There are no upcoming events right now.
Why not post one?
Recent Articles
- Justice for Indigenous Peoples is Long Overdueby Ryan McGreal, published June 30, 2021 in Commentary
(0 comments)
- Third-Party Election Advertising Ban About Silencing Workersby Chantal Mancini, published June 29, 2021 in Politics
(0 comments)
- Did Doug Ford Test the 'Great Barrington Declaration' on Ontarians?by Ryan McGreal, published June 29, 2021 in Special Report: COVID-19
(1 comment)
- An Update on Raise the Hammerby Ryan McGreal, published June 28, 2021 in Site Notes
(0 comments)
- Nestlé Selling North American Water Bottling to an Private Equity Firmby Doreen Nicoll, published February 23, 2021 in Healing Gaia
(0 comments)
- Jolley Old Sam Lawrenceby Sean Burak, published February 19, 2021 in Special Report: Cycling
(0 comments)
- Right-Wing Extremism is a Driving Force in Modern Conservatismby Ryan McGreal, published February 18, 2021 in Special Report: Extremism
(0 comments)
- Municipalities Need to Unite against Ford's Firehose of Land Use Changesby Michelle Silverton, published February 16, 2021 in Special Report
(0 comments)
- Challenging Doug Ford's Pandemic Narrativeby Ryan McGreal, published January 25, 2021 in Special Report: COVID-19
(1 comment)
- The Year 2020 Has Been a Wakeup Callby Michael Nabert, published December 31, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
- The COVID-19 Marshmallow Experimentby Ryan McGreal, published December 22, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
- All I Want for Christmas, 2020by Kevin Somers, published December 21, 2020 in Entertainment and Sports
(1 comment)
- Hamilton Shelters Remarkably COVID-19 Free Thanks to Innovative Testing Programby Jason Allen, published December 21, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
- Province Rams Through Glass Factory in Stratfordby Doreen Nicoll, published December 21, 2020 in Healing Gaia
(0 comments)
- We Can Prevent Traffic Deaths if We Make Safety a Real Priorityby Ryan McGreal, published December 08, 2020 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
(5 comments)
- These Aren't 'Accidents', These Are Resultsby Tom Flood, published December 04, 2020 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
(1 comment)
- Conservation Conundrumby Paul Weinberg, published December 04, 2020 in Special Report
(0 comments)
- Defund Police Protest Threatens Fragile Ruling Classby Cameron Kroetsch, published December 03, 2020 in Special Report: Anti-Racism
(2 comments)
- Measuring the Potential of Biogas to Reduce GHG Emissionsby John Loukidelis and Thomas Cassidy, published November 23, 2020 in Special Report: Climate Change
(0 comments)
- Ontario Squanders Early Pandemic Sacrificeby Ryan McGreal, published November 18, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
Article Archives
Blog Archives
Site Tools
Feeds
By Kiely (registered) | Posted April 21, 2010 at 12:58:15
Biggest factor on our road maintenance is trucks and weather and the bike-lobby doesn't solve either of those issues.
Of course we can, I never said we couldn't... I have disagreed with you about what they should be though (e.g., bike paths versus bike lanes).
That you spent how many posts arguing with me about?
Maybe next time Ryan we'll be able to avoid the BS arguments and get to the root of the issue quicker?
This is why open, honest and focused discussion/debate is important.
It is a valid argument. Many of our efforts to change behavior become tax or fee based which basically sends the message if you have enough money you can do whatever you want.
Sin taxes, user fees, tolls, etc… can be useful tools but when they are the go to solution every time it becomes a problem and does add to the ever growing rich vs poor divide.
Let's stick with cars for example… taxing gas, putting up tolls, increasing the cost of car usage is one way to reduce cars on our roads and the one often cited by people who fancy themselves as progressive. But to me, taxing citizens is anything but progressive. What if the government gave companies incentives to allow more employees to telecommute or simply told them they had to like they tell us we have to pay more? I know lots of people who drive to work, work on their computers, answer emails or phones interact with very few or no people face-to-face and then go home. Do you need to commute 1 hour to do that in this day and age? No, but we never seem to take that type of different approach when it is just too easy to make citizens pay more.
Change can't always be the citizen's responsibility or burden, it is time to spread the responsibility for change to a broader segment of our society. Governments and corporations need to start to doing more. Governments need to look beyond the easy tax grab solution and corporations need to start being more progressive and make changes to the way their businesses run to help us shift the way our society runs to a more sustainable mode.
Permalink | Context