Traffic patterns in the Fray.

Light Traffic: This week's ReadMe Fray isn't generating a great deal of volume, though a disproportionately intelligent number of posts responding to Michael Kinsley's "Democracy and Traffic Jams." No playa-hatin', trash-talkin', or are-you-now-or-have-you-evers—just cuddly, wonkish exposition.

RavenT speaks to "asymmetrical interests" in the decision making process here. MrZero points out that traffic is a quintessential example of the necessity of government to make collective decisions, "The government is not your enemy—the government is you." Indeed, "traffic libertarianism" would make that CVS run kind of dicey. In response, mikkyld objects to Zero's framing of the issue on the right-left continuum.

Red Light, Green Light: Rather than debate whether democracy can provide for an individual while it makes a collective decision, others want to schmooze about the $8 congestion tax itself. JimmytheCelt disagrees with Kinsley that "Rapid transit is a pipe dream for this spread-out country":

All us boomers will shortly become too blind, too slow, or too debilitated to drive cars. Our kids won't chauffeur us around, that's for sure. We better start lobbying now for the transit investments that Kinsley deems impractical.

Econguy questions if cities in the United States have sufficient alternatives in place even if they wanted to impose a congestion fee. Londoner dave2002 gives us a report on the effects of the congestion charge, and wonders "where all the traffic has gone." Another point:

The interesting thing for this type of solution is that as a solution it does not matter what those people are doing—they have found individually solutions which are perhaps OK for them. We may gain understanding by finding out where they went, but this makes no difference to the solution itself.

Baltimore–aureole says that London:

used to charge an entrance fee in the middle ages. to keep out the riffraff, raise money for the rulers, and ensure that propertied men and traders could go about their business with minimal distraction from beggars, thieves, and such. so the 'new' fee is perhaps only the restoration of a medieval policy?

Baltimore insists that such a fee in a major U.S. city would result in mass "exodus." Finally, Game_Warden and MarcEJohnson engage in a debate over John Kenneth Galbraith's premise that industry manufactures and determines consumer demand. GW calls Galbraith an "embarrassment to liberals." GW's post is here, with Marc's rebuttal here.

Love, Valour, Passion, Aggression: TheJK opens up the board, asking: