[milwaukee-electric] Re: "Scott Walker's secret mission."

[Y Marti]

That's all there is to it for transit riders? The ability to buy a  
car? I have two and a motorcycle but I would rather spend the parking  
money and gas money on something more interesting. I guess I am a bad  
American....

Quoting mrcooby <x779 at webtv.net>:

> Walker's secret mission is to abolish mass transit
>
> By Robert Bauman
>
> <http://www.biztimes.com/blogs/milwaukee-biz-blog/authors/robert-bauman>
>
> In a Feb. 20 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial, Milwaukee County
> Executive Scott Walker let it slip: his goal is to abolish public  
> transit in Milwaukee County by, as he put it, growing the economy so  
> that poor people who depend on transit can afford to buy cars.
>
> By implication, if everyone has a car, no one will use or need a public
> transit system.
>
> In this context, the reason for Scott Walker's obsessive opposition to
> any form of rail transit becomes clear: he is afraid it will succeed!
>
> It turns out that Scott has been paying more attention to the success of
> new rail transit systems across the country than anyone thought. He has
> no doubt observed that these lines attract new riders - often  
> individuals with higher incomes who own automobiles and homes and  
> vote-potent political constituency.
>
> To his chagrin, he has noted that some of these new riders actually live
> in suburbs and support Republicans. If middle-class Republicans will use
> and support rail transit, then he has a real problem achieving his  
> goal of abolishing the transit system.
>
> He has no doubt observed that overall transit usage in cities with  
> new rail lines has often increased thereby broadening the base of  
> political support for transit in general. He may have even observed  
> that new rail transit lines are popular with the business community  
> in general and the real estate development community in particular -  
> groups that could stand in the way of his plan to abolish all transit.
>
> We now know why Scott cannot allow rail transit to be introduced in
> Milwaukee, no matter how modest the plan: he has learned from the
> experience of other cities that new rail transit lines are popular and
> have even generated popular support for increased taxes to further
> expand and improve transit systems.
>
> Clearly, any investment in a rail transit line that has the potential of
> reversing the death spiral of MCTS (Milwaukee County Transit System) and
> broadening the appeal of transit in general must be opposed at all  
> cost because Scott knows that you cannot abolish a public service  
> that is
> well-funded, used by a broad cross section of the community and has
> widespread popular support.
> Who would have guessed that the biggest problem with investing in a rail
> transit line in Milwaukee is that it might be successful?
>
>
> Robert Bauman is a Milwaukee alderman.
>
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