Seems kinda crazy that congressman from houston would shoot down funds going to houston, and send them someplace else. what is he thinking?
I disagree with pretty much everything contained here. We've been through this time and again. You are espousing the maxi-min philosophy of judging a society by its weakest link. This is pure insanity. Are the San Antonio Spurs only as good as Tony Massenburg? How ridiculous. Communism adheres to this theory. Capitalism does not. Then you attempt to distort the argument by arguing the impact to "the planet" instead of the relationship between taxes paid and services received. I can see how you would want to run from that argument, seeing as though there is little to defend. Sadly, I caught you. In life there are people that you *need*, and there are people that need *you*. The lower rungs that live along the proposed rail lines suck money from our economic system like a leach. What do they pump in? Hardly anything. Our prisons are filled with them, our welfare checks are cashed by them, their illnesses are treated on our dime, and in some cases, the roof over their head is paid by taxpayers. This is not enough? They need to siphon MORE of our money away from us? Why not reward the people who are contributing in a positive fashion to our way of life?
wow, never thought about like that, thanks for enlightening us all. and no, it's not enough, we should just execute the "lower rungs" so they are not an economic burden.
I have never seen my personal box score. How do I know if I, as a citizen, am play-off bound? Weak analogy Jorge...but nice try. Human beings are just that...if you cut one, they will bleed and cry with emotions. But you go on ahead and live your emotionless life and equate the existance of humanity to a basketball game. As long as you ignore those less fortunate than you, it never happened. Geez, I wish somebody had told my realestate agent that these areas closer in the city were less desirable places to live because I way overpaid. At least my overpriced housing taxes are going to pay bums in the street so I can't be accused of being a leach.
For me, it takes me about 5 minutes extra to use the train...that includes a 10 minute walk home from the station. If my wife drops me off by the station, then my commute is usually faster by train. I am caculating the door to door trip. If you park in a parking garage, make sure you are facturing that in as part of your commute. I calculate from the moment I get up from my office chair to the moment I walk through my front door at home. Granted, this is during rush-hour. If I drive to work during an off time, it is much quicker to drive. But the peace of mind of never worrying about stupid drivers, traffic tickets or an expensive accident more than makes up for the 5 minutes of lost time.
can you tell me how i benefit from you having the SEC to regulate the stock market? or how i benefit from the FCC if i dont really want to listen to the radio or watch TV? how do i benefit from the FAA if i never fly anywhere and grow my own food? how do i benefit from the nice property laws if i dont own any property? its a two way street. and secondly helping the poor is a cost of living in a civilized society. the origins of social welfare didn't start from bleeding heart liberals like me. it started from the elite wanting to ensure that the poor didn't rebel. even from your prespective if you were smart (machiavellian even) you'd want to throw the poor a bone here and there. it keeps them happy and from rebelling. there are more poor than the rich. you can't silence em by oppression.
In life there are people that you *need*, and there are people that need *you*. The lower rungs that live along the proposed rail lines suck money from our economic system like a leach. What do they pump in? Hardly anything. Our prisons are filled with them, our welfare checks are cashed by them, their illnesses are treated on our dime, and in some cases, the roof over their head is paid by taxpayers. This is not enough? They need to siphon MORE of our money away from us? Why not reward the people who are contributing in a positive fashion to our way of life? TJ the elitist Busted. Oh, if we could only get Dubya to fess up this way on camera.
Have you figured that maybe if they have access to adequate transit to get to jobs they might start paying more in taxes?
The problem with all of the rail debates is that too many people are judging them by how they alleviate existing congestion when the truth is that one or two or three lines can never do that. What rails are for is for dealing with future congestion. As I've said about Minneapolis, the system that I know best, and this probably applies to Houston, is that there is no more room to add lanes to freeways or build new freeways within the central city and its getting that way in the suburbs too. With a rail line that's as wide as the equivalent of a two lane street you can move almost as many people as a four lane highway and also have built in incentives for developments directly at the stops unlike a highway were you have to take up more land for on and off ramps and more parking. In already congested cities rail is the way to go for addressing future transportation and development needs as the city runs out of room to cut through freeways.
Good point Sishir. That is important to remember. It also gives people an option. If they want to drive, let them. But if the infrastrucutre is in place, people will want to rail as well. I rail everyday and I love not having to deal with idiot drivers. I much rather sit on my ass and read than deal with the stresses of driving. Plus the little extra walking is nice as daily exercise. It represents a choice.
I don't agree with your assessment. Until the service and labor industry doesn't exist (never) then you point is not valid. These are contributions that are vital to any city, despite the fact that the tax contributions are not equal. Just look to cities like New York and San Francisco that institute rent control because there is no other way for the city to function with 100% upper class residents. Who built your house or apartment? Does someone pick up your trash? Who cooks your meals when you go out to eat? Maybe if you screw the lower class badly enough they'll put people in public office that will fix the problem in ways that you'll dislike even more. Besides the fact that I don't agree with your assessment, it could be argued that everyone benefits from mass transportation, whether they use it or not. Automobile commuters benefit because it decreases gridlock on the same roads they need. Building more roads is not always the solution. The problem should be attacked on as many fronts as possible for maximum results. Heavy rail, light rail, HOV, buses, elevated rail, subways... Don't forget that middle and upper class people can and do use mass transportation when it is better than driving their own vehicles. It is just a matter of time before the positives outweigh the negatives. Houston will eventually hit that point... evidenced by the massive amount of change that has taken place over the last 5 years inside the loop... Just wait for another building boom in 10 years and you'll get another layer of density pushing the need even further. It is better to plan ahead than wait until you already need it. Texas cities won't last forever with average to crappy public transportation.
Well, my favorite part about all of this is that Culberson and DeLay are either actively lobbying against or passively allowing the Metro proposal to get in trouble by not participating. The money for transportation will get spent one way or another. Thanks to DeLay and Culberson, that money will now be diverted away from Houston. That is our representatives...fighting for every dollar outside of Houston!!!
I actually agree, and this is why we should dramatically reduce federal funding to red states immediately.
Yep. Its going to end up funding the next phase of LRT expansion here in Minneapolis. I love my hometown of Houston but if your elected leaders are going to screw you out of transit funds then send them up north we'll take them.
