In the movie, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” the sad tale of the loss of the Pacific Electric Railway is told Hollywood style. Politicians and big business got rid of mass transit in Los Angeles, just so they could sell more cars. As a kid growing up in Compton, I would take the Red Car to the Long Beach Nu Pike to spend the day and night gambling at the Penny Arcade.
General Motors deserves to go bankrupt just for what it did to mass transit in California, but that’s not all it did. GM created smog so bad I couldn’t take a deep breath and, of course, it was hard to play with tears in my eyes.
There should be no bailout for any company with a history like General Motors. I have no tears for GM.
Dr. Eduardo M. Rivera
Ed Rivera 