Yesterday the mayor of Madison and the Dane County Executive announced a new proposal to raise the county sales tax by 0.5% to 6.0%. This would be used to establish a "Regional Transit Authority", which mostly consists of two things: (a) a commuter rail system, and (b) a streetcar/trolley system in downtown Madison (yes, like San Francisco).

In addition to getting approval from the state legislature, it would have to pass a county-wide referendum, but Dane County is easily the most liberal county in the state, and probably one of the most liberal counties in the nation. I can see it getting enough support to pass a referendum, even though only a small minority of people will ever use it. Why is that?

To understand this, you have to understand one of the key concepts of liberalism: it's not about getting results, it's about making them (liberals) feel good about themselves. Think about it - when was the last time you heard of a government program being eliminated because it didn't get results? Never - because results don't matter. All that matters is that we set up program after program, agency after agency, so that liberals can feel like they're doing something great and noble, even though in the end most of them have accomplished nothing, with other people's money of course.

If the regional transit plan was about results the main focus would be on roads, which virtually everybody uses.

Instead it will be spent on commuter rail and streetcars that will be used by only one or two percent of the population - and that one or two percent will mostly come from those already riding the bus now. And yet, everyone in the county, from downtown Madison to the small towns and rural areas, will be forced to pay for it.

For our higher taxes, we'll end up with a system of mostly-empty trains and mostly-empty streetcars. The traffic congestion will be much worse, not only because of a lack of new roads but also because of all those rail crossings where drivers, during rush hour downtown, will have to stop and wait for the empty trains go by fifteen times an hour! Even most of the liberals who support this idea will continue to drive, and only take the train or streetcar occasionally for the novelty factor. But as they drive by the empty trains, they'll feel good about themselves for having done something to save the planet, even though in reality they have accomplished absolutely nothing.