|
Los Angeles: America's Last Stand |
|
|
Voice in the Cheap Seats
By Charles Tarlow
The sale of Los Angeles' infrastructure is going forward. There is no denying it. You can yell, scream, and cry until the cows come home, but it is happening anyway.
I can't stop it. You can't stop it.
Maybe together we could stop it, but we don't seem to be doing anything about it. The future is clear: People with money will have access to the diamond lane. People with money will be able to park anywhere they want. And the toll roads are coming too.
This is not just a City transformation, it is going to affect everyone in California. The Feds are telling cities across the state that if they do not sign on to “Congestion Pricing”, they will not get the Federal dollars. And if California is not an anomaly, then the entire country will be changed forever and the divide between the “Haves” and the “Have Nots” will continue to expand until we won't be able to recognize this country.
It does not have to end this way. We can fight this.
Alone we will certainly lose, but together we are a force to be reckoned with. Los Angeles has always been a leader when it comes to social and environmental issues; the time has come for us to lead once more.
We must let our representatives know that Congestion Pricing is unfair and un-American and we do not support it. We must let them know that any politician who supports “Congestion Pricing” will do so at his or her political peril.
If we the people want to be able to use our public roads and highways, if we want to be able to park in the public parking spaces that were bought and paid for by our tax dollars, we must write down the name of any politician that would deny us free access to our public infrastructure and we must not forget them at election time.
And, even more important, we must let them know our intentions: if you support “Congestion Pricing”, you will lose our vote!
Start today. Write one letter today and schedule to make a phone call tomorrow.
Ask the Mayor to state his position on “Congestion Pricing”.
Ask your Councilman.
Then talk to your friends and neighbors. Encourage them to write their own letters and emails. Let our leaders know that we are making a list and checking it twice; if you support Congestion Pricing, we won't treat you nice ... i.e.: we will never vote for you again for any public office. (Charles Tarlow is a community activist and a member of a neighborhood council in the mid-city area. Tarlow is a regular contributor to CityWatch. He can be reached at:
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
) _
|
