The Valley Transportation Authority has yet again taken the bait from the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and sent an ill-advised tax measure to the November ballot.

If voters approve, a 1/8-cent sales tax would be added to the county rate, currently at 8.25 percent, to fund operations and maintenance of the BART line to San Jose - a transit line that doesn't even exist.

This transportation tax proposal gives grand new meaning to the phrase "betting on the come." Though it's quite uncertain if BART to San Jose will ever get built, it is more than extremely likely that a 1/8-cent sales tax won't be enough.

2. Get ready for a barrage of fancy arguments coming to your mailbox

But the specious arguments will begin in earnest soon. Coming to a campaign mailbox near you:

n This small sales tax money will virtually guarantee that federal government money (don't worry about our trillion-dollar deficit) will be coming to save the day and match our county's meager BART funds.

- For only a few less latte's a week ... (fill in the rest)

- The price of gasoline demands the BART alternative.

- BART will take people directly to the San Jose Airport.

3. The VTA should quit wasting time and energy on a terrible idea

For good measure, global warming will likely be thrown in there, too.

But BART to San Jose is a boondoggle waiting to happen. The ridership projections are fairy tales, just like the San Mateo County BART ridership projections were, and the costs will surely escalate far beyond projections. That's simply what happens in government transportation projects of this magnitude managed by organizations like the VTA with god-awful track records.

When you get the ballot think about sending this message to VTA: Forget about BART to San Jose, fix our roads, upgrade our Caltrain service and quit wasting time and energy on a bad idea. That's what BART to San Jose is.

Vote No on Measure B.