This morning I read two articles back-to-back: this one (on the Chattanooga-Atlanta Rail Plan) and one titled "Is Democracy As We Know It On the Way Out?" The decision-making and "study" process described in "rail plan" article is a good example of the undermining of democracy by the corporate community and their allies in governments that are supposed to represent the people and guard our interests. How many people in the region know what "maglev" technology is? How many want to see I-75 torn up for years for a maglev "solution" when an existing corridor exists that would be less expensive to develop and serve more people? Studies in Europe attest to the destuction of accessible public transportation networks and social fabric triggered by overreliance on high-speed technologies; planned by corporate-dominated bodies, many high-speed systems there are too expensive for the "average person" to ride, while the systems most people use are allowed to deteriorate and even disappear. That's why 400,000 people travelled from all over Europe to a small town in Italy last month to protest a planned tunnel linking Italy and France. Four hundred thousand! Their demands were for accessible transportation and democratic process. Doubtless our leaders and experts will tell us that what's proposed along the I-75 corridor will "promote development." Probably we all want that. Before we buy into their solution, however, let's ask "what kind of development and for whom?" We need a truly democratic process to determine what should be built, where, and for whose benefit.
Local funds in place for Chattanooga-Atlanta rail plan
This morning I read two articles back-to-back: this one (on the Chattanooga-Atlanta Rail Plan) and one titled "Is Democracy As We Know It On the Way Out?" The decision-making and "study" process described in "rail plan" article is a good example of the undermining of democracy by the corporate community and their allies in governments that are supposed to represent the people and guard our interests. How many people in the region know what "maglev" technology is? How many want to see I-75 torn up for years for a maglev "solution" when an existing corridor exists that would be less expensive to develop and serve more people? Studies in Europe attest to the destuction of accessible public transportation networks and social fabric triggered by overreliance on high-speed technologies; planned by corporate-dominated bodies, many high-speed systems there are too expensive for the "average person" to ride, while the systems most people use are allowed to deteriorate and even disappear. That's why 400,000 people travelled from all over Europe to a small town in Italy last month to protest a planned tunnel linking Italy and France. Four hundred thousand! Their demands were for accessible transportation and democratic process. Doubtless our leaders and experts will tell us that what's proposed along the I-75 corridor will "promote development." Probably we all want that. Before we buy into their solution, however, let's ask "what kind of development and for whom?" We need a truly democratic process to determine what should be built, where, and for whose benefit.