Miscellaneous

TTC 69

By Chris Stevenson

I received an email forward a few days ago from some concerned citizens regarding the Trans-Texas Corridor, and specifically about the creation of one component of the project, I-69.  I haven't done a whole lot of research on the project, but the gist is that the State of Texas is in the process of implementing a 50-year transportation improvement plan that includes not only the construction and improvement of existing highway paths, but also high-speed rail lines, freight rail lines and utility right of ways.  Part of the plan is to create Interstate 69 that will run from Canada to Mexico and will follow existing highway routes.  One of the potential routes has I-69 tracking most of what is now state highway 59 that runs from Texarkana to Houston to Victoria to Laredo.  The purpose of the Trans-Texas Corridor is easy to see:  with the population growing all the time we are eventually going to need transportation infrastructure that will meet much greater demands.  Plus, transportation infrastructure is good for the economy and will bring revenue in many forms, but especially to those areas touched by the corridors. 

You would think the citizens along the proposed routes of the TTC would be happy about the likely economic benefits to their areas that the TTC would bring.  To the contrary, many citizens are outraged.  Most for two reasons:  they see the enormous expenditures as government waste at its worst and they are afraid of the government taking all of the land required for the project.  The email that I received was all about people mobilizing and going to a series of town meetings hosted by TXDOT where citizens have an opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns about the project.  The people behind the email obviously think that their voices at these town hall meetings are going to have some force and effect.  To put it another way, they think they are going to bring down the Trans-Texas Corridor by showing up at a meeting and bitching about it.  As a person who has some experience with government takings, I know something these people apparently do not:  they are already screwed.  No government project gets this far down the road and doesn't happen.  These town hall meetings are a formality required by law to give the appearance of public input and control.  People think that because we have a democratic form of government that their input will be heeded.  Every time I'm exposed to that notion I replay a haunting sound bite from the documentary that I made, "This is not a majority rule situation because the majority already ruled when poeple elected the Congress."  No truer words were ever spoken.

I haven't developed an opinion yet on whether the TTC should happen or not.  There are clearly pros and cons.  What frustrates me is that people are so ignorant of the way things work.  I'm not talking about some cynical view of government or some esoteric conspiracy theory bullshit.  I'm talking about nuts and bolts reality.  People are running around outraged, thinking that the government is corrupt or out of control, or both.  And they are acting on it.

Maybe I'm jaded or wrong.  I'd be interested in hearing what the readership thinks.

Full post as published by Cursed With Ambition on February 05, 2008 (boomark / email).