Want to see the future? - look at the present

Photograph: Saad Shalash/Reuters

There is a lot of talk in the blogosphere about #collapse. For the people of Iraq and other fossil-fuel-source areas of influence, that future is already here. If you are not outraged, then you are not paying attention. Are you be ready?

Who will pay for free public transit?

Anti-tax advocates want something for nothing. They want to be able to open a business and have well-educated, healthy, stress-free, unencumbered 21-year-olds arrive at their doorstep ready to work hard and be available on demand.

Where do they think these employees come from? It takes schools, parks, museums, healthcare, fresh food, police, firefighters, courts, social workers, social security, and public transport to raise and prepare the modern employee.

Taxes pay for most of this. But the anti-tax people want to drastically reduce taxes. Then what? Then they will have to come up with new voodoo economics.

Who will pay for free transit? You are paying for the car with your health

Photo: BikePortland

$142 billion in obesity-related health care costs and lost wages due to illness. As much as $80 billion in health care costs and premature death caused by air pollution from traffic. A whopping $180 billion from traffic crashes - lost wages, health care costs, property damage, travel delay, legal costs, pain and suffering ... do we need to go on? Grist