Astonishment!

That’s what we felt when we looked at the front page of the Metro+State section of this morning’s paper.  Three stories are presented.

One is a commentary on the progress of the legislation which will initiate legal action on behalf of the proposed "mass transit" boondoggle.  The second is another blast of propaganda by columnist Smith about the anticipated magical results of that boondoggle.

The third tells us of a newly awarded contract for the expenditure of further millions of dollars on highway construction which, it seems to us, must cut sharply into projections of ridership for mass transit in the so-called northeast corridor.

One has to wonder.  Are the people responsible for these projects actually talking to each other?  Driving is made easier.  Residential units downtown are being encouraged, if not actually subsidized.  And the city is building and giving away parking garages.  Who will use mass transit?

Well, there are thousands of ordinary Indianapolis residents who do need public transit back and forth across town to work, shop, visit, whatever.  We’re all for that.  But "express routes" with stops every eight to ten blocks won't be much help to those folks.  We most certainly oppose using additional public funds to make life easier for those who have made the choice to live in suburbia.  We don’t need rapid transit on the Stadium-to-Palladium route.

Let’s take quick look at a few of Ms. Smith’s comments.

Argument against the plan which she belittles: "We need to protect voters from themselves."  No.  We need to protect voters from the frequent political, financial charades made possible when media personnel are apparently under orders not to ask germane questions.

"...$600 million would come from the federal government."  Some more of that "free" federal stuff.

"The plan...will double the number of buses on the road."  How about those on city streets for intra-city uses?  And with what priority in the over-all plan?

"I’m confident in Hoosiers’ ability to sniff out a bad business deal that involves their tax dollars."  The "sniffing" ought to be in concert with a responsible media.  We recall an incident when the then current mayor was denying any thoughts of a new stadium while the CIB was concurrently buying the land where the new football field now resides.  A reporter who did ask about the purchases was told to buzz off, and apparently did so as the question was never asked again.  Or at least never printed.

With a little objective "sniffing" by the media, the ability of Hoosiers to approve or disapprove the $10 million annual gift to the basketball team would be greatly enhanced.

It is difficult for individual citizens to "sniff" out anything, when media coverage of publicly financed projects so often resembles the press release from the political source initiating the project.

An old friend is credited with the saying, "It's a mighty thin pancake that don't have two sides."  In the local print media, mass transit has become a "mighty thin pancake."

 

Comments

[Leslie Baker]

Without having Smith's column in front of me to check, I thought the "we need to protect the voters from themselves" was her take on someone else's attitude. I may be wrong. My jaw did hit the floor, however, at the comment about sniffing out bad business deals. Does she have any idea what's been going on in this city for the last several years/decades? Has she had a bad cold ever since she started working at the paper and can't "sniff" these things out herself? Perhaps I should send her a link to your blog and ask her to start reading at the beginning.

[Gene Poole]

Writing or speaking about business with credibility, requires familiarity.

[Jim Fuquay]

Folks, Ms Smith does not sit in the legislature or on the city/county council so let's not go overboard berating her. Give some style points for raising the level of conversation. The goofballs that are trying to do our thinking for us sit in the state legislature.

[Fred McCarthy]

The "goofballs" - politicians - are already in the bag. Smith's job is to hammer the public over and over with the idea that central Indiana will revert back to cornfields and pig pens if we don't satisfy "young professionals." The attitude seems to be typified in a current TV commercial for a car rental company where a smarmy voice-over assures an arrogant, egotistical jerk he deserves special treatment because he's a "business pro." Some more of the "me first" generation?

[Purple rain]

When they say this is what the 20-something wants - they leave out the word "selfishly" - as their wants are always about what makes them happy (despite protests to the contrary) and is not about what is best for the general populace.

[pistolet hukowy]

Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You clearly know what youre talking about, why throw away your intelligence on just posting videos to your site when you could be giving us something enlightening to read? pistolet hukowy