Comments on: Tax Attack 2007 – May 8th! http://www.grpundit.com/2007/04/04/tax-attack-2007-may-8th/ Politics | Economics | Society | Grand Rapids, Michigan Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:32:09 +0000 hourly 1 By: grpundit http://www.grpundit.com/2007/04/04/tax-attack-2007-may-8th/#comment-13 grpundit Sat, 28 Apr 2007 14:47:33 +0000 http://www.grpundit.com/2007/04/04/tax-attack-2007-may-8th/#comment-13 Apparently you didn't use your critical reading skills very well. I was able to find the 3.65 miles per gallon information exactly where their site says it is.<br/><br/>In addition, your lack of critical reading skills shows that you didn't even read the web site. They're not arguing that there shouldn't be transit for the folks who need it, they're just saying the current money could be spent better.<br/><br/>Case in point - two hybrid buses for $500,000 each. And according to Tuesday's GR Press, that means 20% better gas mileage. So we go from around 4 miles per gallon to around 5 miles per gallon! Wow! Apparently you didn’t use your critical reading skills very well. I was able to find the 3.65 miles per gallon information exactly where their site says it is.

In addition, your lack of critical reading skills shows that you didn’t even read the web site. They’re not arguing that there shouldn’t be transit for the folks who need it, they’re just saying the current money could be spent better.

Case in point – two hybrid buses for $500,000 each. And according to Tuesday’s GR Press, that means 20% better gas mileage. So we go from around 4 miles per gallon to around 5 miles per gallon! Wow!

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.grpundit.com/2007/04/04/tax-attack-2007-may-8th/#comment-12 Anonymous Wed, 25 Apr 2007 23:29:55 +0000 http://www.grpundit.com/2007/04/04/tax-attack-2007-may-8th/#comment-12 Using our critical thinking skills, we wonder why this group doesn’t think we are going to check their numbers – their references aren’t germane to the fleet at hand, and one is to a tertiary source. Right away I don’t trust them. For example: why are they comparing hybrid and ULSD buses to diesel buses?<br/><br/>Further using our critical thinking skills we can look at the first claim, and look at the citation, and don’t find their number. We do <a HREF="http://www.apta.com/research/stats/factbook/documents/energy.pdf" REL="nofollow">find a table, however</a> (table 29 pg 25), stating how much fuel we save if we take transit. <br/><br/>We can also critically think of the cost to society by visualizing a bus carrying 10 passengers for a mile, resulting in 36.50 passenger mi/gal. <br/><br/>Further using our critical thinking skills, we can then visualize a 110 lb soccer mom driving alone in a 6000 lb vehicle that gets 10 mpg, resulting in 10 passenger mi/gal.<br/><br/>Wow, we think: we didn’t think about their selective “facts” – a bus gets 3.65 times better mileage than a soccer mom does when it’s ¼ full. <br/><br/>We then continue to use our critical thinking skills to check their other “facts”, and by gosh: <br/><br/><i>Transit buses spew 50 times more pollution and 279 times more soot than a passenger car.</i><br/><br/>Sure, we think, but where are their citations for their numbers for the GR fleet, not the nationwide fleet? Is this for all buses? Surely this is not for the hybrid buses. Why does this “fact” sheet make you believe GR uses only diesel? What is this per passenger mile? <br/><br/>These “facts” just seem to be digested around here with no chewing. Further,<br/><br/>Are there alternatives? What about all those who can’t drive? What will the elderly or the young do? Drive? What do the opponents offer as an alternative to help the elderly get around? Leave ½ hour earlier in the morning and take Ethyl to the drugstore? <br/><br/>Best,<br/><br/>D Using our critical thinking skills, we wonder why this group doesn’t think we are going to check their numbers – their references aren’t germane to the fleet at hand, and one is to a tertiary source. Right away I don’t trust them. For example: why are they comparing hybrid and ULSD buses to diesel buses?

Further using our critical thinking skills we can look at the first claim, and look at the citation, and don’t find their number. We do find a table, however (table 29 pg 25), stating how much fuel we save if we take transit.

We can also critically think of the cost to society by visualizing a bus carrying 10 passengers for a mile, resulting in 36.50 passenger mi/gal.

Further using our critical thinking skills, we can then visualize a 110 lb soccer mom driving alone in a 6000 lb vehicle that gets 10 mpg, resulting in 10 passenger mi/gal.

Wow, we think: we didn’t think about their selective “facts” – a bus gets 3.65 times better mileage than a soccer mom does when it’s ¼ full.

We then continue to use our critical thinking skills to check their other “facts”, and by gosh:

Transit buses spew 50 times more pollution and 279 times more soot than a passenger car.

Sure, we think, but where are their citations for their numbers for the GR fleet, not the nationwide fleet? Is this for all buses? Surely this is not for the hybrid buses. Why does this “fact” sheet make you believe GR uses only diesel? What is this per passenger mile?

These “facts” just seem to be digested around here with no chewing. Further,

Are there alternatives? What about all those who can’t drive? What will the elderly or the young do? Drive? What do the opponents offer as an alternative to help the elderly get around? Leave ½ hour earlier in the morning and take Ethyl to the drugstore?

Best,

D

]]>