I know it is "comparatively miniscule", but we in this country need to make some hard choices, and we need to do it soon or we are done for.
Even though the amount is small, that is one of the major problems in this country...all the small things that have stakeholders who think their small thing is no big deal. Not everything is a billion dollars for a navy ship or $25 billion for a border wall.
$1.5 million federal funds to help fund gun range safety and range improvements nationally are a fine thing. A grant to study the Spotted Lugwort environment is only $300K. Allocated funds to facilitate recreation at ski slopes for underprivileged kids may be only $1.5 million nationwide. $99K to build a scenic overlook on a highway isn't much. $25 million for encouraging females to enter STEM programs is small potatoes. $10 million to help renovate a national park site isn't going to break the bank. (Note: I just made these up, but it is indisputable that there are expenditures just like these out there)
The problem we have is that tens or hundreds of BILLIONS of dollars are being allocated in small amounts across hundreds of thousands or millions of small interests. And as is often attributed as a Scottish phrase uttered famously by George Washington, "Many Mickles make a Muckle".
I have heard that if our enconomy (GDP) grew at 4% every single year for 20 years, we could get out of debt. But we are going in the completely opposite direction.
We need to begin making serious choices at all levels. It is going to hurt because people are used to the flow of cash at small levels all over for various things, but it is like a ship that has thousands of shrapnel holes in its hull. Any one of them won't sink the boat, but all of them will. We can eliminate waste in many areas of the government, military, entitlements, etc., but we are beyond the point where that is going to fix our massive debt problem. We also have to plug those shrapnel holes.
Rail Trails are something I see as a luxury.
Again, I love Rail Trails. I use them. I had experience trying to get one built, and I appreciate the efforts of those people who got it done. But they ARE luxuries.
Before I proceed let me quickly add that I would like to see the funding mechanism for transportation pushed down to that level where the economics of the project will be most closely felt (i.e. pare the Federal Trans Dept down to that which is only responsible for "national" level projects. Return the rest of it to the states).
I look upon my local rails-to-trails as a contributor to the local economy INDIRECTLY the same way that Central Park in NYC is an indirect contributor to the economy. Without Central Park, NYC would be a much less attractive place to live and property values would be (indirectly speaking, of course) much lower. This would certainly be the case on Fifth Avenue and CPW. NYC would also be a less attractive place to visit, ergo sales tax receipts would be less as well...again a local matter.
In other words, the park is a local matter and should be the responsibility of the local government. To the extent that the City contributes value (i.e. revenues) to the State, it should also be a responsibility of the State.
Same for rails-to-trails.
My local rails-to-trails makes my small town more attractive as a place to live and this contributes to the economy indirectly. Ergo, it should be a local matter...and in some way a state matter (to a much less degree).
But given that logic, it is not a Federal matter.
I could live with that gladly.
I don’t dispute anything you say. If the trwils system can’t be built without public money, then it shouldn’t be built.
I believe it should be a (geographical and user) community effort and those who benefit should be willing to incur the cost, not just of the creation but the ongoing maintenance.
Maybe a pay-per-use model, with all funds statutorily allocated to the exclusive use of the trails trust (the Board of which are all volunteers).
Small amounts here, small amounts there, pretty soon we’re talking about real money.
“...all the small things that have stakeholders who think their small thing is no big deal.”
It’s death by a thousand (billion) cuts. One of these days the country’s gonna hit that hard wall, and I hate to say it...there will be no real effort to stop it because the politicians will be too busy blaming the “other” side. Any effort at reform will just lead to more pork barrel. I think we are past the point of financial redemption.
Excellent comparisons and point. Of the millions of American bicyclists out there, there are few billion that don't, won't or can't ride bikes for whatever reason. It is a luxury and it seems the more money the bike costs, the more the rider wants US to give them a place to ride it...