Subsidies show unsustainability To the Editor: Regarding the flood of recent letters lamenting the impact upon various segments of the Kitsap community as a result of the passage of I-695, most protests seem to come from the following groups:  Kitsap residents who commute via subsidized ferries to jobs in Seattle that do not pay enough to afford the worker housing in Seattle.  Kitsap residents whose businesses and jobs depend on people using the subsidized ferries to allow them to move from the Seattle area to Kitsap.  Kitsap residents accustomed to enjoying taxpayer-subsidized mass transit.  Kitsap residents who use the subsidized ferries to travel to Seattle for non-work related activities.  Kitsap residents who commute to high-paying jobs in Seattle, but who prefer to live here. The state ferry system should have been required to be self-sufficient from day one. Any enterprise that does not pay for its operation is inherently unsustainable. A company that cannot afford to pay its employees a sufficient wage to afford housing in the area where the company is based is not sustainable. A community that cannot provide a job that pays a sufficient wage to afford housing is unsustainable. Taxpayers subsidize the operation of Seattle-based businesses to some extent by providing transportation their Kitsap-based employees use to get to work every day. Taxpayers subsidize the professional sports franchises and other Seattle-based entertainment by providing the subsidized ferry trip. Taxpayers, who already subsidize an outrageous 90 percent of the cost of new growth in Kitsap County are supporting the means by which more people are attracted to the county. The taxpayer-subsidized transport system between Kitsap County and Seattle reveals the unsustainable nature of both communities. John Youngquist - Poulsbo

-- Mike Alworth (m_alworth@olympusnet.com), March 08, 2000

Answers

Ferry system ran just fine, I understand prior to being taken over by the state. Probably served more stops, and I'm willing to bet somebody actually made some money at it....

-- no chance (kingoffools_99@yahoo.com), March 08, 2000.

Build a cross-sound highway from Kitsap to Burien via Vashon Island, and you can let your precious privatized ferry system compete with that.

-- Matthew M. Warren (mattinsky@msn.com), March 09, 2000.

make it a toll bridge and you've got my vote...:)

-- no chance (kingoffools_99@yahoo.com), March 13, 2000.

to no chance: Make I-90 a toll bridge, first.

-- Matthew M. Warren (mattinsky@msn.com), March 13, 2000.