I was one of the minions that helped elect Tim Kaine. I think he has a lot to offer Virginia and am excited that he has made transportation and education at the forefront of his agenda. Now I want to disagree with him. Sorry Tim.
Kaine is against the gas tax. This is really no surprise, as he was against it all along. I tend to think along the lines of Bill Maher. Gas should be more expensive, not less. I feel that, like tobacco and alcohol, it should be heavily taxed. Gas should be so heavily taxed that carmakers will freak out and start making all their cars be exceptionally fuel efficient, and that the voters will support anything that will hasten along the building of metrorails and public transportation. This really comes down to the environmentalist in me. High gas prices discourage its use and encourage carpooling, and taking the metro. I think we should heavily tax anything that emits noxious fumes into our air. This includes cars, boats, trucks, factories and Karl Rove (I think the level of pollutants from Rove are single handedly responsible for the melting polar ice caps).
My other reason for supporting the tax comes from the commuter in me. If we took the proceeds of a large gas tax and funneled it directly to transportation issues, it is not only metro that would be built, but wider and new roadways. Then I would burn less fuel (again better for our ozone), and get to my destination in half the time, and the cost would be a wash. I am someone who that gas tax would hit hardest, I cringe at the thought of the prices I would pay, but I am willing to make the sacrifice. Now we only need a few thousand others to feel the same way.
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Though I couldn't vote for him, I did donate to the Kaine campagain and support the kind of practical leadership that has been coming from Vrigina Democrats since Chuck Robb was Governor. And I totally agree with you and Bill.
The trouble is Americans. Few leaders had stood up and talked seriously about sacrific. And those that have, lose. Americans want something for nothing. They yell and scream about gas prices, but won't force their leaders to do anything about it. It's up to us, FDR told his supporters that they had to "make him" do social security...politicians have to be forced into making change. Otherwise, they will stick to the middle of the road where it's safe.
For my part, I'm trying to insitute a telecommuter policy at my day job.
Telecommuting is becoming more and more popular in this area as a direct result of the traffic issues. I hope your day job takes you up on what is a very smart and many times profitable solution. I work from home myself, but still have to make the hike into the city for rehearsals/shows.
I think sacrifice is something many Americans think of in the abstract only. This may sound extreme, but I link it to the nature of Christianity in our country. There seems to be a detrimental marriage of religion and consumerism that has warped even the secular population , a belief that Jesus took the brunt and did the sacrificing for us, so now we don't have to anty up. I am talking about this on the cultural level. The popular train of thought seems to be 'It's ok if I don't sacrifice, because the next guy will do it.' I agree that there is little discussion of sacrifice, but there is also little discussion of responsibility.
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