Americans are an amazing people who take great pride in our personal freedoms and individuality. However, many of our most notable accomplishments, such as walking on the moon, would not have been possible without tremendous trust and teamwork. Trust and teamwork will also be essential for our country as we battle the ongoing recession - and for Southeastern Wisconsin if we're to keep pace on the difficult road to recovery.

While the challenges are great, so too are the opportunities for us to seize the moment and set a more prosperous direction. We can achieve great things together. This is true on many levels in myriad ways, including the construction of a commuter rail system linking the Chicago, Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee corridor.

I've strongly supported this project for many years and have also urged support of establishing a Regional Transit Authority to make possible KRM's transition from concept to reality. An RTA will lay the foundation for a regional transit system that will support our businesses and citizens in providing vital connections between employers and the workforce.

My support of KRM and the RTA is based on a belief that stabilizing and modernizing transit is important to the long-term mutual economic well-being of our entire region. Physical connectedness is essential to business and so many aspects of contemporary society. We cannot live by cellular communication and the World Wide Web alone. A tangible regional network of business and personal transportation options is paramount.

KRM is not a panacea for all economic ills but, along with an RTA, is part of the cure. However, we must advance the RTA quickly toward implementation and avoid getting caught in traps that could delay progress. By moving forward, we will be eligible for federal Stimulus Package money directed toward infrastructure improvements and job creation. Many of these jobs, designed to trigger economic recovery, and solve systemic national problems such as dependence on foreign oil, are tied to projects like KRM.

This single commuter rail alone could play a key role in getting people to work: nearly a million jobs are available today within one mile of the stations between Milwaukee and Chicago. Our residents deserve to have access to a job market that is so close, yet just out of reach for many Wisconsin workers.

Some people cite only short-term, direct expenses and look only at the cost of transporting a person from point A to point B. However, an investment in KRM will bring far more than a train ride. KRM and the RTA provide an opportunity for us to come together as a region, seize a critical moment and make an informed down payment to invest in something tangible that will not only pay urgently needed dividends today, but also for generations to come.

Many experts have told us that an RTA and transit improvements including KRM would boost the region in numerous ways and help attract outside investors. Why? Because an effective regional transit network:

n Creates and attracts new jobs

n Connects employers with workers

n Provides relief from volatile gasoline prices that affect businesses, families, and our entire economy;

n Helps reduce the cost of living by cutting the cost of commuting thereby creating more net/discretionary income that energizes our local economy;

n Promotes development trends attractive to business and the talent that they rely on as their most vital asset;

n Creates a mobile environment that appeals to young, professional talent;

n Spurs diverse real estate development, housing affordability and tax base expansion;

n Encourages "green" development

n Boosts tourism spending

We must make the region attractive in these ways because we're competing nationally and globally with other areas for jobs, business, research dollars and real estate investment. Our national ratings that guide investors are falling, in part because of our lack of a regional transit network. Our challenging economic situation requires bold moves to improve our desirability and jumpstart an economic recovery. The window of opportunity is very short. We simply can't afford to wait another two years or more for the next state budget cycle, not with so much at stake.

Too often, generations past and present have spent unwisely creating debt with little investment upside for our children and their children's children. Let's move the RTA and KRM forward as expeditiously as possible and not waste this chance to trust each other and work together to ensure a better future for our business community as well as all our families, friends and neighbors for generations to come.

KRM and the RTA may not be as glitzy as a rocket ride to the moon, but I sincerely believe they will surely serve as a solid investment we can make today that will fuel our economy now and far into the future.

Roger Caron is president of Racine Area Manufacturers and Commerce.