From: Scott Hauge
Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2006 6:34 AM
To: Small Business California
Subject: AB32/ Health Insurance
I just became aware that the Governor will be signing AB32[greenhouse emissions cap] at 10 o'clock on Wednesday in San Francisco and sometime I assume later that day in Los Angeles. I have talked to some of you about this event and passed some names to the Governor office at their request. Did any of you receive an invitation?
I met yesterday with Herb Schultz, John Remy and Ruth Liu who will be working on putting together a plan to deal with the uninsured. They are looking for input from small business people and I hope in the future I can call on some of you to get your thoughts. I especially want to work with other associations on this issue as this email goes to over 100 associations in the state.
I would appreciate hearing from you as individual business owners and as associations if you would like to work on this issue.
As the health insurance issue was the number one concern of small business in our survey I think it important that we have our voices heard.
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California AB32 Climate Change Intiative Global Warming Effort : TrafficBulldog.org
California Air Resources Board, Feb 22, 2007
1001 I Street
Sacramento, California 95814
RE: Regional Transportation Authority Conflict of Interest in oversight and management of Rideshare Systems and Operations.
There exists a conflict of interest within our government agencies that affects our government’s ability to protect, without bias, the public and especially our children from breathing polluted air.
I am calling on the Air Resources Board to research this conflict of interest and its impact to global warming and air quality. I am calling on the ARB to conduct public workshops related to this conflict of interest and the associated programs in conflict. And finally I call on the ARB to work to achieve legislation that will remove this conflict of interest from our government operations and promote the associated programs as the public believes they should be.
So what is this conflict of interest? It is a financial conflict of interest that has been allowed to exist for too long. The conflict exists in our Regional Transportation Authorities oversight of Rideshare services, systems, and operations. Specifically, the financial conflict of interest that exists between a Successful Rideshare Matching Service and the Regional Transportation Authorities reliance on funding through sales taxes.
The government is well aware of the reduction of tax revenue as we move away from single occupancy vehicles. Each passenger in a carpool represents the possibility of one less car that needs to be purchased and less gasoline that will be consumed. It is this possible reduction of sales taxable receipts that is the reason Rideshare is and has been under attack. In the early days of rideshare, the government supported it as a means to keep the air clean. Then around 1980, when carpool participation was at about 20%, changes were made to reduce government support. It is no longer a tax exemption for businesses to support rideshare among their employees, only public transportation. Just last week our President made a statement attacking rideshare stating it is “unlikely that initiatives focused on carpooling will make large strides in reducing vehicle use”. Our President instead suggested the sale of access to such lanes. And the California governments allowed use of carpool lanes by single occupancy drivers of Hybrid vehicles further illustrates this conflict of interest between full carpool lanes and reductions in sales receipts for new vehicle purchases. I believe this downward trend in rideshare participation is a result of that same financial conflict of interest.
While it is true that successful Rideshare will reduce Government tax receipts from Vehicle sales, gasoline sales, automobile registration, and sales of other related auto accessories. It is unconscionable to allow this government rideshare conflict of interest to continue in lieu of known air quality problems.
And rideshare is more than just a way to clean the air. Rideshare has the potential to reduce the affects of many problems facing the world today:
- Rideshare helps to alleviate traffic congestion and improves commerce
- Rideshare helps to reduce road rage
- Rideshare helps reduce traffic tensions that spill into domestic violence
- Rideshare helps to reduce US Purchases of Foreign Oil that funds Terrorism
- Rideshare helps reduce the price of gasoline
- Rideshare helps reduce the rate at which we consume our remaining oil
- Rideshare helps reduce the US inflation rate based on energy price changes
- Rideshare helps reduce the US trade deficit
- Rideshare helps reduce inflationary pressures on home loan interest rates
- Rideshare helps reduce < 2.5 micron pollution
- Rideshare helps reduces Asthma attacks
- Rideshare helps reduce the risk of lung cancer from exposure to vehicle exhaust
- Rideshare helps reduce School Aged children pedestrian deaths
- Rideshare helps to improve Air quality
- Rideshare helps slow Global Warming
We live in fear because we don’t rideshare. Fear of terrorism funded in part from foreign oil. We are affecting a moral situation involving the eventual flooding of millions of acres of inhabited land in part because our rideshare services are operating under conflict. In the early days of the California EPA, there was an initial target of 1.5 riders per car and Roger Snoble of the Los Angeles MTA stated that at 1.3 riders per car (currently 1.1) we would have no traffic. If that is true, where is the honest effort to clean our air and eliminate traffic? Building Trains? I don't believe there is any conclusion that full MTA trains will eliminate traffic. And without rideshare to get to those trains, our mass transit parking lots become overcrowded.
This is a perplexing time for me. The auto industry is under attack for manufacturing larger vehicles, the oil companies are under attack to create cleaner burning fuels, and even the American people are accused by our President of being “Addicted to Oil”. I submit to you that it is our Governments Addiction to the Sales Tax Revenue of automobiles and gasoline that is the real problem. Our politicians are making easy financial choices paid for by the health of our children.
I submit to you that our fate this century will be decided based on our ability to share. To me, the most fundamental problem with our government today is poor rideshare matching implementations. I submit to you that our government’s lack of leadership in the department of sharing is the foundation for many of the problems facing this country today.
Rideshare is so much bigger than 2 people in the carpool lane together. Rideshare represents a common caring about the health of our community, it's air quality, our local price of gas, and keeping our transit routes clear for commerce. Rideshare represents efficient use of our existing transportation infrastructure without having to burden the public with more fees, bonds, and taxes. Rideshare represents hope for less conflict over oil.
California’s Assembly Bill 32 is historic legislation. But before creating new taxes or rules regulating other industries, I call on the ARB to put forth an honest effort in examining the government’s own shortcomings in affecting our transportation and pollution crisis. Specifically, our government’s conflict of interest in oversight and management of rideshare services, systems and operations.
We must exorcise the daemons of government bias if we will truly are to affect air quality and Climate Change.
For Just like Ronald Reagan, "I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will always eventually triumph." And when rideshare is free from conflicting interests, it will triumph.
I can't fix this problem all by myself. But a father does get amazing energy when he sees the world that may be left to his child if the status quo is allowed to continue.
Sincerely,
Joseph Bishop
Founder - http://trafficbulldog.org
15030 Ventura Blvd, #19-456
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
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