If polls on the transit levy are to be believed, we might just be getting ready to vote directly against our own interests.
The emotional appeal of a “no” vote is undeniable. Most of the time, we regular people don’t have much say in what goes on. We see politicians and other bigwigs making a hash of things, and getting handsomely rewarded for it.
But, between elections, there’s not a darn thing we can do, except get mad. So when the rare chance comes along to approve or deny them permission to do something, we’re already in a pretty sour mood. Some of us can’t wait to give ’em the thumbs down.
The trouble is that voting no in this case won’t do anything good for us. It won’t fix TransLink. It will simply deny us some very useful things at a very cheap price.
Most of the time, governments spend our money any way they choose. This once, we have a chance to direct our funds to a specific package of transit improvements.
It’s good for drivers, good for transit users and good for the environment.
Heck, when did we last see Jim Pattison, David Suzuki and Jim Sinclair all on the same side? Marking a big black X beside the no box may feel empowering, but it won’t punish anyone but ourselves.
Patrick Truelove