The currently dismal economy isn't helping, either; folks who had money to burn (and did so) or plenty of credit (and also used it up) are now wishing they'd been a bit more thrifty then and aren't able or willing to part with whatever they've got left (hindsight's a wonderful thing, ain't it?). Throw in the fact that the Empire of Marin isn't exactly (and never really was) a transit-friendly environment and SMART isn't the "smart" idea it once seemed to be (in the minds of some folks, at least). It'd make more sense to concentrate on improving existing transit options if possible (not that I consider that very likely to happen) rather than spend more money on a new project that's neither popular (in Marin County, anyway) or likely to have any real benefit for commuters. I support rail-based transit if it's going to have a real benefit and the ridership potential is there, but SMART's plan for commuter rail clearly fails on both counts.