Re: Today are we lounging on deck chairs aboard the Titanic?

"raven1" <quoththeraven@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:uv8c34l053eremas14hpns4qq1vgbgd656@xxxxxxxxxx
On Thu, 22 May 2008 18:45:02 -0700 (PDT), "'Rev Dr' Lenny Flank"
<lflank@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On May 22, 7:46 pm, raven1 <quoththera...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On 22 May 2008 21:38:58 GMT, nmp <addr...@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:





raven1 wrote:

On 22 May 2008 11:20:51 GMT, nmp <addr...@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Dan Luke wrote:

"Mike Dworetsky" wrote:

People actually use buses and trains and the transport system a
lot.
Very few people commute to London by car these days.

The big pain in the U. S. will be in car-commuter cities like LA or
Houston where no public transportation alternatives exist. Watch
for
massive changes in such cities as it becomes economically
insupportable for middle class homeowners in distant suburbs to
drive
to work.

In any environment where people use cars to go to work, they could
also
go by bus. After all the infrastructure (ie. roads) is already there.
Just add bus stops.

Are the buses going to appear by magic? Who provides and pays for
them?

Public transportation should be funded with public money, of course.

Call me a commie.

Money that most cities don't have available, and rural areas certainly
don't



In a time when we as a nation are spending some half a million dollars
per MINUTE to wage a war halfway across the world against a country
that did nothing at all whatsoever to us, any political figure at any
level who offers the excuse "we can't afford it", should be laughed
right out of the building.

I completely agree that the war was completely unjustified, and that
the money would be much better spent on making us energy independent.
Know any politicians with the spine to get us out of Iraq and free up
the funds?


But perhaps people will find $10-15/gallon gas more affordable than
financing public transportation through taxes. (shrug)

I have no problems with financing public transportation through taxes,
but consumption taxes, such as on gasoline, are inherently regressive
and disproportionately impact those who can least afford them.


That's too bad, it really is, but all it means is that "poor" people will of
necessity drive small efficient cars for essential journeys only and "rich"
people will be able to afford gas guzzlers and flashy Rolls-Royces and
sports cars and do long pleasure trips and "cruise" around. And as we know,
the poor are always with us.

--
Mike Dworetsky

(Remove pants sp*mbl*ck to reply)

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Today are we lounging on deck chairs aboard the Titanic?
    ... Houston where no public transportation alternatives exist. ... Just add bus stops. ... Money that most cities don't have available, ... level who offers the excuse "we can't afford it", ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Today are we lounging on deck chairs aboard the Titanic?
    ... Houston where no public transportation alternatives exist. ... Money that most cities don't have available, ... I have no problems with financing public transportation through taxes, ... and disproportionately impact those who can least afford them. ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: The Real Cost of Gas (Re: go directly to jail)
    ... Plenty of people would prefer to live in cities, but can't afford to. ... and more people to "choose" cars over bikes, ...
    (rec.arts.sf.fandom)
  • In Cuba, Women Often Prefer Thumbing A Ride
    ... Cuba's capital, Havana, has good public safety and terrible public transportation. ... That has led to a curious form of travel, especially for young women in the city: urban hitchhiking. ... At major intersections, women climb in and out of strangers' cars, commuting to work or running errands in a way that would be almost unthinkable in any other Latin American capital. ... It also helps for young Cuban women asking for rides that the majority of drivers are men. ...
    (soc.culture.cuba)
  • Re: {OT ? } A Sea of Unwanted Imports
    ... What you are saying is you cant afford to buy and operate the kind ... Keep on saving and investing, particularly right now when cars, ... SUV cares about the price of fuel? ... the bigger safer vehicles are the ones buying the small and midget cars. ...
    (alt.autos.toyota)