As a low income person, I am always stunned by the amount of money we throw at problems. When we "redistribute" the wealth, I see lots of middle class professionals and sometimes union members getting good salaries; but I see no difference made in the fundamental problems.
LRT and about a billion dollars later, there will be no dent in the fact that the vast, vast majority of people will still be using fossil fuels to propel their utterly inefficient cars to get milk. This is craziness, and I know we, the people (hooray!!) can come up with entirely new models. We need to transform the society, not extend the reach of consumerism. LRT is based on the SMART GROWTH model which is not working: rather than limiting growth, it has become a means whereby professionally employed people are paid to design and build infrastucture that will facilitate citizens spending more money, consuming more, and keeping our catastrophic capitalist economy humming along to armeggedon. Taxi2000 might be one to look at. How about the Trike Bikes that Gary Hoover rides. For folks that do not bike: I'm tellin you, you don't know what the fun, joy, good health is yours by getting on a bike for commuting. Rather than more parking lots, we need shower stalls throughout the city so people can wash up after working up a sweat. Think of the reduction in the costs of maintaining our medical establishment!! What if downtown spent as much money promoting Trike Bikes and the pleasures of human powered transportation, as they spent on the LRT. By the way, I have a great story for anyone who is interested in saving on rising medical costs. I am on Medical Assistance, and have personally saved the system over $20,000 for a heart pacer my cardiologists said I must have. I wish I could have that money to pay my neighbors to do all the jobs begging to be done in my low income neighborhood. Lynne Mayo Sustainable __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Try FREE Yahoo! Mail - the world's greatest free email! http://mail.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
