The Great Train Robbery - Take 3

"Yes folks, we are being screwed. Screwed, blued and tattooed by the unelected, ungovernable, unaccountable Met Council."

The Great Train Robbery (Take 1) was a short (very short) western made in 1903. It was a milestone film, albeit only 10 minutes long. It was the first Western, even though it was filmed in New Jersey.

There was another movie named The Great Train Robbery (Take 2) made in 1979 that dealt with the robbery of moving trains. It really did have nothing to do with the first movie. And neither of these movies have anything to do with this article. 

Well the Great Train Robbery (Take 3) is happening right here and right now. It is not a Western. And it is far more insidious than the first two. Why? First off, it is real life. Next, it does not deal with chump change like this first two movies did - this one deals with real money. Real, real big money. And why is this considered a robbery? Because we are being forced to spend billions upon billions of dollars for a rail system that very few workers will ride on. It will do nothing to solve our traffic congestion.

Yesterday, as we were coming home from an internment at Ft. Snelling, we took highways 494 and 169. On the way, we passed the either headquarters or major divisions of Best Buy, United Heath, Super Value, Cargill, and Target. There were others, but these are some of the better known ones.

What good does a choo-choo train running into downtown do for these folks? They are all huge employers in the Twin Cities. And the folks working at 3M? Deluxe Check? Land o' Lakes? General Mills? Carlson Companies? Pentair? Donaldson? Seagate? Select Comfort? Toro? Medtronic? Boston Scientific? St. Jude? Imation? Any of them? Nothing.

Rather than connecting suburb to suburb using good transportation (like better highways or buses), we insist on developing a latticework of train tracks leading into downtown. Downtown, the place where fewer and fewer companies choose to locate. The place where fewer and fewer people like to work. And, the money which is needed to pay for all these useless choo-choo trains come from all of us. Our tax dollars. And the benefit is only for a select few.

So why are we getting robbed anyhow? Simple answer. Elections have consequences. We elected and re-elected a Statist Governor. One that allowed the Met Council to remain strong. And now his Statist Lt. Governor is being groomed to take over next term. And as long as we continue to elect and re-elect Statists, the robbery will continue. Met Council will continue to thrive and survive.

Will The Great Train Robbery (Take 3) have a happy ending? Not hardly - that is unless you love Euphoria or Statists. However if you are like most of us, you realize we are getting screwed, blued and tattooed by our "friends" at the unelected, unaccountable, unnecessary and unloved, Met Council.