Quote:
Originally Posted by DMcCunney
Out of curiousity, what are they striking about? (At a guess, working hours and money.)
(If I were you, I'd reschedule that meeting now, since you would have problems getting to it.)
I consider myself lucky. New York City has comprehensive 24/7 public transport. There are subways and buses in NYC itself, and commuter rail lines to points outside the city proper. I can get pretty much anywhere, at almost any time. I don't need (or want) to own a car.
Labor issues between unions and the transit authority overall responsible haven't been a problem in decades. The bigger issues are funding. Like any other such effort, it's simply not possible to charge enough for a fare to cover the costs of transporting the passenger. The MTA must get state and federal subsidies, and especially needs subsidies to cover capital costs for new construction and renovation and repair of older and track, as well as purchases of rolling stock.
Federal funding isn't normally a problem, but the relationship between New York City and New York State is often contentious. State government politics can be described as "New York City tries to get state funds comparable to the amount of state taxes it pays. The rest of the state tries to keep that from happening." NYC politicians elected to state government slots discover the political dividing line isn't Democrat vs Republican - it's upstate vs downstate.
There was a city political campaign decades ago, where novelist Norman Mailer and newspaper columnist Jimmy Breslin were running for Mayor and City Council head, respectively, with the slogan "Let the rascals in!". Part of their platform was a pledge to try to secede NYC from the rest of the state, and have it a separate political entity. That would have been fascinating, had they gotten into office and tried it.
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Dennis
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Shrug. Who knows what the SCOTUS would have ruled?
As to Federal funding, I keep wondering why a fraction of my tax dollars go to providing cheap rides in NYC. What is the benefit to Texas? (Or Idaho, or, Ohio, or Florida, or Minnesota or . . . )