From: jgacker@news.gsfc.nasa.gov (James G. Acker)
Subject: Re: Save the Planet and the Economy at the Same time!
Organization: Goddard Space Flight Center
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 14:08:29 GMT


Mike, it is abundantly clear that you need to look at some
real-world examples.  Refute the case of Washington, D.C.,
please.

	Jim Acker


Mike Vandeman (mjvande@pbhye.PacBell.COM) wrote:
: -: Re: A Simple Way to Save the Economy, and the Planet, Too!
: -: 
: -: Gentlemen:
: -: 
: -:      Believe it or not, there is a simple way to save our economy,
: -: restore social equity, and save the planet, with one act!
: -: 
: -:      The answer is simple. We already know that the automobile and
: -: its relatives and accoutrements (e.g. roads, CFC-containing air
: -: conditioners, used tires, etc.) constitute the world's greatest
: -: threat to our environment and quality of life. We also know that
: -: the rich own and operate motor vehicles more than the poor. 
: -
: -	In the discussion of the gas tax, it was noted that it's
: -not an equitable tax because the poor- and middle-class are more
: -constrained to use their cars than the upper class.   Whereas your
: -position is well-reasoned and reducing our reliance on the car is
: -a useful goal, I think that your statement that the "rich" own and
: -operate motor vehicles more than the poor is in error.  The super-
: -wealthy don't even need to commute!
: 
: Not if you read the census reports. The poor have fewer cars
: available, & use them less. Isn't that obvious?

	IT'S NOT OBVIOUS AT ALL.  In Washington, those that can afford
the high price of housing in or quite near the city, or in the
suburbs, pay it and then take the Metro in to work.  Good -- it reduces
the number of cars.  However, those that can't afford the housing
live further out, and drive in.  There are West Virginians driving over
60 miles to Washington to do carpentry, roofing, etc., because they
can't afford to live in the suburbs.  Directly in the city, which is
predominantly low-income, transit use is higher, I'll admit that.  That's
where those misleading census numbers come in.  (Like I'm going to live
in downtown D.C. and wear a bulletproof vest under my suit.  Yeah, right.)
	Washingtonians commute from Frederick, MD (30 miles to the
north) and Fredericksburg, VA (45 miles to the south).  Many of them
are commuting to the suburbs.  A new rail service from Fredericksburg
was started this year, in hopes of taking 6,000 - 9,000 commuters off the road.
Roughly 10%.  What are you going to do about the other 90%, Mike?
	Both the Tysons Corner-Reston region and the Montgomery
County-Rockville region are high-density suburbs.  The ONLY link between
the two is the legendary Beltway, which has a bridge over the inconveniently
located Potomac River.  In the case of Maryland to Northern Virginia
commuting (the higher volume), and the reverse, the Beltway is the only way.
How does your proposal address the thousands of people who have just this
route to their occupations?
	Washington is NOT alone in having this type of problem.  The
growth of the suburban business core confounded urban planners, who
truly wanted to make mass transit work!  Read "Edge City"!
	Do you get it, Mike?  Hard-working middle and lower-income
Americans would be hit by your proposal -- not the rich.  But read on:

: -	It is currently cheaper (in most urban areas) to commute
: -via car than to use other means, and furthermore, most areas are
: -underdeveloped with regard to mass transit.  Suburb-to-suburb mass
: -transit is woefully undeveloped, and due to the growth of the
: -suburban business district and the decay of the central city business
: -core (read "Edge City"), suburb-to-suburb commuting is at least on
: -the same level as suburb-to-core.  Until this inequities are addressed,
: -simple taxing of car usage will only further add to the burden on the
: -poor- and middle-classes.
:  
: I'm not falling for that chicken-&-egg stuff. Making it more expensive
: to drive will cause some ex-drivers to begin asking for better 
: transit etc. Now, they ignore it because it's "not their problem".
: It is cheaper to use transit than to drive. $.39/mile, according to
: the latest from the IRS (or the EPA?).

	Cheaper:  for those fortunate few for whom transit is convenient.
And many of those "fortunate few" are the unfortunate who live in the
inner cities and use the transit systems, which are primarily
designed for city transit only.

	For a lot of commuters, the hours-long waits in slow-moving
traffic have them already asking for better transit.  It IS their
problem.  But even plans not yet completed (outlying Metro stations,
especially one near me!) don't address the whole problem.

	Read what I said, bud.  "Until this inequity/these inequities
are addressed" is stated.  (Poor grammar, though.)  I happen to advocate
raising the gas tax for most of the reasons you gave.  It would
burden me, because I have no other alternative than to drive or
carpool to work.   I stand by the statement that simple taxing of car
usage will further add to the burden on the poor and middle classes,
and be only a minor inconvenience to the rich.
	In my personal case, if I attempted to use mass transit,
my direct commuting cost would double and I would lose an hour a day getting
to and from pick-up points.  And still have to drive 5 miles one-way to the
nearest train station.


: -	Simple answers require complex understanding.
: 
: No, I think you are complicating what is very simple.


	Mike, I was just in San Francisco for a convention.  The Bay
Area transit system, including the bus system which I used to get to
a swimming practice at USF, is remarkable, and transit in the city
exemplary.  With the exception of Oahu, I've never seen a better bus
system.  The Chicago and Northwestern railroad system in Chicago is
also a very good suburb-to-core commuting system.  I think transit
can work -- but realize, taxing car use doesn't inconvenience
Donny Trump, Bill Gates, Arnold Schwarzenegger, or Madonna (examples
of people who probably have lots of cash).  They don't commute!
They may have 10 cars in the garage - Arnie's got a HUMVEE that gets
1/4 mile to the gallon!  Like he cares?  Taxing car use will hit
the lower and middle-classes -- get it?

	It may seem a simple answer, but to make it work you've got
to understand it.

	Jim Acker
	jgacker@neptune.gsfc.nasa.gov