$293 Million for New Transit Solutions, Economic Development
July 8, 2010 by Truckdrivernews · 1 Comment
US Secretary of Transportation gave away some more money today so to ensure more votes for big O’s administration this November.
That is what giving money to the unions is, right? Most of these public transit places are union run, so the government gives them millions of dollars on top of the already millions they gave them not so long ago – so the workers could continue to make $100,000.00 per year.
Why else would a puppet such as Ray LaHood (USDOT) working under direct orders from Big 0 by teaming up with HUD – and the EPA? It’s to ensure votes at the tax payer’s expense, but they call it the Obama Administration’s Livability Initiative.
The sad part is that a third party agency (NTSB) that was setup to investigate transportation accidents (trucks, buses, planes, trains, boats, trolly’s, city buses) and works closely with the USDOT – had so many accident reports in 2009 that they couldn’t even investigate them all for lack of resources – and mostly were mass-transit accidents.
The USDOT allocated $6 million from the program SAFETEA-LU for upgrades to a severe shortage of truck parking in 5 different states that has plagued the trucking industry for years and continues. But yet out of the same program allocated $5 million for one bicycle path in one city in New Jersey.
I’m not sure that the USDOT has their priorities straight – by giving more money to bicycle paths – than to something severely needed such as – truck parking.
“This investment by the Obama Administration in our nation’s communities will create jobs, boost economic development and recovery, and further reduce our dependence on oil,” Secretary LaHood said. “Our goals are to provide cleaner, safer, and more efficient ways to get around.”
“Streetcars are making a comeback because cities across America are recognizing that they can restore economic development downtown – giving citizens the choice to move between home, shopping and entertainment without ever looking for a parking space,”said FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff. “These streetcar and bus livability projects will not only create construction jobs now, they will aid our recovery by creating communities that are more prosperous and less congested.”
Are these “new jobs” going to be public jobs? Or are the unions going to end up with these as well?
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I wish the government would give small trucking companies like us money. Times are tough and applications are slow right now and we hope it picks up this year!