A big selling point for the proponents of light rail transit is the prospect of capturing federal aid for the community. Getting this “free” money is purported to be a great boost to the local economy. Supposedly, it matters not that the ultimate use of the money may be for a project with little intrinsic value. The key is to grab the loot.

This way of thinking is wrong from every angle.

Funding light rail is outside the legitimate authority of the federal government. It is not among the enumerated powers granted to Congress in the U.S. Constitution. The fact that Congress has been illegitimately funding such projects is not an argument for Arizona to try to get a piece of the action. Federal money is not “free.” It is money forcibly extracted from taxpayers. It is unfair for taxpayers in distant locales to be tapped to fund projects of only local benefit.

Light rail is a bad investment. The costs exceed the benefits by a tenfold margin. Even if the community is successful in obtaining federal aid, the aid would cover less than 50 per cent of the costs. There would still be a fivefold negative benefit/cost ratio. That means local taxpayers would be stuck paying five times the real value of the transit service offered.

Granted, some local businesses may do well as a result of government spending on light rail. The firms that construct the tracks and stations will profit. Owners of key parcels of real estate along the track alignment will make a pile of money either selling it at inflated prices to the transit agency for right-of-way or through raising the rents charged to their tenants.

However, the community as a whole will suffer. Local tax rates will have to be higher to pay for deficits created by light rail system.

A recent Maricopa Association of Governments report on high capacity transit options for the Phoenix region came up with an estimated cost of $13 per passenger trip for light rail service. No rider would be willing to pay so much for the slow (21 mph), inconvenient (waiting, making transfers from bus to train), and uncomfortable (may have to ride standing) light rail transit service. If the beneficiaries of the service aren’t willing to pay what it costs how can we justify strong-arming taxpayers into footing much of the bill?

This is a case where the principled stand of not trying to feed at the federal trough is also the fair and prudent stand. Arizona’s congressmen can serve both the nation’s and Arizona’s best interest by working to prevent federal aid from being dispensed for light rail in the Phoenix metro region.

John Semmens, Chandler