Bipolar Commentary

According to a The Daily Texan article, Forbes magazine had recently ranked Austin as one of the fastest growing city in the whole entire U.S. for the second time in a row.  Our rising population is predicted to attract more people and small business due to our low tax and low regulations.  But expert say that Austin would face new challenges and opportunities due to the increase of urban environment

I love the idea that Austin is growing, with new business that are coming to here. I do hope that it’s going to be more than just small businesses that are going to open in Austin. If a big corporation land their Headquarters in Austin, that means more jobs and possible tax money for the state of Texas. The thing I don’t like about the idea that Austin is growing too fast to accommodate. One of the things Austin is needs find a solution to our traffic jams. Like my previous arguments in my last couple of blogs, we need a train that connects downtown to break up the clutter. On top of that we are also at the beginning of a possible 10 year drought. What if Austin does run out of water or resources and can’t sustain a growing population? Austin might have to import it from somewhere else, thus costing the city a lot of money. We are already have -20 Billion in our biannual income, this could tack on more stress on our budget.  In the end I’m not sure how to feel about this the idea that Austin is expand. It great that Austin is growing, I just don’t like the negative effect that could happen. Then again, who knows what could happen within the next 10+ years. The concern of traffic jams could be solved by then and that we found better ways to save water so we could sustain a bigger population. 

I agree with Mr. Lee Mitchell's commentary on the legal age for consumption of alcohol. Why is it that a person can sign his life away to government but he can’t drink? I’ve heard that military bases allow underage people to drink, but that’s not something that I can confirm. Just like Mr. Lee I am a firm believer that a young adult of the age of 18 would have a cognitive mind to make his or her own decision.

If tomorrow I became the person in charge of the making the decision to legalize alcohol to 18 year olds; I would say yes, but under one condition. I will only allow young adults the age of 18 in college to consume alcohol and not high school seniors. Why? Because I feel that high school senior are too irresponsible to have the privilege to buy alcohol. There is definitely a maturity gap between a high school 18 year old and a college one. I also feel that if a high school student can buy alcohol, he/she could provide a bridge for underclassmen to get their hands on alcohol. In the end could possibility lead to more social problems that teens already have. The reason why I would agree to lower the drinking age is because it could provide a source of income for our economy. Let’s be honest here, underage college student drink alcohol. They are going to get their hands on it just by going to parties and what not. So there is no point in limiting them from buying and consuming alcohol.  Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I agree with Mr. Mitchell’s argument that a young adult at the age of 18 can make his/her own decision. 

I just read an article on The Daily Texan talking about a possible vote on a new urban railroad line that will connect with MetroRail. As of right now the proposal is that the railroad would connect with UT’s West Campus, UT, and downtown (on routes San Jacinto Boulevard and Lavaca Street). The problem with is, city council hasn’t really decided on it. They planned to vote on this proposal the coming fall.

                I really hope that City Council will go through with this, because it would really help downtown clutter. Another thing is that it will also provide UT students another form of transportation to school; we would hopefully see fewer cars on the road at 7-9am in the morning. Not to mention that it is also a cheaper way to travel, as of right now gas prices are on the rise. For me it cost about $50 dollars (sometimes more) to fill up every week, (if I was a UT student) but it I was riding the Metro I could definitely save a lot of money. The question is how much will I be saving? Well as of right now each month is about roughly $200 dollars for gas. MetrolRail rates are $64 for a 31 days pass, $32 for reduced price pas, and free for UT/ACC students. That’s 200 dollars I could possible save if I used the metro, even If I wasn’t a student that’s still $136 dollars in my pocket.

                I think that community could make use of the MetroRail, if they extended their hours during the weekends. The reason why I say this is because everyone parties during the weekends; some people don’t want to drive downtown because it hard to find a good parking spot. The MetroRail could also be used as a tool to keep drunk drivers off the road during the closing hours of bars. Thus in the end would benefit the community in terms of safety, economy, and not to mention reducing CO2 emissions.