We're All Bozos on This Bus

Mom had a rule in our house growing up, "if you don't ask, you don't get." 

And, at the risk of sounding even more cynical than I'm often accused of being, looking at how American Rescue Plan, ARP, dollars have been disbursed, it looks like a lot of people's Moms had the same rule. 

I smile when I read online reactions to some of the investments that have been announced by all levels of government, as many of the same folks who were online epidemiologists and virologists in the earliest days of COVID-19 and became international relations experts when Russia invaded Ukraine are now economists when it comes to fretting and hand-wringing about the 'dangers of free money.' 

It's not free money, they point out, and they're absolutely right. The dollars that are flowing from ARP initiatives belong to all of us and that's why it's heartening to me (at least) to see the thoughtful decision-making processes that have characterized the investments/expenditures throughout our communities.

Admit it, we're not all going to agree on every single project and with every dollar amount allocated. But for those who feared ARP money might be like the old Oprah Winfrey Show where 'you get a car, and you get a car, and ad infinitum,' that's not what's been happening at all. 

Maybe an unpopular opinion but I'd submit we've been putting our ARP money where our mouths have been for many years but have always come up short because 'budgets are a little tight this year,' or 'we'll take a look at that when times improve.' 

So a lot of programs have gotten short-changed for years which then becomes a decade or more until it seems like forever and the next thing you know, doing without is more than just a tradition, it's a way of life.   

Those who know me are aware of my relentless (not to mention tongue-in-cheek) lobbying for pony rides for my birthday and I'd be remiss if I didn't use this opportunity to continue to press my case for them, but attempted humor aside, why not make an investment in mass transit, such as it is here in Connecticut, and make buses and trains free for everyone all the time?

Operations like CT Transit as well as SEAT have seen bus ridership rebound from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic and I say good for them, better for all those riding the bus, with even better outcomes environmentally for all of us. 

A vibrant and robust mass transit network would reduce congestion, traffic, and pollution, to name three immediate societal concerns while also putting discretionary income back into the pockets of those who most often depend on mass transit better allowing them to allocate their dollars for housing, food, and other necessities. 

And I don't mean one bus an hour from some point in Norwich to another in Griswold, for example, but multiple buses with a variety of routes across the region. Create a viable and dependable alternative mode of travel that doesn't require a privately owned vehicle; in essence, build a better mousetrap. 

ARP dollars invested in buses and trains is really an investment in ourselves and for ourselves (and if we have a few bucks left over for pony rides, well then Hi Ho, Silver Away!)
-bill kenny