Written by AFA member and political activist  Wm. T "Sparky" Smith and published in the Letters section of the Arizona Republic:

I am an appointed volunteer of the Innovation and Efficiency Task Force, which studies Phoenix departments, their operations and budgets. The task force looks for ways to cut expenses and balance the city budget.

The transportation sales tax on the August ballot is the wrong direction: Why go backwards?

Light rail losses will add millions to Phoenix's operating budget, undoing the $98 million in savings found by the task force. This ever-increasing budget hole leads toward Detroit!

It's the wrong tax.

By increasing by 70 percent the city sales tax portion that goes to support public transportation, city merchants will find competing more difficult. People will just buy in cheaper cities.

The city recognized this and exempted purchases of over $10,000 to keep from killing car sales in Phoenix, buying off the wealthy car dealers at our expense.

It's the wrong bond package — light rail.

Facing multimillion dollar budget deficits for the foreseeable future because of union pensions, why would Phoenix triple the size of the black hole that is light rail? We have gone from buses that required a 75 percent tax subsidy to light rail that requires a 95 percent subsidy with no more riders.

Read more at azcentral.com  and then write your own opinion to the Republic.  There are plenty of issues that need addressing for the benefit of the public who only vote by what they read in that paper!

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