Spending Money Wisely
Posted by Fred Jandt
Editor, Mass Transit magazine
There are times when the federal government makes me sit here and scratch my head. This week the President put forth the proposal of $1 billion in aid (humanitarian and economic) to Georgia to recover from what is being called a “short and disastrous war†with Russia last month.
According to the President, $30 million in aid had already been sent to Georgia, which is great. We need to help out people where we can. But here is where I scratch my head. Why aren’t we spending this money here in the United States?
There was a report that came out this week that the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) is facing a $12 million deficit and is looking at shutting down a fifth of its service and shutting down lines to four cities entirely to cut costs. This from an agency struggling with the overburdening ridership increases in recent years.
Before anyone goes off on me comparing humanitarian aid to transit funding, consider that last year the United States provided Georgia with more than $20 million to train its military and police forces. Now we are considering giving them a lot more money.
What makes me scratch my head is that while we’re arguing over drilling for more oil locally to reduce gas prices, we’re ignoring the fact that transit agencies are quietly starving to death while being trampled with drivers getting out of their cars.
How about this; let’s stop propping up countries around the world and start spending some of that money on ourselves for a change. And while we’re at it, let’s go ahead and drill for more oil locally, but instead of using it to drop gasoline prices, let’s leave them alone and instead spend the extra money on infrastructure improvements and repairs.
It’s all about spending your money wisely. It’s a fact. Our infrastructure isn’t just crumbling, it’s a shambles. People are making the case for public transportation with their feet. And yet we continue to spend money on other countries because of the outdated philosophy of the enemy of my enemy being my friend.
Thanks for reading the MT Position updated every Friday,
September 5th, 2008 at 10:29 am
Couldn’t agree with you more. St. Louis Metro transportation is facing a simalar problem, with a shortfall of funding. Who really gets hurt? Those individuals who are barely getting by as it is. People who already spend hours just getting to and from work, who depend on public transit. I hear from many people with disabilities who want to work, who want to contribute to society, but face the barrier of the lack of accessiable public transportation. How about setting a goal of reducing overseas aid by 10% and using that to improve public transportation?
September 5th, 2008 at 10:37 am
Fred, you are 100% right, though I don’t think we should completely stop foreign aid.
But what’s a billion? The war in Iraq is calculated to cost, directly to the US Government, $720,000,000 per DAY. Two days, and you’re well beyond the measly billion in question. And precisely what, please, are we accomplishing in Iraq?
Drilling for domestic oil, whether ANWAR or off-shore, will not result in lower prices for oil. By the time either option comes to pass, the prices will have escalated to higher prices than we see today. But what I think we should be doing is raising the gasoline taxes from the levels they were set at, rigidly, years and years ago, to something like triple what they are now. And it should be set at a percentage of the pump price, not a fixed amount, so when prices rise, the tax take is enhanced. The money thus raised should be dedicated to improving transit, both local, like RIPTA, and intercity.
Am I happy that I paid $3.59.9 for gas last night, and not the $4.38.9 I paid a couple months ago? Sure. But what I am truly angry about is that the tax take for either purchase is precisely the same, and that extremely little of that goes to transit.
September 5th, 2008 at 11:10 am
There’s going to be a new bunch of folks in DC by January. We need to believe that something can change, because many things must change. And ‘change’ is touted by both parties at this time. Let’s see, let’s do! I so agree with the comments thus far. We simply must begin paying attention to America, literally.
September 5th, 2008 at 11:26 am
Let’s remember that any oil drilled in the USA will be sold to the global market, not necessarily used for domestic consumption. That’s just the way it works and whether you are an oil baron or environmentalist, it will not change. Oil produce in Alaska could go to Japan while the US continues to import from Iran.
September 5th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Trust me…Those who scratch their heads over puzzling federal government policies become bald sooner than later.
September 5th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Ted, that’s funny.