Public Transportation and Smart Growth

Don't pay much attention to Bacon's article. I don't know who he is, but he just picked up a few right wing talking points and put them together as "journalism." Yes, mass transit is heavily subsidized by our taxes. Just as the highways are heavily subsidized. Just as Chrysler was bailed out by our taxes so they could continue making inferior products. Just as the airlines are heavily subsidized by providing them free security and free air traffic control. And so on. And so on.

Just as importantly, how does Bacon think all the maids and janitors and burger flippers get to work? Most people in the service industry make $10 and hour, if they're lucky, and work 20 hours a week so their employers don't have to provide benefits. They're probably not intimately familiar with BMWs, leather seats, orgasmic stereo systems, etc.

Looing at it from a purely selfish viewpoint, mass transit keeps some cars off the road. Bacon can contemplate what would happen if the busses stopped running and all those poor and working class people were sharing the freeway with him and belching exhaust fumes from their 15 year old Camrys.