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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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Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those
of Conspiracy Nation, nor of its Editor in Chief.
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Want to know more about Whitewater, Oklahoma City bombing, etc?
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Aperi os tuum muto, et causis omnium filiorum qui pertranseunt.
Aperi os tuum, decerne quod justum est, et judica inopem et
pauperem. -- Liber Proverbiorum XXXI: 8-9