News
Mike O'Brien: Asphalt or Early Learning?
Using nothing but a whiteboard, some construction paper, markers, and his boyish charm, City Council member Mike O'Brien explains how the state could provide funding for things like early childhood learning by sacrificing some of the money it currently spends on highway projects:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOg1yD8nV7o[/youtube]
The short version, for those who can't watch the video: The state could choose to shift some of its gas-tax money to local jurisdictions like Seattle, freeing up general fund dollars we currently spend on road projects. That funding---about $16 million---could then go back into early education programs. The tradeoff: Funding early learning instead of transportation would mean cutting back on things like the 520 bridge replacement project, the Columbia River crossing, or, you guessed it, the deep-bore tunnel. As O'Brien puts it: "Someone would have to make a decision that funding education was more important than funding some of the big state highway projects ... that we want to invest in people instead of asphalt."
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOg1yD8nV7o[/youtube]
The short version, for those who can't watch the video: The state could choose to shift some of its gas-tax money to local jurisdictions like Seattle, freeing up general fund dollars we currently spend on road projects. That funding---about $16 million---could then go back into early education programs. The tradeoff: Funding early learning instead of transportation would mean cutting back on things like the 520 bridge replacement project, the Columbia River crossing, or, you guessed it, the deep-bore tunnel. As O'Brien puts it: "Someone would have to make a decision that funding education was more important than funding some of the big state highway projects ... that we want to invest in people instead of asphalt."
