TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

Are you kidding me? I live in the greenest state in the union and you want me to fund "carbon emmission reduction" in the big cities? I live in Maine because there is less po;ution here. I don't live in or near an urban area for just that reason. If Boston wants to polute the world; why is that my problem? Why should I pay more to fund something created out of bullsh*t science to begin with? I am tired of rich government fat cats dictating what I should spend my money on. If you want these policies, then you pay for it, you government millionares and billionares. Stop etting rich off the backs of the American people. Maybe you should reevaluate what it means to be a public "servant." Emphasis on the word in quotes.

I give my support for a clean transportation initiative. We need clean public transportation. We have the technology and the ability to do this. Monorails bring in three times as much economic benefit to a community compared to driving cars. Electric, elevated high-speed trains can move large numbers of people quietly and efficiently from place to place without endangering individuals, domesticated animals, or wildlife, unlike diesel engine trains currently in use. We need to overcome the influence to dirty energy corporations that seek profit over enriching the lives of our communities.

An increase in gas taxes will hurt middle-income Americans the most. Middle-income families make up roughly one-third of Americans. By increasing the gas tax, not only are you lessening the amount of money in their pockets, but the amount of money being pumped into the economy is being lessened too.In fact spending on side projects has increased 38% since 2008 while spending on core highway projects has remained flat. This solution would only support and encourage more wasteful spending. The transportation of goods is primarily done via highways. This will cost drivers more to fuel their way to deliver goods, meaning a higher cost on goods, which reduce the discretionary income of millions of Americans, and often correspond with diminished economic growth. In fact, analysts at Goldman Sachs predict “lower gas prices could add as much as half a percentage point to GDP growth this year.”

I am happy to see bipartisan support for the U.S. moving forward to reduce carbon emissions from cars and trucks and fossil fuels. Other countries have made much greater progress in this respect. We need clean, efficient, safe, and affordable public transportation for the sake of our own lives, the human lives to come, and the health of the planet.

TCI Regional Policy Design is our best hope for countering climate change in our very vulnerable state.

I respectfully ask for the following three things:
1. A cap on carbon emissions of at least 25% by 2032 if not sooner.
2. An increase in the minimum investment in overburdened and underserved communities, i.e., more than 35%.
3. That investments be made towards active transportation like better sidewalks, bicycle infrastructure, and high quality public transit of multiple modes.

This is not OK! And I hadn’t heard anything about it. This should be for the citizens to decide.

I haven't seen a thorough analysis of the total systemic energy commitment – not just energy used at the point of moving people and things, but also systemically embodied – in various transportation options, including fixed-route and on-demand transit service and getting purchased products to end users, in various demographic situations, especially rural and suburban. Furthermore, not just equipment, but employee energy use must be factored into all options. Too often I feel energy use at the "retail" level gets all the focus, and I am hoping this initiative takes the matter wholistically.