You Can't Win Them All

I saw the look of disappointment in Mr Robert Harper's (Porter Co. Commisioner) eyes today...the look of defeat. It's a look that everyone portrays from time to time. It's a terrible look and an even more terrible feeling for the one who is defeated. Yet, sometimes defeat is not so clearly defined, and in many cases may prove to be a victory to a man's conscience.

Harper's defeat came at the Full Commission Meeting this morning at the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission in Portage. For nearly 3 hours, politicians and board members perused the agenda, voting on new amendments and listening to presentations. However, it was the Valpo Dash vote about half way through the meeting which really brought the excitement.

Supported by Valpo mayor, Mr Costas, an act was laid on the table to provide procurement for the expansion of the Valpo Dash program which operates Valpo-Chicago buses for those not wanting to drive or take the So. Shore. The money had already been appropriated and the FTA had found the project sustainable, however, Mr Harper and Portage Mayor Velasquez had their objections.

Harper gave a riveting speech on his views and pointed out that the Dash simply did not have the numbers. What's more, as a proposed vote for the creation of the RTA is becoming a possibility, Harper admitted that many other cities and town will soon want money for such bus programs as well. The RTA proposal already includes a provision for taxing power and no doubt taxes would have to be levied in order to provide the subsidies for such bus programs.

Costas fired back that the money had already been set aside...it would be lost if the program was not supported. Also, many folks are in need of this service and Costas figured that in a few years the number of riders would rise significantly. Needless to say, Costas won the day with nearly 70% of the votes (weigthed of course in order to provide a wider margin of victory). Yet, I think it was Harper that walked away with a little bit of personal satisfaction that he did what was right.

Publicly supported transit programs are a waste of money. Sure, they help to alleviate the burden of pollution on the environment and they get more people into less vehicles. However, they are also a huge burden on tax-payers. With trains and buses being subsidized by the government (whether it be state, local, or federal) tax-payers are paying for such services to be made available. Yet, whenever a tax-payer wishes to use such a service, they also have to pay for fare: they're being double-charged. What is more, since not many tax-payers use such systems (especially this Valpo Dash bus system), the capital of the many is allocated to the few, those who do use the system. In Valpo, the buses (2 of them) carry approximately 30 people daily. That is hardly a majority or even a large minority. And since there is so little demand, and so little income from the fares, the Dash program is heavily subsidized by tax-payer funds.

Costas today won the vote which allows for the procurement of 4 new buses using $2.2 million, 80% from the FTA and 20% from the City of Valpo.

I find a problem with this. The government was not created to provide public transportation. Instead, if demand is high, private entrpreneurs will certainly open up shop and will provide more efficient services at little to no cost to the public. Yet, the commission today decided that the tax payers (both on a federal and local level) should be compelled to provide for the .1% of folks who use the Dash. What is more, those folks who use the Dash will not only pay the taxes, but will also have to pay the fare. This is far from efficient. This is far from fair. And this service is far from necessary in the Valpo area.

Besides my doubts on the importance of this program, I had to agree with Costas at the end of the day because the appropriation for the program had already been voted on and approved twice. Today's vote was just for procurement as the program had already been verified by the correct agencies. If the procurement had been lost today, then all of the money allocated to the program would also have been lost and tax-payers would have lost anyway. It was a catch-22.

The supporters of the program beamed with happiness, yet as I glance at Mr Harper, I noticed that he left with a certain air of respectibility and candor which is rarely seen in politicians today. He may have been defeated when it came to the vote, but he stood up for the rights of his constituents. He spoke his piece and he deferred agreement to the commission. And when his position was defeated, he gracefully accepted the outcome. Today, Mr Harper lost the vote. But because he pursued truth and justice, instead of a personal agenda, it is Mr Harper who truly won.