Getting there is half the fun

I was reading a story in the newspaper about the proposed link up between I-95 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike. This is been the subject that discussed since I first came to Philadelphia in the 1980s. 

Actually, when I first got here in the fall of 1979, I read an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer which was a somewhat facetious discussion of I-95 which was in the process of being built in Philadelphia at that time. I only remember the first question in there which is "What is I-95?" And the answer was, "I-95 is a road that runs from Maine to Girard Avenue and from Philadelphia Airport to Florida." Which was a completely accurate description, by the way. 

And I also remember reading somewhere else that there was some deception on the part of New Jersey that fooled Pennsylvania into thinking there was a way to connect the Pennsylvania's part of I-95 with the New Jersey Turnpike directly. Here's a link to a carefully worded account that gives the general idea, as well as an explanation of why the part of 95 from Girard to PHL took so long to complete.

So in this context, I see this article about connecting 95 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike with great interest. They say they're going to start building it soon, which is great for people drive by and maybe not so good for those who live in that general vicinity. But halfway through the article comes the money shot, so to speak. How was this project being funded? The money is coming from a program by which rich foreigners are given green cards for themselves and their families in exchange for agreeing to lend money at an advantageous rate to the state . Yes, I know. This sounds like a bad movie plot. We seen this stuff lots of times, people pretending to be married and such in order to get green cards. Finally, there's a legit way to go about it. As long as you're rich and powerful.

Apparently, this is not a brand-new idea. It's been done before. I'm not sure about the politics of it all, but on one hand it's also the perfect Republican idea, because it gives some great advantage to wealthy people. And what seems to be Republicans' , aside from controlling women's bodies, is to further advantage rich people. On the other hand, putting in a road that everybody can use by having rich people pay for it, seems like a pretty progressive idea. I don't know why nobody's complaining about redistribution of wealth. 

The sense I got from the article is that the developers of this idea are extremely pleased with themselves for coming up with it. I would be too if I were them. The law allowing such things was passed back in 1990, and it was suggested to the Turnpike people by one of their board members, a Bucks country restauranteur and beer distributor by the name of, and I quote, Pasquale T. "Pat" Deon Sr. Makes me wish I had a nickname that could put in quotes in the middle of my name.