Comments on: State Sen. Andrew Lanza Defends Stance on MTA Rescue

By: Nathan H.

Nathan H. — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 16:47:18 +0000

I have responded to your argument, and you’ve resorted to attacking me and what you perceive as Streetsblog’s primary readership. Socrates would not be pleased, Anne.

By: Anne M.H.

Anne M.H. — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 02:14:22 +0000

Nathan, this is more inconsequential fluff, of the kind vnm indulges in. Your sentences are convoluted, and I can’t understand what they mean. Are they supposed to be sarcastic? Tone of voice does not come through in a blog post.

Look, I have been reading Streetsblog for exactly a week. I get that the majority here is drinking the MTA Kool-Aid. That’s fine with me, I will take my interest to a more even-handed blog. I’m looking for debate, not nit-picking.

By: Ian Turner

Ian Turner — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 02:11:16 +0000

Anne,

The MTA has been systematically underfunded, and the leadership has lied about it as a condition of unemployment. In this much I will agree that the organization is mismanaged. But I don’t see why any of that would be a reason to exacerbate that underfunding.

By: Nathan H.

Nathan H. — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 23:18:14 +0000

No Anne, I must thank you for pointing me to the IBO’s well written reports which I then searched for “mta”. The IBO is not an example of a government agency or authority outperforming the MTA in reporting on its own budget; I’m still waiting on that one. But as an independent agency specifically charged with clearly and concisely reporting on other agencies including the MTA (in fact if not theory), the IBO is providing exactly the information you say you want. What’s the problem?

By: Anne M.H.

Anne M.H. — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 23:15:09 +0000

How about the fact that the MTA comes back to the legislature with emergency spending needs every year or two? What sort of way is that to run a railroad?

By: Ian Turner

Ian Turner — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 22:18:13 +0000

Anne, you’re entitled to that opinion, but you haven’t given much evidence to indicate that your opinion matches reality.

By: Anne M.H.

Anne M.H. — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 20:00:33 +0000

Nathan, if you already know about the IBO, then why ask me for an example? I believe that the IBO is limited to oversight of city agencies, and the MTA is a state agency. Maybe the IBO comments on NYC Transit?

Red, I have paid way more attention than I want to. I do think that compared to what I conceive of as “managing” or “planning,” the MTA deals in crises, emergencies and threats.

By: Red

Red — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 19:03:21 +0000

To be fair, it’s really only been in the last three or four years that the MTA has become so transparent relative to some other government organizations. It certainly does not have a history of being accountable or available to the public.

Still, “threats”? Characterizing the MTA’s tone as a threat is an indication that you haven’t paid any attention to what MTA board members and staff have actually been saying over the past two years.

By: Nathan H.

Nathan H. — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:15:22 +0000

And as I’m sure you know, the IBO does write about the MTA from time to time.

“Due to a debt restructuring in the early part of this decade, the MTA’s ability to issue additional bonds backed by existing revenue streams is severely limited. The Ravitch Commission proposals for tolling the Harlem and East River bridges and levying a new regional payroll tax would have allowed the MTA to support future capital improvements through the issuance of bonds backed by these revenue sources.”
http://www.ibo.nyc.ny.us/cgi-park/?p=45

By: Nathan H.

Nathan H. — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:06:05 +0000

I should like to think so. And as far as I can tell, this document is in English.
http://www.mta.info/mta/budget/feb2009/0209_1.pdf

By: Anne M.H.

Anne M.H. — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:40:21 +0000

The city’s Independent Budget Office writes opinions on mayoral and city council budgets that are understandable to anyone who has had some grammar school training in math and English. Why would anyone need training to understand a budget, if it’s presented clearly enough? Just translate it from accountant-speak into English. Describe the trade-offs that would be needed for each different course of action. New Yorkers are plenty smart enough to understand.

By: Nathan H.

Nathan H. — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 15:29:23 +0000

Your argument that the MTA must present its finances in such a way that people with no training or—heretofore—interest in accounting can understand them? I’m not sure what you’re expecting. Please give an example of another authority or government agency that explains “the financials in a way the public can understand”. You can not just compare the MTA to Barack Obama and find it lacking.

By: Anne M.H.

Anne M.H. — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:04:22 +0000

I don’t think you’re reading that correctly, vnm. It says there is normally seasonal service after April 29, but now the service will only run until the race on June 6. It’s in black and white, but it’s far from clear.

Anyway, my point is that the MTA deals in threats. Please focus on the substance of the main argument, not the minor details.

By: vnm

vnm — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:01:50 +0000

Actually, Anne, there has never been LIRR service to Belmont on non-race days. Why would there be? The LIRR announcement, in clear black-and-white text, was that there would be no service ON game days. The exception is one day a year, the Belmont Stakes triple crown race.

By: Anne M.H.

Anne M.H. — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:27:54 +0000

Just because a document conforms to generally accepted accounting principles does not make it readable or understandable — not to me, a non-accountant, and not to the public in general. The MTA is asking for public support, but it hasn’t explained the financials in a way the public can understand. The only response when people ask uninformed questions is something along the lines Aaron suggests — quit complaining, or we’ll shut down your services. That was the LIRR’s response yesterday. The rail road announced it would close Belmont service except on race days. It’s always a threat, instead of a reasoned plan that the average person can understand. We should ask more of our government. Barack Obama is making reasonable arguments that average people understand, and his challenges are a lot bigger than the MTA’s.

By: Mark Walker

Mark Walker — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 21:04:39 +0000

Aaron Berkman: “…the outer boroughs which are getting no benefit of the MTA’s spending.”

Dude, look at a subway map. This post indicates the limitations of the Big Lie technique.

By: Aaron Berkman

Aaron Berkman — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:34:48 +0000

Time to call your state elected officials and tell them your sick of the MTA lies and debt. Tell them to break up the MTA.

By: Aaron Berkman

Aaron Berkman — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:31:30 +0000

He’s right. The tail is wagging the dog. The MTA makes up unneeded and expensive priorities and puts the burden of paying them on the outer boroughs which are getting no benefit of the MTA’s spending. It is long past time to break up the MTA all together so that we don’t have to hear the repeated lies that we have only 2 choices, tolls on NYC streets or no service.

Aaron

By: Nathan H.

Nathan H. — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 17:57:10 +0000

If that’s true, streetsblogcommie, then Lanza had better not incorrectly accuse Madoff of “not present[ing] documents in a way according to generally accepted accounting principles” as he has the MTA. That would be wrong.

By: fpteditors

fpteditors — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:04:26 +0000

Because there is no mass movement against private-auto subsidy, these transit-killers can appear reasonable and responsible. The auto-system is economically unsustainable, yet on and on it goes, against the will of the majority, even as the oil and gas-pipeline wars rage, the Antarctic ice breaks up, and the economy sinks. Fortunately the movement for free public transit is steadily growing.