Opinions on the proposed tolls for I5 and I205?

My opinion is that it’s worth exploring, yes. (Didn’t hear the NPR segment, so can’t comment on that at the moment.)

Our entire tax system is unfair. Income tax, property tax, estate tax, Arts Tax, ... I’d really struggle to come up with an example of a tax that I think is fair and well-implemented.

So, you can ask whether something is fair or not, and the answer will just about always be ‘no’. It’s on the level of a truism. Other questions to ask:

  1. Is it so unfair as to be not worthy of consideration?
  2. Are there ways to mitigate the unfairness?
  3. Will the proposal lead us in the right general direction, in terms of the problems it’s trying to address?
  4. Will the proposal create or exacerbate other problems, to an extent that outweighs any benefits?

My take: no, yes, yes, maybe. That ‘maybe’ could go either way. The proposal isn’t set in stone at this point. I’d say it’s worth moving forward. ODOT is aware of the criticisms, and there’s plenty of time to address them before we have to give an up/down vote.

/r/Portland Thread Parent