Over the past few weeks I have been reading about the various schemes in NY and NYC to deal with the purported MTA budgetary problems. This in addition to the Federal government bailing out failing banks and other schemes. Up to now I had not really taken the concept of small government as seriously as I perhaps should have. COVID changed a lot of that thinking. Better late than never I suppose.
To summarize, NYC, supposedly following London's lead, wants to implement 'Congestion Pricing" in order to support the MTA.
Think about that.
The scheme is that in order to go into Manhattan below 59th street (allowing exception for those trying to get to the Queens Bridge for the time being), vehicles would be charged EZ PASS style. This money would supposedly be used to close the budget of the MTA.
Think about that.
I've driven in Manhattan and trust and believe that 99% of people who find themselves below 59th street and not down there to gawk at the skyline and take a pleasure cruise. They are usually trying to conduct some kind of business. At least during the day. Usually when I go to NYC, I will either park in Harlem and take the train downtown OR I will park in lower east side and take the train north. I do whatever I can to avoid driving IN mid Manhattan.
So I pay a huge toll to enter NYC. Pay to use the mass transit when I get there. And now they want to ding me when I exit the FDR if I go to lower Manhattan to park. All so I can conduct business. Let's not even discuss what happens if you DO drive into mid-town. You almost certainly have to pay to park. So you get dinged with a huge toll. Then you get dinged for entering Manhattan below 59th street. Then you get dinged to park. Anyone who has paid for daytime parking in Manhattan knows how much THAT can hurt.
All that and you still have not conducted your business.
In some cases all of these dings can add up to about 100 bucks. You do realize there is a tax on that off street parking right?
All for the privilege of what? Shopping in Manhattan? Eating in their restaurants. Really?
Anyway, that's not the gripe I have. Really. If you're dumb enough or wealthy enough to not care about that tax on your activity and keep spending money in Manhattan when there are alternatives, you go do that. Personally, I'm willing to bypass Manhattan entirely for Long Island. However; the gripe here is the stated mission: To close MTA budgets.
Why are drivers being asked to foot the bill for a service they may not use while having to pay for the services they DO use? If I don't ride the train, I shouldn't have to pay a fare. People who ride the trains aren't expected to pay my toll. If the MTA and/or government is short on funds then why doesn't it rearrange it's finances, including jettisoning things it has subscribed to (translation: programs) in order to pay for the MTA shortfall since it is so dire?
Why not raise the fare on the trains and busses to what would be sustainable. Perhaps people have gotten to used to artificially low prices for public transport and if they actually had to pay what it costs, like drivers have to when they use their vehicles?
How about the MTA get serious about fare beaters on its trains and busses and stop with this racial justice nonsense and poverty nonsense. I grew up poor and didn't fare beat. Ever.
The reason NYS does this is because it views the population as one big money tree. Why be responsible when we can dig into the pockets of the people.
Money to house illegal aliens who shouldn't be here? More taxes for you buddy.
MTA can't keep within it's budget? More taxes for you buddy.
Even the 'speed cameras" that are all over the city now are taxes. They claim that they reduce accidents and fatalities. I doubt that. I've seen places where they are located. And many of them, it is impossible to DO the speed limit during the day much less go over it. Of course they have that covered as well.
On one egregious example of "more taxes for you buddy" is a speed camera placed on a 4 lane street that runs parallel to and feeds a highway of similar width. The camera was put near a school but that area is usually unused and not populated by students. I know, I attended that school. The area where students DO congregate? No camera. The coup-de-grace was that they dropped the speed limit on this road in order to drive up the amount of speeding tickets since going the previous limit now put you in fine territory.
I've heard of such nonsense in Staten Island as well.
This isn't just a NY thing. California implemented a "Mansion Tax" and is (or is considering) taxing people who have left the state. The federal government has a pending budget in which Biden wants to make a new "tax on the wealthy" to, you know, "make them pay their fair share". Almost everybody accepts this idea of :paying for their fair share" without even asking why the government deserves any of the money in the first place.
How much money has gone to Ukraine? How much to Israel? Yeah I said it. If we have money to hand out to countries and people in this country who do not belong here, then why do any taxes need to be raised?
Back to NY though. Did you know they recently voted on some new Diversity Department(tm). You know who gets to pay for that right? Question: If you have a debt do you take on new expenses? No? Government doesn't work that way. Why? Because you are the perpetual money tree. Nice roots you have there Shame it you got ringed.
