
and often lists his mother’s estate in Lincoln as his address) has joined with the Republican Policy Group to
introduce legislation, H-7191, calling on voters to amend the R.I.
Constitution to require statewide and local voter approval for any new
passenger vehicle tolls. Representatives Morgan, Price, Chippendale, Roberts
and Reilly are cosponsors of H-7191[2].
“The Governor’s proposed Rhode Works toll gantries will stand as monuments to inefficiency and a failure to do right by the People [I think Flip needs to explain why toll gantries are “monuments to inefficiency and a failure to do right by the People.” Toll gantries collect tolls and, as experience of decades has shown, do so pretty well. Are they like wind turbines or other kinds of structures some of his die-hard supporters fear?] – and we are adamantly opposed to this plan.
“The Governor’s proposed Rhode Works toll gantries will stand as monuments to inefficiency and a failure to do right by the People [I think Flip needs to explain why toll gantries are “monuments to inefficiency and a failure to do right by the People.” Toll gantries collect tolls and, as experience of decades has shown, do so pretty well. Are they like wind turbines or other kinds of structures some of his die-hard supporters fear?] – and we are adamantly opposed to this plan.
However, if the State is going to establish
a statewide network of toll gantries, R.I. families deserve protection from a
future government in a cash crunch. [RI families deserve safe roads and bridges, first and
foremost.] Although our leaders have
assured us that the proposed network of gantries will never be used to toll
passenger vehicles, these gantries will remain standing long after they leave
office, and future leaders are not bound by these promises,” said Filippi.[3]
The ease of tolling our passenger vehicles with the Raimondo toll gantries may be too enticing for future leaders[4] [Flip and his wing-nut buddies are not endowed with the ability to predict the future. For all we know, passenger cars might not even exist 100 years from now]– especially if projected commercial vehicle toll revenues fall short.
The ease of tolling our passenger vehicles with the Raimondo toll gantries may be too enticing for future leaders[4] [Flip and his wing-nut buddies are not endowed with the ability to predict the future. For all we know, passenger cars might not even exist 100 years from now]– especially if projected commercial vehicle toll revenues fall short.
Our Constitutional Amendment is
the only way to bind future leaders to the promises of today [If the idea that the promises of today be
made binding in perpetuity is so important, then why isn’t ALL legislation done
in the form of Constitutional amendments? The answer is simple: times change,
needs change and, through the legislative process, our laws need to change].
Once passed, new passenger vehicle tolls can only be assessed if the People
allow it through a statewide and local referendum,” declared Rep. Filippi.
Rep. Filippi, an Independent [who has registered as a Republican, voted Republican, made major campaign contributions to Republicans, uses a Republican PR firm, and caucuses with House Republicans], has partnered with the Republican Policy Group to develop and introduce the pay-as-you-go Bridge Works plan [powered by magic uniforms who can poop money], as well as this Constitutional Amendment.
Rep. Filippi, an Independent [who has registered as a Republican, voted Republican, made major campaign contributions to Republicans, uses a Republican PR firm, and caucuses with House Republicans], has partnered with the Republican Policy Group to develop and introduce the pay-as-you-go Bridge Works plan [powered by magic uniforms who can poop money], as well as this Constitutional Amendment.
FOOTNOTES
[1] Craven represents the
North Kingstown district where he lives. In that district, legislators are
expected to support anything that puts more money into Quonset.
Now, I like the Quonset Air
Museum and understand their problem. Their current quarters are in a building
that has been condemned as unsafe. They need either massive repairs or new space – I happen to think Ninigret Park would be a great
location – but this is not an appropriate project for state funding.
[2] Also known as the
“Wingnut Caucus.” This is the small group of Republican legislators who
frequently take positions detached from reality but very much in line with
today’s hard-right GOP policies.
Filippi claims to be an “independent” but has
registered as a Republican and is a long-time major donor to the Republican
Party. He has been donated to Rep. Patricia Morgan for many election cycles –
usually using his Mom’s Lincoln estate as his address.
[3] Filippi also claims to
be a Libertarian but this proposed scheme is anything but Libertarian.
Libertarians generally oppose government services such as highways,
insisting that they should be built, owned and operated by private businesses
and supported
by user fees. If run by a government entity, then, most Libertarians
argue they should be funded with user fees. But hey, Flip is Flip for a reason.
He will do or say anything to pander for votes.
[4] Writing things into
the Constitution relating to technologies that we can pretty much guarantee will
change over time is a risky business.
Take, for example, the Second Amendment to the US
Constitution. Originally written when “firearms” were largely flintlocks and
the US had no standing army to fend off invasion, the idea was to make sure we
had a “well-regulated militia” to defend the new-born nation.
They had no idea how much mayhem would result from what seemed logical in the 1700s. Regardless of where you stand on guns, I think
most reasonable people will agree that this Amendment, written over 200 years
ago, has caused a tremendous amount of division and turmoil. And death.