2007 CPEO Brownfields List Archive

From: Lenny Siegel <lennysiegel@gmail.com>
Date: 5 Oct 2007 07:33:48 -0000
Reply: cpeo-brownfields
Subject: [CPEO-BIF] Union Pacific in Colorado
 
Guest Editorial: Nothing analytical about Union Pacific plans


Opinion by Michael Olds
Brighton Standard Blade (CO)
October 4, 2007

Why must we pretend to be analytical about Union Pacific destroying our small-town community? This is our clarion call to stand up for reason. Reason that values our humanity must win out against accounting gimmicks.

Have you read the financial study? I think these studies are produced so that economic geeks can read the same dollar signs time and time again. Then they can't get enough of those money signs so they couch the same figures in different locales with the disclaimer that these figures are the same as the previous ones we just told you about. I wonder if they were afraid that their fetish for greed would be too obvious so the author tried to cover it over.

One thing that I find interesting is that there are not any costs associated with this phantom project. This must be economic nirvana. Money begetting money until you have a financial climax of biblical proportions. No downside. Has Union Pacific discovered the proverbial money tree? What bliss! Out of the blue RTD comes knocking on Union Pacific's door and gives them $40 million to buy the land for their new site and to perform the feasibility studies. This particular $40 million grew on the FasTracks money tree. That kind of money steamrolls right over Ronald Reagan's welfare queen. Then RTD dangled another $100 million of taxpayer's hard earned money to come pollute my town. The king of welfare can now railroad any town in its path. Not that UP couldn't railroad whomever it chose before the money tree sprouted. At profits of $1 billion in 2005 running over somebody with impunity is ingrained. Just take for example UP's railyard in Eugene, OR:

...

For the entire column, see
http://www.metrowestfyi.com/story_display.php?sid=7675

--


Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org



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