On Sunday, the Washington Post reported on the federal government possibly taking over yet another industry, local rail systems.
Under the proposal, the U.S. Department of Transportation would do fortransit what it does for airlines and Amtrak: set and enforce federalregulations to ensure that millions of passengers get to theirdestinations safely.
The proposal to impose federal oversight over local rail agencies is another example of a growing trend of the Obama administration to centralize power in Washington D.C. This deliberate concentration of power has been seen most dramatically in the auto, health care and financial industries. And with the upcoming Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act, Dr. Ron Utt from the Heritage Foundation details how the federal government will also centralize even greater authority over transportation policies.
In October, Ron Sims, Deputy Secretary of Department of Housing and Urban Development spoke at Cascadia's Beyond Oil Conference at Microsoft and gave us a glimpse of his role in this massive centralization! of power. He began his remarks with this introduction:
“I have an interesting Job. I have both the responsibilities for day to day operations of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and then two major policy initiatives. I’m called the new breed of deputy secretaries. And one of those is “sustainability” and “livability.” It’s really interesting when you talk about how to transform an agency because we were told by the President that we could not exist in silos anymore. That it would be unacceptable for us to go to any meeting and say the problem we face in any major urban area or even the rural areas across the country was not our jurisdictional issue. That would not be a good meeting. There would not be a positive result. The President at that moment would thank you for your service and replace you.” (here is the video)
Centralization of power at the federal level means local officials have less control over policy decisions. It also means the federal government has an ever increasing role in our lives. And I think we all get a little anxious when federal officials claim that every issue is now within their jurisdiction.
