Trumping the greater good

Something has changed in Washington: A once-reliable spirit of community has given way to a more wary, individualistic view. The result is increasing reluctance to invest in things that benefit the greater good, such as roads and bridges.

For that reason and more, Initiative 912, the rollback of a gas-tax increase aimed at new infrastructure investment, is likely to pass — the exact wrong course for a state that really needs to invest in highways and byways.

In an all-too-rare act of courage, legislators this year did what they were elected to do: They took a tough vote and raised the gas tax 9.5 cents to improve and expand roads and bridges.

Who truly believes it is sound public policy to wait until an earthquake topples the Alaskan Way Viaduct before we craft a plan to replace it?

The only people who maybe can argue their way around that are a couple of radio announcers who collected a bajillion signatures on behalf of I-912, prompting the upcoming November vote with a no-brainer outcome.

If you ask people if they want to pay less at the pump and allow big, distant projects to wait another day, they will say yes, resoundingly. That is true no matter what business, labor and the cement lobby offer as a brilliant campaign to defeat I-912.

Voters will opt for short-term relief knowing projects only increase in cost over time because of the many things they cannot control in their lives. Most folks never get to vote on rising insurance premiums, higher food or electricity costs. Offered a chance to control something like gas prices, they will do it.

It wasn't always this way. From the aftermath of World War II to the late 1990s, Washingtonians understood they had a duty to plan for their children and grandchildren.

"Every generation realized they were driving on roads, getting water out of the tap and using other facilities paid for by the previous generation, and they knew they had to pay their share for the next generation," said former three-term Gov. Dan Evans. "Now, a new selfishness has set in. This generation doesn't want to pay for the next generation's facilities."

Evans believes talk radio, by fanning distrust and making people cynical about government and community, is responsible for some of the attitude change.

But it's not just blowhards with a microphone. To me, the likely no vote is much more complicated. It also includes elites who come in and lead ill-fated projects like the monorail that collect big taxes, promising one thing and never delivering. Every time that happens, voters lose trust.

Compounding matters is the tremendous growth in our state. From 1980 to 2005, Washington's population ballooned from 4 million to more than 6 million people — our own kids and newcomers from other places.

Washington taxpayers, especially in certain areas, have been extremely generous. Many understand it costs a lot to maintain and improve community. But voters have built a lot already — new parks, roads, concert halls, sports stadiums.

More recently, voters are saying, "We've had enough." Consider high-profile votes on car tabs and gas taxes.

Many new arrivals come with an assumption that the place is so darn livable that their arrival costs nothing. Not true. Newcomers and the housing and infrastructure needs of our own children force us as a community to prepare.

At some deep level, voters understand that, but it pales in comparison to more-pressing needs, like that bill on the kitchen table staring back at them.

A lot of Washingtonians believe they must have a three- or four-bedroom house, two- or three-car garage and are willing to move to booming suburbs and exurbs to get it.

After stretching incomes to the max to pay for all that, and running up exorbitant credit-card bills, little is left for investing in community.

The net result is inertia. Elected leaders pass a gas-tax increase for the benefit of the community. The package included money for the viaduct, Highway 520 across Lake Washington, Interstate 405 and for numerous smaller projects across the state.

Then along comes an initiative with no greater vision than boosting ratings and capturing anger whipped up in part by talk radio.

The measure will prevail. And the community will be no better off.

If I-912 wins, few legislators will want to spend time on increasing spending for transportation any time soon. That is not a threat. It is political reality.

Joni Balter's column appears regularly on editorial pages of The Times. Her e-mail address is jbalter@seattletimes.com