BCT Editorial – 9/18/08

This page was last updated on September 18, 2008.

Money matters; Editorial; Beaver County Times; September 18, 2008.

The editorial subtitle is “Appeals to idealism won’t make people change driving habits.”

I’m confused.  Don’t Times editorials routinely disparage ideologues?

The editorial omits the fact that taxpayers subsidize the fares for mass transit, meaning riders are paying below-market fares.  As a result, we don’t know how many people would have switched to mass transit if they had to pay a price that reflected the true cost of providing the service.

Finally, the editorial says, “Some people have proposed encouraging conservation by imposing taxes that would kick in when the price of oil fell below a certain level, say $90 a barrel.  That might be the way to go.”  Gee, the Times advocating a new tax.  What a surprise – not.  Even if it made sense, does anyone believe those new taxes would be offset by tax reductions in other areas?

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