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It was apparently not enough to obliterate funding for bike lanes and walking paths and kids trying to get to school. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) wants to keep our tax dollars from paying for public transit as well.
Greg Hanscom
Boehner's last stand: House leader wants to kill transit funding | Grist
Seeded on Fri Feb 3, 2012 2:18 PM EST
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- Public Discussion (20)
Then, Wednesday night, Boehner and the leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee proposed killing a longstanding rule that sets aside a portion of the gas tax to fund trains and buses and other public transportation systems.
“We were all expecting some weird stuff,” says David Goldberg with the nonprofit Transportation for America, which has raised the alarm over the latest move. “But we weren’t expecting this now.”
Yeah.. a Jobs Bill .. Bonehead wants to stop it... Where are your jobs.. ask the schmuck who is leader of the House.
- 3 votes
#1 - Fri Feb 3, 2012 2:20 PM EST
It’s not unimaginable that he really does see trains and buses as a threat to life, liberty, and the pursuit of getting where we’re going in a great big hurry. But as always in Washington, there’s political calculus involved. Boehner may just be trying to score points by handing Obama a “jobs” bill that the president will not sign. (If this is indeed the game, it’s ironic: Transit projects generate more jobs than roads do.)
In the House, the antics are bound to continue for another month or more, as Congress has until the end of March to pass a new transportation bill. But Boehner, at least, has made it clear where he stands — and it’s not on some sissy metro line.
Who isn't absolutely bored to death with this BS behavior? He gets paid to do this? Grow the hell up and get to work for the American people!
- 2 votes
#3 - Fri Feb 3, 2012 3:31 PM ESTMass transit - cleaner, more efficient, less oil use, creates more jobs, can't get a DUI... Oh yeah all the things the current conservative dislikes. Talk about the death of common sense in politics....
#4 - Fri Feb 3, 2012 3:43 PM ESTHow many of them actually pay for themselves though? Do we really want to subsidize trains to try to keep from subsidizing oil? How about we subsidize neither - especially since we're running $1 trillion plus deficits every year.
How many of them actually pay for themselves though?
Do highways and freeways pay for themselves? Not all of them are toll roads.
Do we really want to subsidize trains to try to keep from subsidizing oil?
Yes. I'm sure if more effort were put into efficient mass transit systems there would plenty of ways for people to make money and ways to fund it. Once the country gets as many people on mass transit systems as we now have on the roads we'd actually save money and by some estimates actually make a profit.
How about we subsidize neither - especially since we're running $1 trillion plus deficits every year.
When you only look at a tiny portion of the big picture it seems so easy to solve doesn't it?
Do highways and freeways pay for themselves?
Perhaps I'm missing something, but aren't our roads paid for with gasoline taxes? And, isn't this about a portion of those same gasoline taxes (that should be used to fix our highways, that are in need of repair) being diverted to mass transit instead?
Once the country gets as many people on mass transit systems as we now have on the roads we'd actually save money.
Is there any evidence to suggest that Americans will ever give up the freedom that cars provide, in favor of mass transit? From everything I've seen, it doesn't seem very likely.
Perhaps I'm missing something, but aren't our roads paid for with gasoline taxes? And, isn't this about a portion of those same gasoline taxes (that should be used to fix our highways, that are in need of repair) being diverted to mass transit instead?
What's the difference? A tax is a tax. Now states are talking about a mileage tax because fuel efficent cars are decreasing the amount of revenue they get from the gas tax. Also if more people used mass transit there would be less need for road repairs - though all transit systems will need repairs of course.
Is there any evidence to suggest that Americans will ever give up the freedom that cars provide, in favor of mass transit? From everything I've seen, it doesn't seem very likely.
Now there is a statement that I agree with. Because of years of awesome advertising our vehicles have become an extension of who we are as opposed to a means of getting from point a to point b. That doesn't mean it makes any sense (like making cars that go over 100 mph to run on roads with 70 mpr limit) or is in anyway a good thing. Nor does it mean that an effective advertising campaign (long term) wouldn't be effective to revise opinions either. It will happen eventually as the population grows and adds more vehicles to an already strained freeway system. We'll just end up buying Canadian, Chinese or French parts instead of making them here and selling them there.
No. A tax is not a tax. When taxes are collected for a specific purpose, they should be used for that purpose. I even have no problem paying extra taxes when they are put to the use that they are intended for. Where I live, they have an extra penny sales tax that is used specifically for local improvements at the county level - roads, parks, bike trails, etc. And, as long as they use the money for those items, I support the tax. If, on the other hand, they decide to divert those funds elsewhere, I will vote against it when it comes up again in a few years.
We pay a gasoline tax so that the roads that are required for the gasoline using vehicles will be maintained. I see no reason that the roads should suffer when the money is there to make the repairs. The fact that somebody, somewhere along the way, managed to divert the funds to support alternate transportation suggests to me that the tax was collected fraudulently. If they want to institute a tax for alternate transportation, then they should do so. Allowing our highways to fall into disrepair because they are not using the funds for what they were intended is duplicitous.
Boehne needs to check himself into a rehab, to drain the alcohol from his brain. He`s acting like toddler that throws hissy fits if he doesn't get he way.
- 1 vote
#5 - Fri Feb 3, 2012 4:03 PM ESTShall we wrangle an invitation from the Betty Ford Institute in his name and send it to him?
- 3 votes
Shall we wrangle an invitation from Betty Ford Institute in his name and send it to him?
OH NO.... WE DONT WANT TO DO THAT..... Eric "The Hagfish" Cantor would be in charge then. Talk about out of the pan and into the fire.....
For those of you not familliar with the Hagfish...
are eel-shaped slime-producing marine animals (occasionally called slime eels). They are the only living animals that have a skull but not a vertebral column.
- 5 votes
Eric Cantor is the excuse for a human who defends obstructionism by telling his cohorts how he feels about the American public, "Let them suffer!" This of course includes poor Republicans as well. Why do these people vote Republican, can anyone answer this question with any validity?
- 4 votes
You wrote the most depised/hated person of all the wingnuts that disgust me.. 'freak face' cantor. His name is worse than any cuss word that you could think of.. he makes me sick..
- 3 votes
I did not mean to upset you. He simply comes to mind when I think of scum.
- 1 vote
lol.. we both agree.. that the schmuck is scum.. Of all congress he irks me the most.. then pig face McConnell .. Boehner is just a puppet with the scum pulling the strings.. I hear hankerchief sales has gone up since Boehner has been in..
- 1 vote
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