Not according to Uncle Sam and his “Environmentalists”!
In January 1998, President Bill Clinton’s Environmental Protection Agency threatened to withhold federal transportation funds from the Atlanta region because it did not meet federal air-quality standards and said that it would agree to restore the funding only if the state of Georgia dramatically altered its land-use and transportation policies in ways similar to those characteristic of the Smart Growth polices that discourage single-family detached housing and encourage public transit use and investment.
Georgia agreed to do this, at least through the waning days of the Clinton Administration, but soon abandoned the policies when leadership in Washington changed. Carol Browner headed the EPA when the threat was imposed on Atlanta under Clinton.
Today, she is Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change. With the prospect of even worse to come from this new DOT–HUD partnership on sustainable communities, those who are skeptical of the President’s grandiose efforts at social engineering should be on the alert.
Hey Amerika. Lean over to your kids or grandchildren and say, “Please forgive me”.
Why? For the absolute negligence in controlling Uncle Sam while he plots to screw your kids and grandchildren. Again!