Brana Hardway: Post #2

Albuquerque Journal 9/4/09
"Better Roads Depend on Quarter-Cent Tax"
By: Robert P. Robeda
This article is about how the maintenance of Albuquerque's transportation system and of the city roads is solely dependent on the quarter-cent tax. This tax program has greatly benefited the quality of Albuquerque's streets and has improved public transportation, but those against the tax say these repairs and improvements can be made without the tax by using the city's budget. Arguments accuse the program of using the tax money for new innovative projects, such as a light rail. But the political reality is that in order to maintain our roads and public transportation system, we need to pay this quarter-cent tax.
This article reflects social control because it shows how our everyday functioning is regulated and if we refuse to submit to this control, we will lose our roads and buses. It has been said that the power to tax is the power to destroy and in this case, if we fail to pay the tax our means of transportation will be destroyed. This is an example of how demanding hard formal social control can be, and that if we choose to defy it the consequences will be certain, severe, obvious and direct. We have no choice in this matter and no say on suggestions to come up with an alternative for this tax. Even the buses we ride in and the roads we drive on are used as instruments to control us.