Conspiracy Nation Vol. 11 Num. 71

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Conspiracy Nation

 · 4 years ago

  

  
              Conspiracy Nation -- Vol. 11  Num. 71 
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                     ("Quid coniuratio est?") 
  
  
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LUXURY LANES FOR THE RICH 
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By Jim Hightower 
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(Broadcast locally on 1/24/98) 

There's an  insidious  and  dangerous  =dis-uniting= taking place 
inside our =united= States of America.  Those at the top  of  our 
society  are  steadily  separating themselves further and further 
from America's  work-a-day  majority.   For  example, while those 
making $100,000 or more per year  have  seen  dramatic  gains  in 
their  income  over the past couple of decades, the 80 percent of 
us who make under  $50,000  a  year  have  either seen our income 
stagnate, or drop. 

But  those  at  the  top  are  separating  themselves   from   us 
=physically=   too.    Their  homes  are  in  gated  and  guarded 
compounds.  Their kids  attend  exclusive  schools.   And even at 
sporting events, they sit  in  luxury  boxes  that  separate  the 
hoity-toity from us hoi-polloi. 

But now comes another divisive development:  they don't even want 
to  drive  with  us!   Believe  it  or  not,  the Federal Highway 
Administration is  providing  a  $14  million  annual  subsidy to 
create luxury lanes on commuter highways,  so  the  affluent  can 
avoid   rush-hour   congestion.   In  Minneapolis,  for  example, 
privileged ones driving the stretch  of  I-394 that runs from the 
wealthy suburbs west of the city to downtown office buildings can 
now pay about $1,000 a year and get a special pass that literally 
puts  them  in  the  fast  lane!   While  those  of  us  in   the 
old-Chevrolet  class  are bumper-to-bumper in a snarl of traffic, 
the Range-Rover rich go cruising  by  with  a smug smile on their 
faces. 

Never mind that every lane of this $450 million highway was  paid 
for  by  =all= taxpayers, the majority of us who cannot afford an 
extra thousand bucks for  the  luxury lane are rendered 2nd-class 
citizens. 

This is Jim Hightower saying, this bad idea is spreading --  with 
Houston,  Los  Angeles,  Portland,  Westchester  County and other 
cities providing  privileged  access  to  their  public freeways. 
Besides being an obvious target for  driver  rage,  luxury  lanes 
also represent a dangerous trend for our democracy. 

 +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  + 

For related stories, visit: 
http://www.shout.net/~bigred/cn.html 
http://www.netcom.com/~feustel 

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