Whether you lean left or right, this opinion could be deemed offensive.  So be warned, continue reading at your own risk.

Anyone driving between Reno-Sparks and Fernley, Nevada knows that it is no longer a pleasant drive, and hasn’t been so for a long time.  I used to drive that stretch almost daily and never gave it a thought, but now when I am in the area I dread it.  In 2001 Fernley became incorporated as a city and Amazon warehouse was just getting started up.  Now Fernley boasts almost 20,000 residents and Amazon has moved to Reno, adding to the commuters.  In addition new industry has come in and it’s not going to ease up any time soon.  There’s also a housing crisis and that creates high rents and people are looking to go east, even as far as Lovelock for cheaper housing. 

Back in 2001 some of us ( I have strange friends)  thought that if ever a transit system would be built it could be called F.A.R.T. (Fernley Area Rapid Transit.) Now it seems that the timing may be just right. If you want to extend it out to Fallon it would be named F.F.A.R.T.   Or, if you want to go to Lovelock it would be named F.F.L.A.R.T. but then that may be going too far. Just my suggestion since I still have property there. Hey, I think we’re ok for now, at least as long as gasoline prices stay low and until the Green Team dreamers have their way. 

So, in case this ever happens how would we pay for it?  I’m glad you asked.  To quote OAC (on approved credit) ”we’ll just pay for it.”  The railroad already has tracks on that route, never mind the details about sharing it. California has already set a precedent about being able to tax farting cows.  Actually, cows don’t pay taxes so the farmers have to.  Ok, I’m uncomfortable now with terminology, so from now on I’ll call it a Flat (flatuence) Tax. You see, left leaners have determined that methane has a high global warming potential (21 times that of carbon dioxide) and they are bent on taxing it to save the planet. So you can see where they are going with this.  They could pick on the cows, but what they really want to do is to put a Flat Tax on people.  That would make more sense, except for the double taxation in the case of farmers.  I’m sure they have this all figured out too.  Right leaners should demand that those who identify as vegans should pay their fair share too.  There could be a Flat Tax calculated by number of incidents which could easily be tracked by a phone app with location set so various counties can be credited. Oh, and don’t forget your Alexa device at home will be monitoring as well.

Ok, maybe this is sick humor.  What makes me really nervous is that the absurd is not out of the realm of possibility in the political environment of today.

About the author

Wolf Zappe is a property owner and past resident of Nevada for 40 years.