Is Rex Burkholder Mentally Challenged?

That seems to be the question going around the internet these days. There is a converstation raging within the ranks of the transportaion Nazis here on this blog. (CAUTION: do not go there if there is the possibility that increased blood pressure could become a health hazard. the site if full of really really dumb arguments.)

I have had the distinct pleasure of following some of those email arguments and though I would provide some of those here. I will show Rex's (Metro Councilor) comments in red. Red is of course the color of his politics... as in commie red. (PS. I am have not forgotten to provide an in depth expose' of the Oregon guberenatorial election process both future and past... that is soon to come).

Below Rex's remarks are some responses by a Portland area transportation specialist (in green). See how logic picks apart socialism?

August 08, 2005

By default, American transportation policy continues to serve the interests of a few: the truckers (who fight desperately any “subsidies” of the more efficient rail system), land developers and the automobile-industrial complex. It is also anti-city (blue-red?) because cities don’t need more roads, they need functioning alternatives to commuting by car which would also free up road space for freight movement to keep these economic centers humming. Contrast this to European and Asian countries that use high gasoline taxes and highway tolls to develop comprehensive, convenient and speedy transit systems that give people real choice in how they travel, support high quality urban environments and support the economy.
The rate of growth of autos and VMTs is higher in Asia and Europe that in the US.

USA Transit Costs 3.5 Times Europe, 10 Times Asia International data indicates that the cost per point of public transport market share in the United States is 3.5 times that of Western Europe and 10 times that of high-income Asia. Subsidies are also highest in the United States, also at 3.5 times Western Europe. The largest systems in high-income Asia are generally not subsidized, either for capital or operations (Tokyo-Yokohama alone carries nearly double the number of passengers each year as all USA public transport systems combined). It can be expected that the gap with Europe will increase, as competitive incentives and funding decentralization are increasingly used the to reduce unit costs and expand public service within existing budgets. http://www.publicpurpose.com/


Add to the fire an Energy Bill that continues to heavily subsidize oil and gas companies (as Oregon’s gasoline prices hit record highs—what’s happened to the free market, guys?) and ignore alternatives…
Posted by Rex Burkholder at 07:17 AM

The free market has been distorted by the Burkholders who fight every attempt to increase US energy by drilling, on land or off-shore, or building nuclear power plants. People by Burkholder talk about energy prices but do nothing to limit air conditioning use, lighting city bridges which would constrain demand while they resist anything that expands supply.