Cost to average family needs to be considered

Bob Young’s article regarding the revival of the anti-I-90 toll group caught my attention [“Activists revive group to fight I-90 bridge tolls,” NWTuesday, Feb. 12].

The group’s members made a valid point that the proposed I-90 toll would end up costing an average family $1,750 a year, granted they make a round-trip every day. This cost would be on top of the payroll tax increase that has already pinched the wallets of millions of Americans, including those living in Seattle.

The median income of an average Seattle family is approximately $62,000. A family earning this much would see their payroll taxes increase by about $1,250 this fiscal year. This tax increase, in addition to the $1,750 in tolls, would amount to a $3,000 increase in a family’s expenses.

Washington legislators need to thoroughly analyze the economic implications and strain this type of increase would have on the citizens of the state, especially those who cannot afford another dollar taken out of their paychecks.

--Keenan Kurihara, Seattle University Student, Seattle