Happy warm and sunny weekend!
There’s an article in the Strib today about money going to transportation. I’ll excerpt just a short bit below as it is a fairly long article. I try to be open minded about the roads – because although I drive fewer than 100 miles a week I know I am in the minority. I get frustrated because I think that technology and telework strategies could be embraced for far fewer dollars and therefore should be worth at least a consideration.
What I find amazing here is that Pawlenty says "You can't just stand still while you are down with a crisis.” He doesn’t seem to realize that the statement is just as true figuratively as it is literally. Doesn’t he think we’ll be metaphorically standing still when he cuts education, cultural programs, social programs, economic…? Am I missing something? I understand a need to cut budgets – I don’t understand boosting only transportation and implying that it will help us move forward. Thanks! Ann
http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/3756036.html
Pawlenty pledges $1 billion more for transit, roads
Laurie Blake, Star Tribune
Published March 15, 2003 TRAN15
Recalling that Abraham Lincoln pursued the transcontinental railroad during the Civil War, Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced Friday that he, too, will push ahead at a critical time, providing at least a $1 billion more for transportation over five years despite the state's deficit.
"We need to move forward," said the governor, for whom roads were a campaign promise. "You can't just stand still while you are down with a crisis." He said the money would remove persistent bottlenecks in the metro area and speed improvements to highways linking the Twin Cities and outstate Minnesota. Some projects could be done as many as nine years ahead of schedule, though he couldn't say how many or which ones.
The plan is one of several key policy directions Pawlenty has set since taking office. The amount falls short of his campaign promise of $2 billion; he lowered it in the face of the $4.2 billion deficit. But in the midst of many other cuts, transportation stands out as a spending priority….
