Comments on: Jim Brennan: It’s Okay to Fund Transit With Fees on Driving http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/02/25/jim-brennan-its-okay-to-fund-transit-with-fees-on-driving/ Covering the New York City Streets Renaissance Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:51:42 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 hourly 1 By: brooklynbound http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/02/25/jim-brennan-its-okay-to-fund-transit-with-fees-on-driving/comment-page-1/#comment-63802 brooklynbound Fri, 27 Feb 2009 20:51:42 +0000 http://www.streetsblog.org/?p=5541#comment-63802 What planet are you from, where the TWU is responsible for the MTA's pension losses? by the way, workplace representation doesn't work unless everybody is in; nobody out--and "no choice" TWUers have elections to pick leadership. Go post on a rightwing site if you want to kick up the politics of resentment against working people who have decent paychecks and pensions. What planet are you from, where the TWU is responsible for the MTA's pension losses? by the way, workplace representation doesn't work unless everybody is in; nobody out--and "no choice" TWUers have elections to pick leadership. Go post on a rightwing site if you want to kick up the politics of resentment against working people who have decent paychecks and pensions.

]]> By: Larry Littlefield http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/02/25/jim-brennan-its-okay-to-fund-transit-with-fees-on-driving/comment-page-1/#comment-63636 Larry Littlefield Thu, 26 Feb 2009 13:38:59 +0000 http://www.streetsblog.org/?p=5541#comment-63636 I've got to admit Brennan's acumen. He realizes it's too late, the transit system is will be entering a downward spiral, and his generation has won, so it's OK to pass some pallatives to put off the collapse five years until the rest of them can retire and leave the state. Notice the pick up in interest now that the MTA is coming around to describing its true situation. Even with the Ravitch plans, repeated service cuts and fare increases are inevitable. This is about saying "we did our share, it's all the fault of the unaccountble MTA." As if history began yesterday, and 15 years of future selling decisions didn't happen. Now that the MTA is fessing up to is real estate tax situation, how about some realistic assumptions about how much money will have to be diverted to the pension plan? And that's even without the 20/50 enhancement Brennan voted for. And what will the quality of maintenance be like as the pay and benefits of new hires is slashed, and the TWU shifts course and pretends it's on the side of its younger no-choice dues payers by telling them "management" is cheating them so they have no obligation to do a decent job? It took 20 years to break that mentality, and it isn't completely gone. I've got to admit Brennan's acumen. He realizes it's too late, the transit system is will be entering a downward spiral, and his generation has won, so it's OK to pass some pallatives to put off the collapse five years until the rest of them can retire and leave the state.

Notice the pick up in interest now that the MTA is coming around to describing its true situation. Even with the Ravitch plans, repeated service cuts and fare increases are inevitable. This is about saying "we did our share, it's all the fault of the unaccountble MTA." As if history began yesterday, and 15 years of future selling decisions didn't happen.

Now that the MTA is fessing up to is real estate tax situation, how about some realistic assumptions about how much money will have to be diverted to the pension plan? And that's even without the 20/50 enhancement Brennan voted for.

And what will the quality of maintenance be like as the pay and benefits of new hires is slashed, and the TWU shifts course and pretends it's on the side of its younger no-choice dues payers by telling them "management" is cheating them so they have no obligation to do a decent job? It took 20 years to break that mentality, and it isn't completely gone.

]]> By: brooklynbound http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/02/25/jim-brennan-its-okay-to-fund-transit-with-fees-on-driving/comment-page-1/#comment-63575 brooklynbound Wed, 25 Feb 2009 23:40:48 +0000 http://www.streetsblog.org/?p=5541#comment-63575 why we should advocate for a plan that raises fares for straphangers in the middle of the worst unemployment this city has seen in decades? The Kheel-Komanoff plan is far better. why we should advocate for a plan that raises fares for straphangers in the middle of the worst unemployment this city has seen in decades? The Kheel-Komanoff plan is far better.

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