Progressives are always consistent in thought–but not so much in action. That was borne out again this week during the Appleton Common Council meeting where alders were considering a revised contract with Lamers Bus Lines.
Progressives will tell you ad nauseum that pre-20th century modes of transportation are preferable to those developed in the 1900’s. They firmly believe that anything done by private business can be done better by the government. Their political strategy is based upon increasing government dependence for the people and then claiming their opponents are going to “take away” that money or services. And they believe that all work done should be completed by union labor.
And that is what made Wednesday night’s debate–and ultimate resolution–so interesting.
In a nutshell, Fox Valley Transit contracts with Lamers to operate the “Trolley” in downtown Appleton and along the riverfront in the summer. The contract with the company is in an “option year”, and when Valley Transit told Lamers it was going to exercise that option this summer, the bus company told them it would cost an additional $5,000–or Lamers was not going to supply the “trolley” and it’s driver.
Alder Alex Schultz advocated for keeping the “Trolley”, pointing out that it serves as an “homage” to the actual electric trolleys that patrolled Appleton in the early days of public transit. Keep in mind, what runs in downtown Appleton today is NOT a trolley. It is a bus, designed to look like a trolley. It is built on a bus frame, with a diesel-powered engine and wheels that allow it to travel down any street–not just those with a rail line. And it releases just as many carbon-laden fumes as a regular bus.
Alder Israel Del Toro spoke of his consternation that people in his district would “lose this important transit option” if the “trolley” didn’t run. It was then that the Valley Transit representative pointed out that the “Trolley” runs Route 9 Thursdays through Saturdays–and that if Lamers didn’t provide a “trolley”, a regular Valley Transit bus (which runs on that route Mondays through Wednesdays) would run the loop instead. There was no threat to cut off that service at any point by Valley Transit.
Now there was plenty of Lamers bashing during the general discussion of the contract revision. Alder Schultz wanted to tell them to “pound sand” while Alder Brad Firkus wanted to tell them to “hit the bricks”–and yet, they both argued to continue to contract with the private business rather than have the government-funded Valley Transit provide the service.
And it was during the discussion that the Valley Transit rep brought up an issue that was painted as a negative. She noted that if VT was to take over the “Trolley” route, it would the become “Teamsters work”–and that the union would not be willing to give that up in future contract negotiations if the city was to go with a private carrier again. Not a single Progressive on the Council piped up to say they wanted that work to be done by union labor–or how they believed that the Teamsters would do a better job than those “exploited” unrepresented Lamers drivers. Instead, heads were nodded as if to agree, “Yes, that would be bad”.
So in the end it was the three “Conservative” members of the Appleton Common Council that voted “no” on the contract revision–and all of the “Progressives” were “yes” votes. Therefore, a fake “Trolley” burning diesel fuel, driving on a route already served by a regular bus, by non-union drivers with proceeds going to a private company will continue to serve those able to afford riverfront apartments and those coming from outside the area looking to eat, drink, and shop with free transportation, all courtesy of additional funding from Appleton taxpayers.
It doesn’t sound like Progressivism in thought–but it is Progressivism in action.
