When LA County voters approved the half-cent Measure R sales tax for transportation in 2008, they created more than 400,000 jobs over 30 years. Measure J would accelerate 250,000 of those jobs over the next decade by starting construction of 7 transit projects and up to 8 highway projects in the next 5 years. If you are out of work – and unemployment in LA County is still 12 percent – a job now is worth a lot more than a job 25 years from now, and when all those paychecks are spent it will give the local economy a boost.
Also providing an economic boost is the fact that these transit and highway projects will ease traffic congestion countywide so that employees and goods aren’t kept idling on highways, wasting money and time. The 15 transit and highway projects that will be accelerated, combined with the investment of “local return” dollars in local projects that improve streets, sidewalks, transit service and bikeways will relieve traffic all over the county – which also helps the economy.
Moreover, the construction jobs would be good jobs: $25 billion of transportation construction work is covered by project labor agreements which mean that all projects will be built using skilled labor trained in joint labor-management apprenticeship programs, and that contracts will be subject to all the protections and benefits associated with a middle-class livelihood.
CLICK ON THE ACTION ALERT AT THE TOP LEFT OF OUR WEBSITE TO ENDORSE MEASURE J!
What is Measure J? Measure J, which is on the November ballot, will extend the 30-year Measure R sales tax by another 30 years (to 2069) in order to accelerate the construction of 7 transit and up to 8 highway projects over the next decade. Measure J does this not by increasing the amount of the tax you pay but by providing a longer revenue stream that LA Metro can bond against. The combination of these bonds as well as low-interest loans made available by the federal government through the recently expanded TIFIA loan program will make it possible to start construction on these projects within the next five years, generating 250,000 jobs over the next decade.
Also providing an economic boost is the fact that these transit and highway projects will ease traffic congestion countywide so that employees and goods aren’t kept idling on highways, wasting money and time. The 15 transit and highway projects that will be accelerated, combined with the investment of “local return” dollars in local projects that improve streets, sidewalks, transit service and bikeways will relieve traffic all over the county – which also helps the economy.
Moreover, the construction jobs would be good jobs: $25 billion of transportation construction work is covered by project labor agreements which mean that all projects will be built using skilled labor trained in joint labor-management apprenticeship programs, and that contracts will be subject to all the protections and benefits associated with a middle-class livelihood.
CLICK ON THE ACTION ALERT AT THE TOP LEFT OF OUR WEBSITE TO ENDORSE MEASURE J!
What is Measure J? Measure J, which is on the November ballot, will extend the 30-year Measure R sales tax by another 30 years (to 2069) in order to accelerate the construction of 7 transit and up to 8 highway projects over the next decade. Measure J does this not by increasing the amount of the tax you pay but by providing a longer revenue stream that LA Metro can bond against. The combination of these bonds as well as low-interest loans made available by the federal government through the recently expanded TIFIA loan program will make it possible to start construction on these projects within the next five years, generating 250,000 jobs over the next decade.
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