Won't the RailRunner have to be subsidized?

First, let's dispel the myth that public services must make a profit or even break even in order to be "worth it." This belief is an oversimplification of how government works and why it exists. Most of the services that government provides operate at a loss. Take, for example, the fire department. They don't come close to breaking even. Ok, you say, but that's comparing apples to oranges; we're talking about transportation here. Fine, let's talk transportation. The next time you get on I-25 or any other state or national highway, ask yourself this question: do highways turn a profit, break even, or lose money?

Other modes of tranportation also subsidized

The answer, as we all know, is that highways lose money and are massively subsidized by the government. Also operating at a loss and being subsidized are the law enforcement agencies (e.g. highway patrols) which police our highways, the emergency/ambulance vehicles and first responders who arrive on the scene of accidents that occur on our highways, the bridges and overpasses which must be maintained, and even the fuel in the gas tanks of the vehicles. That's right, even the gas in our cars is subsidized: oil and gas companies receive enormous tax "incentives," grants, and other subsidies from both federal and local governments. In addition, the U.S. military is sent around the world to intervene when our oil interests are threatened (and that costs tax payers' money), and so forth. It's time we, the tax payers, realize that there really is no such thing as a "free lunch."

Many benefits
So, the question is not whether New Mexico's light rail system might operate at a loss; it probably will. The question is whether it will provide significant benefits for the money invested. We here at SocorroNews.com believe that it will. Specifically, it will reduce congestion on our highways, thereby reducing the costs of maintaining and/or expanding these roads, lessening the burden (both financial and human) of patrolling the roads for law enforcement and first responders, and reducing the greenhouse gases and other pollutants emitted into the air by vehicles on these roads. And light rail will reduce oil and gas usage which, as even President Bush noted in one of his State of the Union addresses, is a national security issue. These benefits will help us, the tax paying citizens, whether we choose to ride the rail or not.

Benefits even if you don't ride

Even if a person elects to continue exclusively using an automobile, never setting foot on the light rail, other New Mexicans will choose to ride the rail; and each person riding the rail is one less car causing the rest of us headaches and traffic jams on our daily commutes. Each person on the rail is one less car emitting exhaust that other drivers and their passengers, including children, have to breathe at stop lights. Each person riding the rail is one less car whose occupants first responders might need to transport to the hospital after a crash. Each person riding the rail is one less car causing wear and tear on the highways, bridges, and overpasses. Each person riding the rail means one less car in the parking lot when searching for that elusive place to park at the mall. If you're one of the folks who decides not to ride the rail, yes, you'll be paying taxes for something that you don't use, but the light rail users will too, as they'll be paying taxes for roads they aren't using. Turnabout is fair play. Light rail for New Mexico is an idea whose time has come.