When I read that the U.S. government was offering tax credits for people buying SUVs, I was incensed but not surprised.

Imagine my contrasting pleasure, then, when I just read today that a congressman has proposed giving a tax break to those who cycle to work.After all, cycling is not free... there are costs of the bike itself, upkeep, and so on. And beyond this, why not encourage any behavior of this sort which -- in the aggregate -- would dramatically decrease the use of gasoline in our country and our related dependence on foreign oil.

What also makes me smile about the proposing of this particular "Bike Commuter Act" is the fact that this seems to be pretty far removed from the typical P&PP (Pork and Pandering Politics) we've come to cynically expect from our nation's "leaders." Unless there's a large and influential bike manufacturer or powerful bike lobby in this congressman's district, it seems like he's actually trying to do something just because it's the right thing to do.

And wow, is that refreshing

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