The state renewed its annual $12.4M gambling fund contribution to PIT:
http://www.post-gazette.com/business...s/201712080092
In a better world this money would be going to something different, like local transit expansion. And if used to finance debt, that could buy a pretty good chunk of capital--something on the order of $300M.
I've mostly defended the airport's $1.1 billion modernization plan, on the grounds that under federal law the airport's revenues have to be used on the airport, and with their debt expiring they are about to be flush with cash. But for that very reason, they don't need any more money from the state. So while we can't take their revenues away, we don't have to add to it with non-airport revenues.
Unfortunately, with the current state legislature there is little chance this money would actually be redirected to anything worthwhile. So I'll take it for the airport for now, but I hope in the future it can be redirected.
This should go in the same file as the money we are wasting on the unneeded Southern Beltway and Mon Fayette projects. We've got actual unmet transportation needs, but for political reasons we instead spend large sums in ways we don't need. People should get angry about this and vote accordingly in federal and state elections.
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