marksiwel wrote:Want the DART in Grapevine? Look how much it did for Irving

If Irving is a poorly managed city, then they will get a poorly managed result. I can't speak for Irving, but just because they may not have gotten a positive result does not mean that Grapevine won't either. Quality of management has a lot to do with it.
It's already coming to Grapevine. The project is way beyond stopping. It actually enjoys considerable support locally, particularly from the local business community — of which I am a part. Yes, there are concerns about preserving the atmosphere of old downtown Grapevine, but our city has a very proactive preservationist bent because the historical charm is at the heart of why it is a popular place to live. That aside, the issue isn't really the transportation corridor. The issue is the ability of
local voters to raise taxes if necessary to pay for things that the
local voters want. You
do believe in some degree of local autonomy, don't you?
I'm not generally in favor of my taxes going up. In fact, I'm pretty much
never in favor of my taxes going up. BUT, I do believe in local autonomy to the maximum extent possible. Per the link I provided:
Grapevine citizens voted 8,058-2,898 on November 7, 2006 to levy a full cent sales tax, of which three-eights of a cent would authorize Grapevine to contract with The T for rail service and another 1/8 cent for other transit improvements, like a downtown parking garage.
A nearly 3/1 vote sounds like a pretty convincing local mandate to me. This is a pretty conservative city, and voters have expected and largely received financial accountability from their elected representatives. City of Grapevine government has spent the tax money well, and Grapevine residents have received measurable quality of life benefits for it.
I submit that, if we are to argue in favor of a decreased federal presence (and its attendant corruptive influence) in local infrastructure spending, then we have to argue in favor or greater local autonomy in determining how to raise funds for local infrastructure. You want to put an end to congressional pork? Give citizens the means to declare independence from Congress. Anything else seems a little bit irresponsible to me.
When I heard Vicki Truitt speak a few months ago at a local Grapevine Chamber of Commerce luncheon, she said that, even with the state of the national economy, the state of Texas is in a much better position to date than most other states. She also said that this condition will not last, given the exigencies of a slowly rebounding economy. "Empowering Texans" ought to mean that local communities are empowered to raise money if they need to, and spend it as they see fit to spend it. There are three options: 1) spend no money and allow infrastructure to fall behind your city's growth; 2) float bonds and go into debt; 3) raise local tax revenues (via sales taxes, property taxes, income taxes, whatever...) and pay cash for the improvements.
At least, that is how it seems to me. Maybe I'm missing something.