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From: chainsawcurt
January 30, 2012
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
carma
Charles,
Just to give a more fair analysis. I took your numbers and broke it down by Term by term.
Adjusted to Inflation:
Clinton Term 1 – 2 – DOWN 2.7%
Bush Term 1 – UP 14.2%
Bush Term 2 – UP 51.6%
Obama Term 1 – DOWN 1.3%
The bulk of the increase is on Bush’s presidency but not b/c of the executive branch as others also have mentioned. It was due to many factors that were global plus dont forget Katrina played a large role in driving up the prices.
in response to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Wastefulness
Ben from Bed Stuy
Signs are a good beginning. A safer and more permanent version of the same thing, called daylighting, can be seen everywhere in Portland…daylighting is done permanently using concrete curb extensions, which are then filled with trees, shrubs, bike parking, etc. This serves several purposes – making it easier to see approaching traffic, plus it adds landscaping and bike parking to a crowded city streetscape.
in response to Eyes on the Street: Next-Gen No Standing Signs in Inwood
fj
The extreme weather events of 2010 – 2011, resulting from emissions in the late 1980s, clearly indicate that climate change’s impact is accelerating from already dangerous levels and it is imperative that Mike Bloomberg (and Obama) talk about both the political and scientific realities a lot more.
Public Opinion Driven Largely by Media Coverage and Cues from Politicians and Other Authorities. Obama’s Silence Matters “Very Much.”
“
http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2012/02/06/419371/study-debunks-al-gore-polarized-the-debate-myths-of-public-opinion-climate-change/
“
@climateprogress
in response to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Wastefulness
carma
@Daniel_N:disqus
To have true stability in oil prices, you would need to Drill Baby Drill and then cut off our imported oil from the rest of the world (including Canada).
Then you will have a stable price. Oh wait. That stable price would be $15 / gallon of gasoline, because we dont have enough supply to meet our demand. Oh well, so much for drill baby drill.
in response to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Wastefulness
Anonymous
To clarify, while I see how your chart is an accurate response to Gingrinch’s lie, I would have liked to have seen a more accurate visual that still countered his BS.
in response to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Wastefulness
carma
Charles,
Yes, you are right that gas prices went up more during Bush’s administration than obama. But the price increase is hardly linked to the administration . (okay somewhat it is linked). The global economy was more of a factor for increasing prices.
You are also correct that Gingrich put yet another foot in his mouth by saying prices doubled under Obama’s tenure. Prices doubled DURING 2009 till today (only because of the recession did it dip in the first place). However, if you take the start of obama’s presidency, prices did NOT double.
Regardless of who is president in 2013, gas prices will continue to rise. For a republican to blame the democrats would be naive. and for a democrat to blame the republican would be equally naive.
in response to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Wastefulness
Anonymous
Attributing oil price changes to the executive branch of the U.S federal government is just dumb. These are global commodity prices, influenced by many, many of factors – speculative investment, political stability in the middle-east, consumer demand, supply and costs of extraction, and on and on – almost none of which the U.S president has any control over at all.
And do these Republican candidates realize that more oil extraction in the U.S has occurred per year under Obama than under Bush? … not as if this has much of any effect on the oil price anyway. This is pure political B.S.
in response to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Wastefulness
Anonymous
Charles, I have no argument with the greater point you are making in the article, but if the chart doesn’t compare consistent time frames, it’s not really an accurate chart. Because we all like to link to these sorts quick visualizations to make assertions all over the interwebs, I think a greater measure of care is called for.
in response to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Wastefulness
Anonymous
@d8d46f16f380afef59ca318522397233:disqus Go ahead and index my gas prices to inflation. You’ll find that the price went up more under Bush than it has under Obama. In fact, from your 2nd comment, it looks like you did that and found the same thing. BTW, the base year matters not, since it washes out in the ratios.
@speakeasies:disqus & @carma:twitter Check my links. You’ll see that Gingrich et al. said, falsely, that the price of gas has doubled under Obama — not that it has gone up faster in his presidency, which it has. I didn’t speculate as to why, though Bush missed a golden opportunity to curb and cut U.S. oil demand after 9/11, which would have eased “market” and other pressures on the world price.
in response to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Wastefulness
carma
@speakeasies:disqus
plus given the demand from China will continue to grow, it is unfair to pit any of this information on a presidency. im glad that im not the only one who sees this.
The attack from the tea party is almost as bad as this chart trying to skew political favors for either side when the price of gasoline is dictated more from global economics.
in response to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Wastefulness
Anonymous
There’s a significant problem with the chart: Clinton and Bush both served two terms while Obama has not yet finished serving one. There is still plenty of time for that 33% to rise over the next four years (and, of course, whether or not Obama is re-elected).
in response to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Wastefulness
ZLwaldron
Thanks the insightful analysis on the ideological underpinnings undermining progressive energy policy. I really appreciate the gas price by presidency chart, too.
in response to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Wastefulness
carma
Taking in the points of inflation from your data..
The real increase in prices are:
41.7% from Clinton to Bush
and 18.9% from Bush to Obama.
Again, this graph is totally misleading since it is not indexed to inflation.
in response to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Wastefulness
carma
a couple of points
taking stats like 45 out of 100 months is skewed when most of 2008-2009 was a recession making demand for gasoline drop tremendously. plus with gas prices being so volatile, prices in 2008 went up so fast then droped so fast in 2009 only to creep up so fast again to near 2008 levels.with january gas prices not factored in, we are already back up to around June 2011 levels even though your spreadsheet shows a decline for the last 7 months.this spreadsheet needs to be adjusted to be indexed to 2012 prices, not 1982-84 prices.
also, i dont believe the graph posted is adjusted to inflation. plus, although bush was an oilman, it was not him that caused a surge in the value of oil, but rather demand from China that propped this up.
in response to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Wastefulness
Anonymous
I can’t believe DCP’s Amanda Burden would support removing parking maximums in Manhattan. Wasn’t she on the IDA board that approved the now-empty Yankee Stadium garages? Doesn’t she owe the Bronx a BIG APOLOGY first for converting all that parkland to pavement?
As a suburbanite, I can tell you that driving into the city is too easy. If parking were more expensive, we’d take the train to our shows. And not driving, we’d be able to have more than one drink with dinner to generate more revenue for the restaurants, waiters, etc.fwiw, here’s the link to the Streetsblog story showing Burden on the IDA board: http://www.streetsblog.org/2007/09/17/meet-your-industrial-development-agency/
in response to Today's Headlines
Family
Thank you for the attention paid to the Lefevre family and their struggle. They are accepting donations for their legal fund here: mathieulefevre.org
in response to Security Video of Fatal Hit-and-Run Doesn't Match NYPD Descriptions
Larry Littlefield
“They should get rid of all parking minimums within a mile of the garages. Nobody can complain that there’s not enough parking in the neighborhood when there are tons of empty spots in the garages.” How about within a 20 minute transit ride? That would include the Upper East Side an Upper West Side.
in response to The House That EDC Built: A 9,000-Car Complex With 8,930 Empty Spaces
Larry Littlefield
Why were all those Super Bowl car commercials filmed in Park Slope and not out on Hempstead Turnpike?
Or at least I thought it was Park Slope. There was no traffic and open parking spots, so I was not sure.
in response to Today's Headlines
fj
Before the flood: New York City is just beginning to prepare for ’100-year storm,’ if not already too late
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http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/politics/2012/02/5190075/flood-new-york-city-just-beginning-gird-100-year-storm-if-its-not-a
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in response to Today's Headlines
tedd
They should get rid of all parking minimums within a mile of the garages. Nobody can complain that there’s not enough parking in the neighborhood when there are tons of empty spots in the garages.
in response to The House That EDC Built: A 9,000-Car Complex With 8,930 Empty Spaces
Larry Littlefield
“The reason bonds pay an interest rate to investors is that they are taking a risk with their money. If it was risk free, there wouldn’t be any interest.”
Actually, there is an interest rate even with no risk, to reward investors for postponing consumption and to offset inflation. Generally, the rate on federal debt is considered to be the risk-free rate.
Cough.
in response to The House That EDC Built: A 9,000-Car Complex With 8,930 Empty Spaces
Akameridians
Ahh, another one of Quinn’s shameless and flagrant tactics. Get the bills through so fast that there’s no possible time for redress. All the while she will be grandstanding about “how great democracy is!”
in response to Nothing About Public Transportation in Chris Quinn's Transportation Report
Akameridians
For those who haven’t considered him, Stringer is underestimated. Not flashy about it, he does have a deep and diverse working knowledge about nearly every facet of the city. Don’t take it from me, look at articles written about him and look at peoples comments following. The threads stick to the issues, and a lot of his original ideas get people talking. Sure they’re not as juicy as a lot of other articles about polititians, but hey- especially at this point I’ll
take it.
in response to Nothing About Public Transportation in Chris Quinn's Transportation Report
vnm
The reason bonds pay an interest rate to investors is that they are taking a risk with their money. If it was risk free, there wouldn’t be any interest.
It’s actually a really good thing that this was financed by private investors. That’s why the parking rates rose so much last year, and why there is so much hue and cry about spaces being empty. If it had been funded directly and entirely through tax dollars, the lack of occupancy would have gone unnoticed. There would have just been a lot of parking spaces. This way, at least there is pressure to find alternate uses and redevelop this.
in response to The House That EDC Built: A 9,000-Car Complex With 8,930 Empty Spaces
Ian Turner
@c44dc01f8107c1b33104b538f33b734d:disqus : You might want to reconsider, based on this story: http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/08/13/nypd-arrests-pedestrian-after-near-death-brush-with-raging-motorist/
in response to When Cops and Placard Holders Set the Tone for Transportation Coverage
CHEKPEDS
Asking a traffic agent to opine on street design is a PPWesque move. Hey NYT can I really trust your reporting on Uganda? These are the agents who happily wave cars into pedestrians while they cross the street…
However there is a real problem on this stretch of Broadway. There are two moving lanes and when cars are turning left and right at Chambers street no traffic can go through on Brodway. DOT should bar one of the turns if not both.
NYT could have said that but indeed we would not be blogging about it !
in response to When Cops and Placard Holders Set the Tone for Transportation Coverage
Matt Killmoto
JarekAF:
What I do when that happens is I smack the car, or for the particularly egregious ones, smack (not smash) the mirror. Now before everybody chimes in saying I’m making motorists angry as cyclists, my attire and particular obnoxious arrangements of lights makes me **very** distinctive, so if a motorist should blame ME for THEIR transgression, they know who to aim their bumper at.
in response to When Cops and Placard Holders Set the Tone for Transportation Coverage
Bronx Burning
Can you imagine if the New York Times’s transportation reporters had been on this parking garage story from the get go?…
No. I can’t either.
in response to The House That EDC Built: A 9,000-Car Complex With 8,930 Empty Spaces
Regular Streetsblog Reader
J:
I don’t know if Jim Dwyer has a parking placard but I do know that he sometimes commutes to work by bike…
http://www.streetsblog.org/2007/12/06/new-york-times-employees-say-renzo-forgot-the-bike-parking/
in response to When Cops and Placard Holders Set the Tone for Transportation Coverage
Anonymous
Let’s not also forget the environmental impact of 8 acres of dark asphalt in an administration trying to make a greener city and reduce the urban heat island effect
in response to The House That EDC Built: A 9,000-Car Complex With 8,930 Empty Spaces
Joe R.
Really, this symbolizes how out of touch with reality those who run things are. The last thing a city like New York needs anywhere is more parking. Let the bondholders take the loss here. It’s high time to end “private profit, public risk”.
in response to The House That EDC Built: A 9,000-Car Complex With 8,930 Empty Spaces
Larry Littlefield
“Hey, who/what is the IDA?” The industrial development agency, which issues tax exempt bonds to fund private businesses, based on some criteria. An agency that should not exist. The outrage is if taxapyers are on the hook for this. Bronx pols wanted the Yankees who wanted the parking. NO BAILOUT!
in response to The House That EDC Built: A 9,000-Car Complex With 8,930 Empty Spaces
Leif Erik Knutsen
All you young parents should read this so you learn the benefits of traffic calming regulations that could help your neighborhood.
in response to Applications for 20 MPH Zones Pour in From the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens
Joe R.
@9133bd9ad34231a6eeb389d6baa52cd5:disqus We can time the lights to allow continual travel at whatever speed we wish (or better yet, get rid of parking at corners to increase visibility at intersections, so you can get rid of most traffic lights altogether). If you’re seeing cars averaging the same speeds as you bike, then it’s because the traffic lights are poorly timed for the speed limit, or perhaps not synchronized at all (actually this is a MAJOR problem in the outer boroughs). My point is this city is large enough that a blanket 20 mph isn’t going to work if imposed citiwide. I could even make a good argument for increasing speed limits over 30 mph on major arterials, and retiming the lights appropriately, so that buses and other necessary traffic can move at higher average speeds. I don’t have a whole lot of sympathy for people driving personal autos, especially in Manhattan, but the city would function infinitely better if essential vehicles could get from point A to point B faster.
@d8d46f16f380afef59ca318522397233:disqus Like I said above, if you raise speed limits in places like Queens Blvd. then you could retime the lights. In fact, the city could greatly curb speeding if it retimed lights properly, then posted signs of the speed you need to drive to avoid hitting the next traffic light. I see far too many drivers gun it only to get stuck at the next light.
You’re right about the average speeds of buses in Queens. Even light nights, I can usually run the same average speed as a bus on my bike (I’ll typically average about 18 mph on arterials where buses run). Nevertheless, for a bus to average 17 or 18 they need to run 35 or 40 between stops.
BTW, 20 mph on level roads is an easy pace on my Airborne, but a decent workout on my 1980s vintage Raleigh.
One very important thing to note about 20 mph speed limits which I’m not sure if the city is doing-in most places overseas where they’re implemented traffic controls at intersections are removed, the theory being at 20 mph motorists can safely negotiate intersections on the principle of whomever is in the intersection first has right-of-way. This often means in practice that 20 mph zones offer faster average speeds than higher speed zones with stop lights or stop signs. If NYC removes traffic signals/stop signs in 20 mph zones (replacing them with 4-way yields), then it can easily sell the concept.
in response to Applications for 20 MPH Zones Pour in From the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens
Danny G
Hey, who/what is the IDA?
in response to The House That EDC Built: A 9,000-Car Complex With 8,930 Empty Spaces
Kaja
Carma wrote:
> seriously, if you hate officers so much, what would you rather have, NO police at all?
Actually,
in response to Today's Headlines
Glenn
Fines are punative to deter bad behavior. Period. If they were revenue enhancing, you could probably lower fines to smaller levels and with the expectation that a lot more people are willing to pay. Like the $8 parking tickets my roommates bragged about getting on my college campus for parking without placard instead of paying $10 for all day parking at the lot that was further away…
in response to When Cops and Placard Holders Set the Tone for Transportation Coverage
Anonymous
$130 for blocking the bus lane sounds like a pretty light penalty. I think it’s a $230 ticket if you proceed through a red light on a bicycle.
There are plenty of regulations in NYC that are purposely obscure in order to extract revenue via fees and fines, but keeping the bus lane clear for buses isn’t one of them.
in response to When Cops and Placard Holders Set the Tone for Transportation Coverage
fj
Must see video: The Man Who Lived on His Bike For 382 Days
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http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2012/02/03/418130/video-the-man-who-lived-on-his-bike-for-382-days/
“
in response to Today's Headlines
Tsuyoshi
Default on the bonds, and sell the land. It’s right next to the D and the 4, I’m sure some developer can think of something worthwhile. The South Bronx does not need more low income housing.
in response to Today's Headlines
J
Has anyone written a letter to the editor calling them out on this “reporting”. This kvetching, with unsubstantiated claims based on a paltry amount of research is simply beneath the Times. Stories like this keep me from giving them my money.
in response to When Cops and Placard Holders Set the Tone for Transportation Coverage
Anonymous
I only wish they enforced the “yield to bikes” signs on the 1st ave bike lane. Quite a few hair-raising situations where the car will “lean” into the bike lane to turn left while waiting for peds to cross . . . and at that point, I’m like, should I go to the left? Should I go around to the right and expose myself to traffic. And it’s like, WTF, they’re the one’s breaking the law here.
I’m sorry, but cars have it way too easy. You can’t expect suburban level of driving in a densely populated city. There are rules and they’re hardly enforced against drivers anyway.
I’d like to see once, just one time, a driver get a ticket for failure to yield to bikes in the bike lane while turning left on 1st ave. I’ve seen so many close calls. Another failure of police and traffic enforcement that I’d attribute to the “windshield perspective.” Like, riding a bike isn’t a f—ing hobby. It’s my “car”. And so don’t nudge your into my space when the law says you should yield.
And crime me a river over cars in the bus lane. $130 is harsh for a first time offense, but, if it’s a first time offense then most judge’s will be lenient.
in response to When Cops and Placard Holders Set the Tone for Transportation Coverage
J
Does no one at the newspapers take the bus ever? I think that’s the real problem here. Good money says that Dwyer has a press pass or placard that allows him free parking in the city. Is it any wonder why the press has such a windshield perspective?
in response to When Cops and Placard Holders Set the Tone for Transportation Coverage
Larry Littlefield
“Larry, I think the best use for the site might be something other than parking.”Let the bondholders decide, after foreclosing on the current operator and kicking Mr. Diaz and the rest out. It’s their problem. And I don’t care what type of redevelopment they propose; I don’t want to pay. If we do, Wall Street will conclude parking garages are the safest investment.
in response to Today's Headlines
BkBiker
In answer to those that say that there are city streets where we need higher speeds: on average, most of the time, traffic on the streets is traveling much slower than 20mph – but having 20mph zones cars, trucks and buses from going zero to 60 to zero and then waiting for a light for 30 seconds. I see this all the time bicycling (a heavy ‘dutch’ bike) – cars pass me just after the light so that I can pass them at the next light – for blocks and blocks. They fly past me like they’re going somewhere, just to rev the engine and endanger whatever kids might wander into the street.
in response to Applications for 20 MPH Zones Pour in From the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens
Matt Killmoto
Wait a minute Chuck-
I read somewhere recently that there’s a whole bunch of underutilized parking up in the Bronx
in response to When Cops and Placard Holders Set the Tone for Transportation Coverage
carma
how about converting the yankee stadium garage into a electric Go-Kart course?
in response to Today's Headlines
vnm
Larry, I think the best use for the site might be something other than parking.
in response to Today's Headlines
chuck
Here’s another piece of NYT gold:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/realestate/developers-eye-garages-and-parking-lots.htmlOh, pity the poor private car driver, with the city removing parking spots, and developers converting garages. But wait! There’s hope! Some visionaries are pushing for new garages in neighborhoods that rely on commuters – like Times Square! Maybe the NYT is going after the Marcia Kramer crowd. God knows more and more people are getting their news elsewhere (and more reliably).C:
in response to When Cops and Placard Holders Set the Tone for Transportation Coverage
Larry Littlefield
On the parking garage, the idea that there is no possible use for it is false. The question is, “at what price” and whether the Yankees can demand that the garage be emptied on game days. Possible uses include long term parking, rental car parking and Zipcar parking for Manhattanites who tend to travel north (ie. to second homes), and parking for park and reid commuters. Bankruptcy will bring prices down.
in response to Today's Headlines