You know this Wall Street bailout bill that is supposed to save our entire economy, where the Senate acted "for the country".
It contains an entire section (section 211, I believe in the 400 page bill) entitled something like: "Transportation Benefit for Bicycle Commuters". No one could make this stuff up.
Yes, there is a $300.00 per year tax benefit for employers to buy bicycles for employees, provided they are used to commute to and from work. The tax benefit extends to repair and maintenance of the bicycle (lol).
Now you can see why everyone (establishment) is saying that this bill is necessary for the future of the country (sarcasm). See previous entries today, and over last two weeks.
P.S. I am again showing self-sacrifice by not supporting my own extreme environmetalism. For several years now, I have not owned or driven a car. I go weeks at a time without even riding in one. That makes me moreally superior to alamost all of those politicians who voted for this bill, or who will vote for it. Leftists keep trying to make me feel good. We already know that their attacks on Plain have shown me to be a better feminist than they are. They consistently show that I am more in faovor of free speech and democrracy than they are. They showed that I am more in favor of privacy than they are (see attacks by leftists, and the evil liars at Politico.com, on Saran Palin arising out of her email being hacked in an invasion of privacy). Now they are proving my moral superiority to most of them--even if I don't commute to work so as to benefit from this great pork measure for bicycle manufacturers).
P.S. 2. Is the government going to provide compensation for people killed commuting to work on bicycles? I don't know that much about elsewhere, but it is pretty dangerous for bicycles in traffic here in El Paso. You hardly ever see them on busy city streets. There are no bike lanes (most places), and it is almost impossible to commute very far by bicycle, without extreme danger. Now I am sure Democrats in Congress will help us with the bike lanes (which have been debated here, but have not really been felt worth it for El Paso to do on its own, but the national taxpayers will be--I am sure--glad to help us out). Will Congress have blood on its hands for encouraging people to put their lives in danger. Or are there provisions is this bill (as there often are in this kind of 400 page Federal bill) reqauiring that you pass a course in bicycle safety, provided by your employer, before the ecmployer qualifies for this $300.00 tax breatk. Stay tuned.
1 comment:
I laughed, I cried and I couldn't agree more. I'm often asked if I'm happy more people are bicycling to work and if I feel that's helping some sort of cause I'm on. Yeah, my cause is $8+ a day in gas and being able to drink Guinness (and yes Shiner) more often. More slower/inexperienced cyclists in my way aren't helping much of anything. Some infrastructure improvements would probably do more harm in that I'd be so shocked to find a bike path in my route I'd wreck out of amazement. I think one city here has less than a mile of bike path. I'm not sure if that's a joke or an insult so I take it as both. Drivers here aren't nearly as aggressive as in Texas (I visit/bicycle in Austin every Christmas) but I certainly suffer through the odd off beeping and occasional vocals. You suppose they're aware of the Doppler effect and that I can't understand them because of that?
Anyway, your cynicism is refreshing and welcomed.
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