We All Pay for the Framework

If I were a state legislator—which I never will be because 1) I have neither the temperament nor the patience nor the intellectual qualifications required for the job, and 2) no one would vote for me—I would have to resign because I wouldn’t be able to deal with constituents who were totally locked into positions from which they would not budge, or who didn’t know what they were talking about, but kept on talking anyway.

I was reminded of my low tolerance levels recently when the Star Tribune printed some letters from readers expressing their opinions about the proposed light-rail line between St. Paul and Minneapolis. Some of the letters expressed points of view I might quarrel with, seeing as I’m a longtime advocate of a major network of light-rail routes throughout the metro area, but I respect the writers’ differing opinions.

However, it irritated me to read reactions from people who appeared to have no idea what they were talking about, or were woefully ignorant of the facts. (I can relate! I’m often ignorant of the facts also, but I then try to get informed, or at least keep my mouth shut.)

In any event, the newspaper published the letters without any response from the editors or from invited responders with a different point of view. So that being the case, I’ll take it upon myself to answer a few of the more blatant letters, in hopes of setting the record straight.

Patrick from Chaska wrote:

“I am all for light rail as long as the fee to ride makes it a break-even option and no government subsidies are used to fund the operation in the corridor. If you have to pay $10, $15, or $20 to ride the light rail between cities, that’s fine with me. Make the ridership pay for the system rather than making everyone in the state pay for something that benefits an extreme minority.”

Patrick, you don’t understand. Very few parts of our infrastructure pay their own way. When you, as part of an extreme minority, buy a ticket to a Guthrie play or spend a couple of hours at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (where the admission is free, by the way), you’re not paying your total cost. When you drive your car, somebody who doesn’t drive, but who still pays taxes, is subsidizing your use of the roads. And when you drink a glass of tap water in Chaska, your neighbor who drinks only Evian bottled water is helping pay for the city’s water-purification system. In our society, there are many determinants of what is a sensible, community-wide investment. A light-rail system will bring broad benefits—and not just to those who ride the train.