That's right, Christie's callous response to whether or not New Jersey should expand light rail service was basically, "Just hire a driver."
And that's been the Republican response to calls for better, faster and safer public transportation going back to at least Reagan: "Want safe transportation? Buy a safe car. Or, better yet, hire a safe driver. Can't afford a car? You can take your chances with the rest of the riff-raff on public trains and subways that haven't been updated since before Reagan."
But safe transportation shouldn't just be for the rich, and modern infrastructure is the fertile soil in which businesses grow.
For more than 30 years before Reagan took office, our infrastructure was the envy of the world; but now, in the 21st century, in the wealthiest country that has ever existed on this planet, our infrastructure isn't just embarrassing, it's outright dangerous!
And that's because it's been frozen in time during nearly 40 years of insane "trickle-down" Reaganomics and right-wing efforts to gut the US government, and every tragedy like today's crash in Hoboken is a stark reminder of how Reagan's right-wing policies have cost US lives.
Like the crash in Philadelphia last year, this crash was preventable, and we can prevent it from happening again, but to do so, we need to address our nation's infrastructure and public transportation crises.
We need to rebuild our crumbling bridges and tunnels, we need to expand and modernize our train systems, to make them safer and faster, and we need to ensure that in the 21st century, our cities, roads and railways are built to endure the effects of a rapidly changing climate.
If we want a safe and modern rail system that will save lives and be the envy of the world, we need to reject Reaganism once and for all, and we need a massive government investment to bring US infrastructure into the 21st century.
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