Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Marcy Winograd's full statement on 30/10

As a congressional candidate, I advocate transitioning from a permanent war economy to a new Green economy that fast-tracks mass transit projects like the 30/10 initiative to accelerate construction of 12 key Metro expansion projects. When I campaign, people often tell me that one of their greatest concerns in Los Angeles is the traffic. 'Please,' they beg, 'do something about the gridlock. I can't take it anymore.' When LA County voters approved Measure R, a half-cent sales tax increase to fund critical transportation projects, they, too, said they couldn't take it anymore. Rather than wait 30 years to expand our Metro transit system, we need to speed up this initiative with a federal loan guarantee that will create new jobs and provide much-needed relief.

Certainly, California pays its fair share of taxes, with virtually half of our tax money subsidizing perpetual war policies championed by my opponent, Jane Harman. For every million dollars she voted to invest in the Iraq invasion or the Afghanistan occupation, we could have doubled the number of jobs had we invested the same money in mass transit.

In Congress, I will fight for federal dollars, low-interest bonds, to construct 30/10 transit projects that will help us get where we really need to go - sustainability. We need light rail, affordable buses, and safe bike lanes to get us out of our cars and into a new frame of mind.

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