In the Letters

By: Mr. Wilson on March 13, 2007

From this morning's LJS letters to the editor:

The smoking ban debate still goes on. Those opposing the ban argue rights and financial problems, both weak issues. The issue is health, man! If a smoker has no respect for his own health, how can he be expected to be concerned about someone else’s? Jerrold C. Hood, Lincoln

Emphasis mine. This is one of the biggest things that bugs me about the smoking ban crowd. The "I know what's good for you, your rights be damned" attitude. Seems to me rights are pretty important and they probably oughtn't be brushed aside quite so lightly. It's really no different than saying "I know what words are good for you", "I know what sexual practices are good for you", or even "I know what God is good for you". There are legitimate arguments in favor of a smoking ban -- though none has so far convinced me -- and proponents should make them earnestly. But if you're going to mock an individual's rights as a "weak issue", pardon me if I mentally group you with some of history's less savory characters. In another letter, Susan Ferris wants to know how much the 2015 Vision Group's ten pillars will cost:

After reading the story with the headline declaring the “wide approval in polls” for the 10 “pillars” of the Vision 2015 group (LJS, March 5), I decided to take a little time and review what we know so far. I’ve checked their Web site and reread the Lincoln Journal Star coverage to date. Parts of this are really bothering me. I've had several discussions in a variety of settings and the first comment is always the big unanswered question: "How much will any of this cost?" "Do we want to move the State Fair?" is a completely different question than "Do we want to pay $70 million to move the State Fair?" To report 48 percent indicating support … I believe that was with no cost estimates. Tell us what we might spend, and then do the polling! If we can come up with $70 million (for one pillar and the only number I could find), how much do 10 pillars cost? Which pillar do we address first? Who says? What else might we want to do with a large sum of money? I want to put seat belts on school buses. Vision 2015 is a discussion among private business people. Where are the voices of our elected officials on this issue? Susan Ferris, Lincoln

The short answer, Susan, is: a lot. The Antelope Valley Project, for example, is expected to require an approximately $1 billion investment. That's approximately $250 million in public (local, state, federal) funds, plus an expected three times that amount in private investment in the area. The Q Street high rise will include an $8-$12 million public investment, plus as much as $50 million in private dollars. Omaha's Qwest Center cost some $291 million to build; that offers a rough guide for pricing a convention facility in Lincoln. And on and on. In short, we're talking hundreds of millions of public dollars, and a total investment well over a billion dollars. My guess as to why dollar figures aren't mentioned more often? Because they are scary. Remember, just because a figure is scary doesn't mean it isn't doable. But clearly we have our work cut out for us as a community if we're going to achieve all ten pillars.

Comments

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Fletch

March 14, 2007 at 5:10AM

I thought the letters to the LJS were from bitchers and moaners, but MAN - the comments on their website. I can’t believe that much a) hostility, and b) stupidity resides in the same town as me.

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