The News & Observer printed a letter this week from John Locke Foundation Director of Research and Local Government Studies Michael Sanera panning local government plans for taxpayer-funded passenger rail service. The Wake Forest Weekly cited Sanera in an article discussing Wake County’s proposed transit plan. (However, those in opposition referenced figures from a 75-page rebuttal by the John Locke Foundation (JLF) that picks apart just about every supposed benefit. Where supporters claimed $4.6 billion in total capital costs — much of that coming from federal and state grants — Dr. Michael Sanera of JLF said the plan does not meet American Disability Act requirements, does not factor in replacement vehides or costs to use CSX, Norfolk Southern, and NCRR tracks for the commuter rail. He also said inevitable cost overruns have been left out of the equation.) An editorial in the same publication also mentioned JLF opposition to Wake’s transit proposals.
The Thomasville Times printed Sanera’s recent column about the use of federal stimulus dollars to pay for labor-saving “smart” trash cans. Sanera headed to Columbus, Ohio, to discuss “the benefits of the federalism system in courts, law enforcement, and the bubbling up of government policies” for the second annual We The People convention.
In other research news, Director of Fiscal Policy Studies Fergus Hodgson released a new report showing the benefits of “reverse logrolling” for limiting growth in the new state budget. The Lake Norman Citizen published a state Senate candidate interview that cited 2004 JLF research on transportation issues.
