As for taking a page from the highway lobbyists’ book, lobbying and narcolepsy-inducing ads are not the way. A loud, credible, persuasive, ongoing presence making real progress is the way. He’ll come around when he has no other choice.

In the short term, jobs are good, even highway jobs. I have friends who could have died in the bridge collapse in Minneapolis.

I’m disappointed in the Administration for being so short-sighted, but even more disappointed that the advocacy community is not ready to push against the current bill. Oberstar alone can’t save this. The highway lobby can teach us a lot about how to get our voice heard.

The federal share might be 50-50 for buses, which everyone has, and it might be 50-50 for project in other parts of the country, but it is much less here, even for rehabs.

Not only that, for highways the 80% is guaranteed no matter how high costs go. But for transit projects the FTA requires a “full funding agreement” — the transit agency covers all over-runs. So that massive increase in construction costs for transit here didn’t lead to any additional federal aid. That’s one reason the highway portion of the trust fund went broke and the transit portion did not.

One thing you can say for federal aid — it is the only cash that has been put into the MTA capital plan for more than a decade. Even MTA funding from the state or city has been borrowed, it’s just that the debt is on someone else’s books.

On your other point, consider that NY State has essentially 3 gas taxes – the motor fuels tax, the petroleum business tax and the supplemental petroleum business tax. All go into transportation.

The transit piece is the only Fed transfer payment that brings money back to New York from the “donor” states. They consider themselves donors because they burn lots of oil per capita. By their logic, since they waste more oil they should get more of the oil tax. I think that is called a perverse incentive.

Of course, any of the big urban states who don’t drill oil could get back at the oil patch and the rest of the country by simply taxing oil, imported and domestic, and spending the money on our own transit. We haven’t taken that path,,,yet.

That said, I think whatever they spend on public transportation is worth the investment, but you have to look at this in the context of a collapsing economy and what is politically feasible in the very short term. Funding for public transportation is great but I think it’s unrealistic not to expect to see it decoupled from a fiscal stimulus bill.

Because they’re liars. Obama’s actions almost always vary considerably from his rhetoric.

And it exchange, I’d be happy to have all federal infrastructure spending disappear. With all the money the city would save on Medicaid and retiree health care, it could pay for its own infrastructure, based on its own priorities.

The serfs have a tough enough time with transportation priorities the NYC Council, but at least have a figthing chance.

Albany is far worse, especially when led by the current generation greed in charge.

Washington? Where’s our $3 billion per year indefinately for the MTA, Mr. Weiner? Deadline October 2009. But I’ll take universal health care as an acceptable substitute. There you go Weiner, I’m giving you two paths to my vote. No excuses.