Vote Yes on Prop 1a - as Paul Krugman says, "let's get those projects rolling."

[bananas]

We're going to want high-speed rail eventually. But is this the right time? According to Paul Krugman, this is the perfect time for projects like this:

"And this is also a good time to engage in some serious infrastructure spending, which the country badly needs in any case. The usual argument against public works as economic stimulus is that they take too long: by the time you get around to repairing that bridge and upgrading that rail line, the slump is over and the stimulus isn’t needed. Well, that argument has no force now, since the chances that this slump will be over anytime soon are virtually nil. So let’s get those projects rolling."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/17/opinion/17krugman.html?ref=opinion

Prop 1a isn't just about high-speed rail, it includes $1B for new feeder lines (including trolleys) and upgrades to interconnecting lines. It will directly improve local transit, and the increased ridership means that cities will have more reason to expand their local transit lines even further. Prop 1a will give us a high-speed backbone connecting local transit systems. We're already seeing increase passenger use of trains, we have a new train line in North County, and a fantastic trolley system in San Diego.

Maybe we'll all be driving plug-in hybrids ten or twenty years from now, but they won't be making plug-in airplanes. Peak oil and carbon caps for global warming could make air travel very expensive.

One thing everybody says about high-speed rail in other countries is that it's nice, and that's something we all like to do, make this a nicer place to live.

[AndyTiedye]

1. Kicked for a Real Rail System!

:kick: