The Right Note is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.
Yesterday, we celebrated our nation’s birthday. As we commemorate our nation’s independence each year, we do so with great fun and fanfare. However, we often forget that success was never a sure thing. Our founding fathers faced long odds when they signed the Declaration of Independence declaring our desire for liberty in the face the greatest power on Earth at that time. That is why they pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. There was a very real chance they would lose everything.
Throughout our history, we have continued to face challenges. Our country has not been perfect. While we may not always agree on how best to move forward, hopefully we can agree that we are still blessed to live in this great nation.
Arlington, via Board Member Christian Dorsey, will now have a vote again on the WMATA Board of Directors. Dorsey should view this as an opportunity to more forcefully speak out and hold the agency accountable for, forgive the pun, getting things back on the right track.
Speaking of Metro, the system is hoping to have free Wi-Fi service up and running in all of its stations by the end of the year. There is nothing wrong with providing a service to your customers, but when it comes to public transit, what most customers want is to get to where they are trying to go in a timely and cost-effective manner. They also do want other simple things, like making sure elevators and escalators work, but the primary goal is reliable transportation.
Last week’s Progressive Voice column suggested that “frugality” was one of their core values. Just to be clear, that is not exactly how Arlington County has been governed with the support of progressives. As evidenced by the resistance to establishing an auditor or providing the auditor with adequate resources, the Democrats who control the votes on the Board still seem to be ok with spending more and more of your hard-earned money each year while avoiding more accountability.
But, the pool of writers for Progressive Voice did produce some interesting food for thought in the previous column about the emerging bike and scooter share systems springing up in the region. The suggestion: we need a faster, nimbler, simpler approach to meet the speed of our current technology.
Here is an area where conservatives could not agree more. The less government interference in the marketplace, the more options that will be available to consumers.