Twenty years ago the federal government was spending just $6 million on the promotion of cycling and walking. Taking inflation into consideration, that’s about $10 million in 2010 terms. The federal government has no business telling me to ride a bicycle to begin with, but $10 million wouldn’t even make the radar of outrage today.

Instead, the Obama Administration has evidently decided that millions of dollars isn’t a sufficient appropriation. In fact, hundreds of millions of dollars isn’t enough either.

The administration has doubled funding for the initiatives, spending $1.2 billion of taxpayer funds to inform people that walking is healthier than planting your ass in the car. Because people wouldn’t know that without Washington wasting our money.

The spending on biking and walking projects was scheduled to rise last year anyway, but the administration boosted it with $400 million in funds set aside under the economic recovery program.

The new focus on biking and walking represents a turnaround from the administration of President George W Bush. Mary Peters, transportation secretary under Bush, dismissed biking paths and trails as projects that “really are not transportation,” saying they had no place in federal transportation policy.

And Peters would be correct. If a state or local government wants to build a bike path in Peoria, that’s fine. You know, as long as the respective taxpayers and voters are okay with that expense. I thoroughly enjoy riding my bike, and I can certainly understand the citizens of Peoria wanting to provide that infrastructure for the general public’s pleasure.

But the federal government has no responsibility to pay for my local bike trail. No one can look me in the eyes and honestly say the Founding Fathers thought Washington should be building bike trails in Peoria. They would have laughed you out of the room.

In March, Mr Obama’s transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, announced a policy “sea change” that gives biking and walking projects the same importance as automobiles in transportation planning and the selection of projects for federal money.

The new policy is an extension of the Obama administration’s livability initiative, which regards the creation of alternatives to driving – buses, streetcars and trains, as well as biking and walking – as central to solving the nation’s transportation woes.

So…we’re going forward by moving backward. We’ve reached the point in the development of civilization where just about every family has a quick, effective mode of  personal transportation capable of carrying multiple individuals and their luggage long distances. And we’re going to revert to walking and riding streetcars.

For a group of individuals who consider themselves “progressive”, liberals sure like going backward. We should turn off our lights, limit our showers, fly less, drive less, walk more, give back essential freedoms, stop even safe oil exploration…the list goes on and on. Amazing.