182 replies to this topic

[wrabbit]

Putting a few extra dollars in your pocket doesn't mean you can't afford your own transportation, it's called being smart with your money. You know, that thang that Americans seems to have lost sight of...

I find it funny that you bring up air pollution and (rightfully) brag about the things you do, but light rail riders are losers who can't afford their own cars. We should each be making our own positive contributions without being judged financially.

Regarding living downtown and moving to the 'burbs, we wanted to stay downtown, but couldn't find work down there. My husband works in the technology field and most tech jobs are not downtown because the cost to retrofit old buildings is prohibitive vs. building new structures out here. We didn't move here because of the schools as the old elementary school our kids would have gone to was better than any Folsom school. We moved here because we could live and work in the same community. And we were able to pick a home from which we could walk and bike to many things we need. I never get in the car to get my kids to school. We walk to the park, to the trails. I ride my bike to the dentist, to the movies, etc. And it's not because I can't afford to drive.

Please don't put words in my post that I didn't use....I never said those who couldn't afford cars were losers.
I wrote words, more to the effect, that some people want to live in one place and work in another, which requires them to have a car. Then when they are feeling the increase in gas prices, they have to take the Light Rail to make ends meet. There is no shame in doing that.
And certainly no shame in not owning a car.

I didn't mean to sound judgmental, it's just that most Americans will take the easier way with anything, when given a choice. So, if they can afford the gas prices and a car, they most likely will drive that car, and not take the Light Rail. That is why we have so much air pollution. I'd say you are the rare exception to the rule.
Also, I find it hard to believe that taking the train costs you more than if you drove to work. Can you explain that?

I'm a big advocate of doing all one can to improve the environment...after all, it supports us being alive. So it's the wise thing to do, if we want to keep living on Terra Firma. We also save plastic bags, and use a fabric bag to bring home groceries and other items. We do all we can to be environmentally conscious. And I do brag about the efforts my family and I make and hope others make the same efforts.

While bikes are great and I tend to ride mine a lot, they can be prohibitive when trying to carry groceries or other items one has bought. Also, us bike riders tend to get an extra dose of the pollution of car exhaust and I've wondered if that is very healthy. I about choked the other day as a diesel truck passed me by. I'm waiting for the invention of the bike riders mask to solve that dilemma. But I doubt it will be made any time soon.

I'd much prefer to ride my bike all the time. And, I would if we had the type of situation they have in BC Canada. Almost everybody rides their bike there, instead of driving a car. I visited a buddy of mine up there, years ago, and was very surprised at the low number of cars on the roads. It was awesome!

Do you find it sort of stupid that the diesel fueled vehicles don't have the same regulations as the gas driven ones? I've always wondered why that is. They seem to put out more exhaust than a gasoline fueled vehicle! And the fact that these old cars don't have to pass a smog check either, really irks me. It's these types of iniquities that really piss me off. Shouldn't we be clamping down on this type of thing? Why does it continue to go on, when our air is getting worse day by day???

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[cw68]

Please don't put words in my post that I didn't use....I never said those who couldn't afford cars were losers.
I wrote words, more to the effect, that some people want to live in one place and work in another, which requires them to have a car. Then when they are feeling the increase in gas prices, they have to take the Light Rail to make ends meet. There is no shame in doing that.
And certainly no shame in not owning a car.

I took public transportation for years, so I know of what I speak. Many people don't take it to make ends meet but because it's a smart use of their dollar. It's not an all-or-nothing thing. For instance, when I lived in Madison, I could have driven downtown to work, but had to pay $6 per day for parking. I could take the bus for $1.50 per day and it took me 10 minutes more each way. Which is smarter? Smartest was when the weather was nice and I could walk along the lake front to work. That rocked.

No, you didn't say loser, but saying that people on light rail can't afford a car themselves, saying that they have to do this to make ends meet doesn't give the people who ride light rail because they are smart, not poor, any kudos.

[Andrea V]

Chris rides light rail, (once in a while) and if I worked Down Town, I'd ride it too!

We have LOTS of "vehicles" , and we don't NEED to save the $$ by riding the light rail ... it is just easier!

TRAFFIC SUCKS!

[wrabbit]

Well, I have to admit the last three posters made a lot of sense.

I was just trying to point out that people who couldn't afford to have a car shouldn't be coming to Folsom to shop, as it's probably the most expensive shopping trip they'll ever make. And there's two reasons...

Number one, the sales tax here is higher than practically anywhere else.

Number two, many stores feel that Folsomites can afford higher prices, so they raise them.

If the price of gas keeps going up, I too may think different of the Light Rail. And that thought makes me sick.

[Warren G]

If the price of gas keeps going up, I too may think different of the Light Rail. And that thought makes me sick.

Regardless of Light Rail, what the US oil companies are doing to us with their billions in extorted profits makes me sick.

[cw68]

Well, I have to admit the last three posters made a lot of sense.

I was just trying to point out that people who couldn't afford to have a car shouldn't be coming to Folsom to shop, as it's probably the most expensive shopping trip they'll ever make. And there's two reasons...

Number one, the sales tax here is higher than practically anywhere else.

Number two, many stores feel that Folsomites can afford higher prices, so they raise them.

If the price of gas keeps going up, I too may think different of the Light Rail. And that thought makes me sick.

Yep, the outlets, Kohls, Mervyns, Target, WalMart, etc. only appeal to the rich folk who live here in Folsom...

[Bill Z]

I think that if more people took light rail and used gas less it might make them lower the prices, but we don't change our behavior so why would they even think about charging us less.

I'm pretty sure light rail is tax subsidized, so if it wasn't it would cost more to ride lightrail. I don't know if it would cost more than gas & parking but it very well could. It also runs on electricity, but that is generated someplace else, and once again, I don't know if that energy/CO2 footprint is less than driving ones own vehicle.

[Warren G]

Hydroelectric electricity production doesn't leave much of a "carbon footprint".

[Bill Z]

Hydroelectric electricity production doesn't leave much of a "carbon footprint".

But that is only one of the sources of electric juice in our country. and as it is more or less fixed, additional consumption of electric energy eventually comes from the burning of coal, something that is controlled based upon demand.

[wrabbit]

I'm wondering if ANY sort of transportation is cheap. They seem to get into our pockets, one way or another.

The thinking with Light Rail is that more people can be hauled to a place, with less expense, but if they are supporting it with taxes, to keep it running, one wonders what the true price to ride it really is.

It's worth it to some, but not to everyone. Frankly, I have no need to ride the train, so can't take advantage of any savings from it. So, if my tax dollars are going to something I get no benefit from, then I'm being ripped off. But as it has been pointed out to me before, there are many things that my tax dollar supports, that I may not be getting any benefit from, such as parks, libraries, Welfare, Food Stamps, and on and on.

The question is, when will the tax bill begin to level off and not grow larger with each and every year?
It seems as we become more of a Socialistic society, the working class pays more and more into taxes, and it's killing us!

My wife and I don't make a fortune, and what the government takes in taxes, seems to be unfair, in my opinion. It irks me that it seems taxes will keep going up, and our take home pay will keep going down, no matter how hard I work.

Will I EVER be able to retire?

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[Bill Z]

I'm wondering if ANY sort of transportation is cheap. They seem to get into our pockets, one way or another.

Walking is cheap, if you want to go faster but not sweat, then you gotsta pay.

Frankly, I have no need to ride the train, so can't take advantage of any savings from it.

One of these days, I'll ride just so my son gets to ride on an electric train.
I also will likely ride it next time I get stuck with Jury Duty

The question is, when will the tax bill begin to level off and not grow larger with each and every year?

Never, or until everyone wakes up and votes for someone besides the 2 major parties.

It seems as we become more of a Socialistic society, the working class pays more and more into taxes, and it's killing us!

SEEMS?! We are way past "seems" We've got so many stinking social programs and are losing our freedoms right & left that our founding fathers are rolling over in their graves

Will I EVER be able to retire?

Unfortunately, probably not if you aren't socking away everything you can into a 401k.
One of those things that follows the "If you fail to plan, then you're planning to fail" rule.

[wrabbit]

Well, besides being tax subsidized, many are coming across with this, "Oh, it's so fun to ride the train!" and,
"The train is so much easier!" It makes me sick. What are they selling? They sound like they are doing a promotion. There's no need to defend the train, because it will be used by some and not by others, regardless of what is said. I just see it as another way to tax me, so others can have it easier. Yes, we are definitely in a socialist run country. They take our money and give us what they think we should have.
It's all about Big Brother, no doubt about it.

If one does take the train they have to park their cars someplace, and what do you want to bet that won't be free very long? Too soon they will figure they have the public conditioned to ride the train and will be charging parking fees in those parking lots everybody is using now, when they go jump on the train.

Also, how long do people think those cheap fares will stay cheap? They will go up, as soon as it looks like enough people are riding the train and are depending on it to get to work. Like sheep, riders will pay the prices as long as it looks like they are saving the environment. Wouldn't car pooling be just as effective?
And, keep in mind that low income citizens get to ride FREE. It's THAT nice? They could take an entire day and just ride around, at the tax payers expense. The homeless are already using the light rail to sleep in....does that tell anybody anything?

Don't get me wrong, there is a need to clean up the air and some people do need Light Rail, but to think it's all sugar and spice is very immature. And why must it go everywhere? Good Grief! Every single thing that the government has produced for our improved living standards or easier cheaper transportation has, over time, been more costly and not as convenient has it had been pitched in the beginning. Their current plan is to evenly disperse the poor and light rail is one of the things they are doing towards that goal. After all, when the low income homes get built here, the inhabitants will need a way to get around. This is a plan to further mix the poor with the middle class, thereby taking them from being mostly downtown, to spread over a larger area, as much as possible. But they aren't going to tell the public that...Oh no, it's all about saving the environment, don't you know?

Like I said before, if the government truly wanted to decrease the amount of traffic on the roads, and save our air, they'd give us an incentive to move closer to our jobs, in way of a tax break on our property tax. This Light Rail thing looks a lot like developing jobs and the contactors making big bucks....not really providing the public with cheaper and cleaner transportation, because of a concern over the air quality. Remember, the United States was the only country that did not come to the table at the environmental summit. Our country instead insisted that we had to continue using as much oil and driving our vehicles as much as we have been. So the way I see it, our country isn't walking the talk, as usual. They are instead selling us a bill of goods, which over time, will be a lost cause for the environment.

They want to have train rails all over Folsom....and running up into El Dorado Hills and Placerville. The love affair we have with our cars won't be cast aside with light rail going all over or further out, it will be lessened by us having an incentive to not drive so much. My wife and I could decide to go other places to buy goods and for entertainment, but why should we leave Folsom when we have it all right here? We hardly ever drive out of Folsom and feel the time and effort, not to mention the price of gas, just isn't worth it.

Sure, maybe some people ride the train because "it's fun!", but will they over time, when the glitter has worn off, when the fares go up, when it's so hot they feel sick when riding it and they have to pay to park their cars? Humans being what they are, have tended to be Gun Oh with things that are new, but tire of them when they are not trendy any more and too easily go back to their old habits.

Bottom line, the government is doing this so it will, like other projects, be a joke. Just my opinion.

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