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RentAscout t1_je091je wrote

Can he fix the Big Dig debt dumped onto the MBTA books? Isn't that the big reason for lack of investment?

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resonant_waves t1_je0zz1m wrote

That's one of the two major issues arising from the major restructuring of the MBTA's finances two decades ago. The other is that it's funding was set based on the projected growth of state sales tax revenue, which is responsible for most of the MBTA's funding. However, sales tax revenues grew much more slowly than projected.

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wittgensteins-boat t1_je5htyj wrote

Thank Amazon, and all other out of state retail internet purchases for the unpredicted lack of growth in sales tax revenue.

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nottoodrunk t1_je0cn5j wrote

Wasn’t that debt all projects that went to improving / upgrading the MBTA? Why shouldn’t they be responsible for it?

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Haltopen t1_je0kxmh wrote

No, it wasn’t

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nottoodrunk t1_je0zptr wrote

Oh sorry i was slightly wrong.

https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2012/02/29/mbta-big-dig-debt/

> The key point is that despite the moniker “Big Dig Debt,” all of these projects directly relate to transit expansion or improvements like extending the commuter rail on the South Shore and to Worcester, adding parking spaces, building out the Fairmount Line — not roadways and, certainly, not the Big Dig. They came about as a result of an agreement that had to be signed in order for the environmental permitting around the Big Dig to take place.

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denga t1_je2p0lh wrote

How were those projects chosen? Were they what the T needed at the time or was it driven by the federal funding requirements?

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