Has Mr. Obama's circle lost sight of the fact that we import more than two-thirds of the oil we use, even during the current price hiatus? Or have they forgotten how vulnerable this leaves us to the slightest geopolitical spasm in such stable oil-exporting nations as Nigeria, Mexico, Venezuela, Libya, Algeria, Columbia, Iran, and the Middle East states? And we're going to rescue ourselves by driving cars?
But in this moment, the week after a new president's inauguration,
the deadly fog has rolled in and absolutely everyone dreads what lurks
on the other side of it, without being able to discern the path through
it. For example, the "bail-out fatigue" being reported suggests that
congress may just call a halt to money-shoveling. Where would that
leave Mr. Obama's urgent call for "stimulus?" Not to mention further
TARP injections for redecorating bank offices.
I've been skeptical of the "stimulus" as sketched out so far,
aimed at refurbishing the infrastructure of Happy Motoring. To me, this
is the epitome of a campaign to sustain the unsustainable -- since
car-dependency is absolutely the last thing we need to shore up and
promote. I haven't heard any talk so far about promoting walkable
communities, or any meaningful plan to get serious about fixing
passenger rail and integral public transit. |
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