[PRCo] Re: Fwd: In Traffic’s Jam, (corrected)

[Joshua Dunfield]

Dennis Cramer wrote:
> People like to be independent and the automobile is one of the crowning 
> achievements of that independence in the USA.  Do you want to be in a 
> crowded subway with all of those "people" or do you want to sit in a traffic 
> jam, listening to your favorite music, talking on the phone, doing your 
> make-up, etc.?

You can do all those things on the subway; people might think you're rude,
but you won't be endangering others by driving like you were drunk.  (The
evidence is that blowing a .10, sleep deprivation, and talking on a phone --
hands-free or not -- have about the same effect on driving.)

>  We love our independence and forget about what it costs. 
> Also do not forget, the "terrorists" will attack those subways some day.
> Just put the vent in your car on recirculate and you can drive right though 
> the anthrax attack. <VBG>
> 
> The peak of the transit industry was circa 1918.  I wonder what caused the 
> rapid decline from there on?  Can anyone say Henry Ford?  There were no 
> conspiracies or hidden agendas, just a desire for more independence.

Well, I don't know if free parking for government employees in NYC (as the
article notes, 35% of them drive vs. 14% of finance-sector workers) is a
conspiracy or a hidden agenda, but how is it the result of a popular
"desire for more independence"?  It's bad policy; it's one small part of
massive subsidies that favor driving over everything else.  And since when
should members of a society elevate their personal independence over
everything else?

Best,
-j.