The Signal has a good story today on a Stevenson Ranch woman who commutes 90 miles each way to her job in a mental hospital in San Bernardino:
The sun’s not up yet, but Bonnie Joseph, 27, of Stevenson Ranch is.
Bonnie works as a clinical social worker at Patton State Mental Hospital.
She commutes to work four days a week – to San Bernardino.
She starts her 2005 Nissan Sentra, puts her Bluetooth in her right ear and begins her 90-mile commute to work.
Bonnie says she and her husband spent up to $500 per month in gas during the summer of 2008, when gas hit $4.00/gallon in the SCV, but now she only spends about $250 per month. Overall, she spends 12 hours per week in her car, which by my math, works out to a little less than 9% of the total hours in a week (168).
To me, that lifestyle is crazy. Illogical. Certifiably nuts. But I get why Bonnie does it: she has a job she enjoys and excels at, the expense of commuting that far is tough, but not impossible, and there exists a lack of alternative transportation methods.
At least in this country.
I was listening to PRI’s The World program tonight and they profiled another long distance commuter. But this woman lived in Brussels, Belgium. She commuted 160 miles each way to Paris, France for her job. Her commute took about an hour and fifteen minutes aboard a 190 mph high speed train system. You can hear her story -and the prospects for an American system like it- here.
Both of these commuters make me feel like an intolerable whiner for complaining about my post-college job commute to Brentwood. That commute was about 26 miles, but it included one of the worst freeway interchanges in the country/world (405/101) and involved two passes, one of which, the Newhall Pass, is now almost as bad as the other, the Sepulveda Pass. Driving that everyday for almost three years really changed my outlook on planning, transportation, and how Southern California was designed.
I was fortunate enough to eventually find work in the SCV, but many aren’t. I hope that will change; traffic is only going to get worse on Interstate 5 and Highway 14, and there’s really no other way out of town (though eventually, I hope, the CA High Speed Rail system will roll through the SCV with a stop in Sylmar).
Petz wonders why she does not take Metrolink to San Bernadino? Could it be the complete failure of government run public transportation?
Unashamedly liberal ? The left has hijacked the meaning of word liberal from those who were skeptical of and questioned government power, they are statists who want to regulate the amount of water in your toilets and what light bulbs you can buy in the market. They despise freedom and liberty and want to dictate how you live your life……and how you plan to die. The conservative rejects this model.
A little humility and honest self examination may be in order.
At my company in Valencia, we have 2 long distance commuter’s. 1 from Mohave, and another from California City, approx 100 miles! I guess there aren’t any jobs out in the middle of the desert.
Also just a side note approx 75% of our warehouse workers (150 total) live in Palmdale/Lancaster.
No, the left didn’t hijack the term “liberal.” the conservative right pasted that term, as in “card carrying liberal” in an attempt to paint the left as extremists, and made “liberal” a dirty word. Thank Rove and his kind for that one.
And isn’t it the “freedom loving right” that wants to control what happens in the operating room and the bedroom?
“They despise freedom”… c’mon, Petz, you don’t really drink that laughably crazed Kool-aid, do you?
The SCV was made with expensive homes and low-wage jobs, creating a two-way commute nightmare. Left unregulated, this is what we get from developers and investors, neither of whom pay the costs for this lack of urban planning. Both are long gone with their ill-gotten gains when the buyers are saddled with the problems.
The Right “wants to control what happens in the operating room”??? Really? And who wants control of healthcare exactly?
Petz writes: wonders why she does not take Metrolink to San Bernadino? Could it be the complete failure of government run public transportation?
You’ve got two failure sitting the legilslature that simply recite their conservative ‘anti-tax’ ideology and don’t do anything especially if it involves a tax increase to provide the funding for more metrorail expansion.
Petz writes: A little humility and honest self examination may be in order.
You may want to look in the mirror at your house and simply ask yourself: how can I ask for humility and honesty when I (you) myself don’t exhibit those qualities.
Petz writes: they are statists who want to regulate the amount of water in your toilets and what light bulbs you can buy in the market. They despise freedom and liberty and want to dictate how you live your life……and how you plan to die. The conservative rejects this model.
The problem petz is that your religious conservatism blinds you to the resoure constaints that face the rest of us . . . and simply chanting to yourself that ‘God will provide’ simply doesn’t work ‘here on earth’ . . . where we have to deal with reality.
That’s a major separation point between religious conservatives and liberals.
Indy
The Right “wants to control what happens in the operating room”??? Really? And who wants control of healthcare exactly?
Yes, the Right wants to eliminate all abortions, thanks for asking.
And the insurance companies want control of health care. They already have it, and they see Obama’s (or ANYone’s) attempts at reform or competition as a threat to that control.
Don’t take my word for it, consult Business Week:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_31/b4141022519011.htm
I’d rather have a government bureaucrat making decisions affecting my healthcare than an insurance company which pays its employees bonuses for denying claims and rescinding policies when people get sick. God save us all from the “free enterprise” hell we’ve created for ourselves here in this country.
Those individual with any decency recognized that they were not liberals and referred to themselves as progressive. Petz recognizes Scoop Jackson and John Kennedy as liberals in the best sense of the word. Socially “progressive” reformers but not Alinsky type transformers they wanted to nurture the golden goose and protect the farm. Current day liberals want to kill the goose and burn down the farm.
How long is Petz cursed to have Indy nipping at his heels?
It’s your karma Petz
I thought this post was about commuting?
I find it takes at least a hour to get to most places in L.A in traffic. If you live and work in SCV more power to you but we all can’t be so lucky. If Bonnie drives 90 miles each way and only logs 12 hours a week I’d say she’s making good time, it takes me a hour to drive 32 miles when I have to get to the west side. Luckily I’m freelance and my commute changes.
Jeff,
Driving a hour each way to work may seem crazy. Illogical. Certifiably nuts to you but I’d say that’s closer to the norm than not in L.A. It seems to me a small price to pay to live in a place that you can raise a family away from the getto that is Los Angeles. I find some of you post elitist to say the least. There is always a different point of view and reasons people sacrifice for their family or their livelihood.
Just MHO
But don’t get me wrong, I love the blog and will keep reading and commenting.
Petz urges all fellow Astroturfers who reject the collectivism of those in Washington to plant a Tree of Liberty as we enter this week of consequence.
Read a little Jefferson this weekend.
From the Tree of Liberty letter of Thomas Jefferson———————–
“what country can preserve it’s liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?”
RM is crazy. A competitive marketplace liberated of the regulation that causes the problems in the marketplace provides CHOICE and advances liberty.
It’s always good for a chuckle when people quote those old Jefferson quotes that have been disproven by history. It turns out that you don’t need a revolution of a civil war every few years to maintain a republic.
We’ve darn near lost ours. You just keep chuckling.
yeah, I hear you. That Obama speech to the kids is quite a doozy.
Yeah, encouraging education is a commie plot for sure!
What’s on the Q today?
yesterday. Brisket and spareribs. Plenty of leftovers, though.
Petz,
You’ve been listening to conservative ‘double speak’ for so long from the likes of Sean ‘Mr. Character Assassination’ Hannity that you no longer realize what is reality versus just another conservative slogan.
Liberals as you’ve noted, have been attacked ever since the Newt Gingrich ploy with the Contact with America.
Please, stop listening to the guy in the concrete bunker with aluminum foil on his hat and shoes . . . on KABC on the drive home . . . Mark simply hasn’t seen the sight of day for so long that he actually believes he is the ‘conservative underground’ that Sean like to promote during his distorting.
Come join us Petz . . . and leave he darkness for a big and brighter future . . . with regulations to keep the free market monsters from destroying our economy any further.
Had your own legislators Runner/Smyth actually used their time to understand the infrastructure needs including our outdated freeways systems rather than their recitals of conservative ‘anti-tax”anti-government’ slogans . . . perhaps the commute would be better for ‘all’ including conservatives!!! Who knew . . .
Petz his pleased to announce that his one man crusade to bring a bike rack to the Trader Joes in Saugus has met with success. According to Capt, Reagan my concerns have been heard and they are making application to the city to place a bike rack outside the store. What kind of government requires a private property owner to apply for a permit for a bike rack?
Petz, I think it’s great you’ve taken the lead for the bike rack . . . as far as the city goes, you’ll have to ask the predominate conservatives that have sat on the city council for the last 20 years or so for the explantion to your question.
Good for you Petz for getting out and taking action instead of just posting about it. But I still believe we need insurance reform.
Indy:
Yeah, Mark Levin must be some kind of crazy. That’s why his book Liberty and Tyranny has been the hands down number one non-fiction best seller this year with sales approaching 1 million. His concise essay on Conservatism is sure resonating with a lot of people in this country. I doubt you have read it.
It really boils down to this. The leftist (or more correctly ‘statists’) see more government as a solution to our problems, and want to make everyone equal economically (Socailism). In the procees of acheiving this so called utopia they will make it worse for everyone. True Conservatives still see ‘equal’ as meaning everyone has an equal opportunity to persue their ambitions for economic success. That is called Liberty, and it is what has made this country great.
OBAMA’S SPEECH:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/MediaResources/PreparedSchoolRemarks/
OMG, it’s sooooo scary! To the silly ones out there, make sure you keep your precious little ones from hearing their President’s Speech!
Especially Mr. Putz!
Scott Says:
The people living in Palmdale and working here is well known. The Chamber and the VIA has pressured the city to run bus service to Palmdale in order to bring these people to Valencia to work.
I guess this is OK as we already pay for buses to take valley residents to LA to work.
Petz >>>>>>>>>CC
While Petz respects your opinion-it is clear that you think with your heart.
Government is the last place you want to look for insurance reform. Note the pending insovency and need for refunding of the FDIC and the FHA’s home loan insurance fund. Why won’t the press report on these pending multi billion dollar failures?
Petz supports those reforms advocated by Whole Foods Chairman John MacKey in a controversial WSJ piece. Here is the pathway to more affordable heath care. We must recect Obamacare-trigger mechanisms-and Van Jones style politics in the White House.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204251404574342170072865070.html
Isn’t it strange how they kicked God out of the schools and let the “messiah” in?
Jim,
I do get a listen to Mark on the drive home and have listened to his arguments. Basically, he’s just a strong willed conservative that does a good job of reciting hard core conservative principles including the one you’ve mentioned about government. And he’s not bashful is dismissing anyone who disagrees with him . . . it either his way or the highway.
And I’m not at all surprised that the book has been selling like it has since it plays to the frustration of the public who for decades now, have elected anti-government Republicans into office including McKeon, Runner, Smyth who do little more than simply trying to enforce their conservative views on the public but that have accomplished very little . . . thus the frustration.
And indeed the liberals have done little to help as well as being seemingly ‘afraid’ of the conservative backlash that manifest itself in simple minded slogans that don’t really address any solution but just seem to continue to further excite the frustration . . . thus no long term problems solved, just short term increased support for conservatives that have very little to offer other than as you note reciting that government can’t solve anything.
And that’s an interesting position to take since conservatives in government seem helpless other than to recite their inability to do anything even though our nation has perhaps the best schools of management on earth from Harvard Business School to the Wharton School of Business to even MIT’s Sloan School of business. Why not use this talent to help management government?
No successful business becomes that way without ‘planning’ yet conservatives suggest that we don’t do that at the government level as if the ‘free market’ will solve all problems which as we’ve seen of late, isn’t true. It sounds great and if repeated enough but it just builds into the frustration I’ve noted above.
Socialized roads, schools, courts, fire and police departments, military, even our parks has shown that planning at the government level can work especially as we see the coordinated efforts to fight the Station Fire . . .
So we can retain our liberty as citizens but still have an active and appropriate government doing the things that we as individuals can’t.
People like Levin like to put this issue into ‘patriotic’ terms (another reason the book sells so much) but in fact, he’s actually arguing against the interest of most people living here in the US.
In any event, we’re all interconnected into a society that works together for the common whole. If you don’t like the word socialism, great. That word has become so politicized like ‘liberal’ that I’m not surprised it’s being used as a ‘hammer’ for not solving problems through government.
Perhaps you can enlighten us as to how businessman acting independently can provide the socialized services I’ve noted above without a ‘government’.
In conclusion, it’s unfortunate that Jeff has removed the debating forum . . . from this site . . . where we could explore these issues in greater detail other than a thread based on transportation.
But I do appreciate your debating demeanor . . . you expressed a point of view that outlines the conservative position and for that you’re to be commended.
I think Petz you’ve misunderstood the reasons for both regulatory and insurance reform.
Our ‘free market system’ has in many cases required the use of regulations to meet the needs of ‘all Americans’ for such things as ‘seat belts’ to ‘posted speed limits’. These regulations are set forth to protect the public . . . not to arbitrarily inconvenience them.
As far as the issue you’ve stated with the recent issue regarding the mortgage industry collapse and the problems with the unregulated financial derivative markets, you’ll have to take issue with President Bush and his appointment for SEC Chief, Chris Cox. It appears both acted reluctantly to address the changing market conditions and subjected the American public to what you see today.
Had these industries been regulated in a manner appropriate for all Americans, there wouldn’t be needed an increase in the funds for the FDIC and FHA nor the huge bailouts required for AIG et al.
Finally, with respect to health care reform, we’ve been listening to Republicans for 15 years ‘talk the problem’ but never ‘resolve it’.
Many Americans including me are ‘out of luck’ under current health care provisions including the issue of ‘prior existing medical conditions’ which essentially make the whole health care industry worthless. Why pay into insurance pools for decades only to become sick and find yourself ‘cancelled’ or simply rejected by the health care industry as being ‘unprofitable’.
I think most Americans understand that providing a new set of ‘level playing fields’ regulations benefits all Americans not just those vested in the health care industry.
Petz: Isn’t it strange how they kicked God out of the schools and let the “messiah” in?
Interestingly, no child in public school is asked to reject their fundamental religious beliefs whatever they may be or not.
Maintaining the ‘separation of church and state’ is simply following the wishes of the Founding Fathers as codified in the 1st Amendment.
Americans are free to believe in whatever they want but just can’t use government as a methodology to further the teachings of the dominate religion.
Jeff, just curious if you were part of the ‘Lance’ groupies yesterday at Griffith Park?
Kinda of expected to see on the scene photo’s posted here this morning. Knowing what a big cycle fan you are, if you didn’t get to be part of it, sorry for bringing it up…..
Yeah unfortunately I had to work so I couldn’t get over to the park