In an interview about federal transportation issues, Streetsblog asked Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) about supporting legislation that would support things like bike trails. Hunter responded by saying that he doesn’t “think biking should fall under the federal purview of what the transportation committee is there for. If a state wants to do it, or local municipality, they can do whatever they want to. But no, because you have us mandating bike paths, you don’t want either.”
Streetsblog followed up by asking if he was okay with “mandating highways.” Hunter responded by saying that he doesn’t “see riding a bike the same as driving a car or flying an airplane” because “it’s more of a recreational thing“
Right. Bikes aren't transportation, you don't actually go anywhere on one. Hurr, stupid hippies, get an SUV!
I expect that kind of argument from the peanut gallery, not Congress.
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Article I, Section 8 contains three relevant clauses.
Clause 1 [emphasis mine]: The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
Clause 3 [emphasis mine]: To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
Clause 7 [emphasis mine]: To establish Post Offices and Post Roads;
Guess Hunter isn't so much of an idiot after all, is he? Nor did he twiddle his thumbs.
How exactly do bike trails fall within the purview of the Constitution requiring more federal tax dollars than actually exist?
Here's the key sentence from the Think Progress post:
In cities like Portland up to 4.4 percent of all commuter trips are made via bicycling.
Ooooooooh. A whole 4.4% in one city. Yes, let's borrow tens of billions more federal dollars, in a time when the federal government's revenues have yet to recover, to pay for something more than 95% of the people of Portland won't use for going to work. Hunter isn't the one who is being an idiot.
Part of the federal government's promoting of the general welfare includes promoting interstate commerce, which Congress has every right to regulate. That would mean Hunter is right that highways are in the Constitution. How do bike trails fit into this scheme? They don't.
But, bike paths are going to affect local roads, and that is paid for by federal dollars. Not making a provision for some regulation of bike paths is just going to muck up the works.
And while I agree that 4.4% is a very small percentage, it is still a significant number of people who will use that every day as part of their commute, and a much larger one that will be impacted by it. I would point out that this percentage is larger than the percentage of people who would be paying estate tax after the exemption of $5 million. I was told bringing this tax back would see us murdered in our beds, but am gratified that it hasn't happened.
If it is folly to see roads built for people who bike to work because less than one of twenty do so, then it is equally silly to allow such a massive exemption for a percentage that is even less, I'm sure you agree.
Whenever I see "Duncan Hunter Says" I know that whatever follows is going to be stupid.
There must be intelligent conservatives out there somewhere but the ones that get their faces in front of a microphone sure aren't them
Average daily commute: 50 minutes
Population of Portland: 529K
# of households: 224K
Ave household size: 2.3 people
Estimating 1.2 jobs per household, Portland has 269K commuters, who spend 208 hours/year commuting.
That represents a total time spent commuting by Portlanders of almost 56 MILLION hours per year.
If 4.4% of that is relocated from cars to bikes, that's about 2.5 MILLION commuter hours per year not burning fossil fuels.
Now perhaps SteveAR will inform us of the percentage of abortions performed in the US that are paid for with federal funds. Hint: it involves a decimal point followed by a large number of zeroes.
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