Dear Editor:
Why does San Benito County have two public-sector bus systems? Former county administrative office Lee Collins said (Free Lance April 19, 2000) that SBC’s goals is to “run like a small business.” If so, then SBC ought to merge the two systems into one to save money for taxpayers who pay 99 percent of the fully amortized cost as presently funded. What justification can our leaders give us?
Or do we have a dysfunctional transportation policy that needs to be changed? Is the issue facing us transit or roads? Is it something greater?
Transportation Secretary Mineta said the “crucial question in transportation today is: ‘What should government do and what should it leave to others.'”
I think he is right. The real issue that we face is socialism or capitalism. Do we want to throw-over our Constitution and try to make the Marx-Engels-Lenin-Trotsky-Stalin publicly-owned everything theory work today in America, or do we cling to the quaint notion that privately-owned property is America’s keystone to success.
The Politico-Transit Alliance and its supporters favor the big socialist (communist) government model regardless of the price we pay for it, and ask voters to ignore the history of the 20th century.
Underlying this struggle lies Mr. Mineta’s crucial question and the internal inconsistencies in our national transportation policy.
The “divided house” of transportation policy continues to worsen as ever larger taxpayer subsidies are required to fund what would otherwise be bankrupt businesses.
It seems as if an Iron Curtain has been created by those advocates of taxpayer funded transportation, creating an artificial barrier between nationalized transportation and free enterprise transportation.
While a privatization revolution is occurring around the world, private sector transportation in the United STates is being consumed by politically fueled notions of public ownership which history has shown is not sustainable over the long haul.
Voters who peel the onion to its core will see the question facing us: accept Sovietization of America with nationalized, public-sector transport or retain the nation’s character carefully crafted by the founders.
We are a house divided now. Will we become all slaves to publically-owned transit or do we cling to the liberty guaranteed us under our Constitution?
Joseph P. Thompson
Tres Pinos
