To the editor:

It’s time to think about allocation of scarce or expensive resources, e.g., transportation costs. Gasoline is going up, as is the cost of vehicles. Asphalt, concrete, steel and land acquisition prices are all up. If we want our cars and roads available, much as 10 or 20 years ago, we must pay more, including taxes.

You don’t want to pay more taxes? What do you want to cut back? Police? Fire? Garbage pickup? Street repairs? Schools? Parks and recreation?

There are alternatives. The buses from Lawrence to Johnson County are a success. Perhaps bus service will need to be expanded, or supplemented with Dial-a-Ride.

Ethanol has been a big success – for some. Farmers’ prices for corn and wheat are up. So is the price of meat, since grain is a mainstay animal feed. Brazil wanted to sell ethanol to us, but Congress nixed that. We don’t need to eat meat everyday to have adequate nutrition. Tell that to your family! It is true. Tell it to Tyson Foods, too!

Cheap energy, now gone (even if oil prices drop somewhat), made possible the easy choices of the recent past. What is your choice now?

Mark Larson,
Lawrence