For days now, I have seen the new Sounder commuter train denounced as a frivolous waste for no other reason than “I can’t use it.” It is running full on the Tacoma runs and is already getting that way here. It is something this area has needed for a long time. I have only been able to use it for a day trip to Seattle. I have a delivering job in Everett, so I cannot use trains, buses or even taxicabs.
However, by the same logic shown by these complainers: I have been out of school for decades, and never had kids, so why do I have to pay the school taxes? My house has never caught fire, so why do we need the fire department? I have never had a heart attack, so why do we need paramedics? I have never been arrested, so why do we need the Public Defenders’ Office? I can walk, so why do we need wheelchair ramps? I can see, so why do we have to have those annoying cuckoo sound effects at crosswalks?
We all pay for services that only benefit a tiny percentage of the public at large at any given time, but that does not make it a frivolous waste. Think about it.
Everett
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