tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609536178570975752.post1725644916879920550..comments2024-01-12T00:32:20.149-08:00Comments on The Overhead Wire: Austin's TrendsPantograph Trolleypolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17833159138533550544noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609536178570975752.post-19853322232429389142009-11-27T16:08:15.013-08:002009-11-27T16:08:15.013-08:00One way to look at it in terms of economics is tha...One way to look at it in terms of economics is that government investment can provide certain benefits and impose certain costs on the public. The road-based transportation system has many benefits, but it also imposes certain costs, namely the expense of owning and operating a motor vehicle. It's almost like an implicit tax, because even though it doesn't involve the IRS taking money from your paycheck, it's still money that you have to spend in order to be a member of the society.<br /><br />For the libertarian types, any tax is a drain on everyone's productivity, and for the liberals, one should point out that it's a very regressive sort of tax, hitting the poor especially hard, either by forcing them to buy cars they can barely afford, or for those who can't afford even that, by wasting the time they could be spending on bettering themselves, which they instead have to spend waiting for and riding buses to get to work. A system where the government favors transit may end up with the government giving more explicit subsidy to transportation, but at the same time, be cheaper for the public through the reduction of this implicit tax.crzwdjkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06394805356595604336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609536178570975752.post-67480559398950056422009-11-25T13:14:07.301-08:002009-11-25T13:14:07.301-08:00And then they should get light rail built like in ...And then they should get light rail built like in the rejected 2000 plan.Matt Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18289893559555812236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609536178570975752.post-49972782087119467212009-11-25T07:13:00.898-08:002009-11-25T07:13:00.898-08:00Correct again, as usual.Correct again, as usual.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18382275057184120210noreply@blogger.com