[quote]hspder wrote:
Zap Branigan wrote:
Professor X wrote:
…
Either way, it was fun to watch. New York is too crowded in my opinion to begin with. If your entire work force depends on city provided transportation, you are just asking for problems eventually.
This is an excellent point. It also conflicts with much of the left wing dogma that encourages public transit as it is more fuel efficient, yada yada yada.
I may be misunderstanding him, but AFAIK, he is not criticizing “public transit” in general. He is criticizing the fact that in NYC there are no viable alternatives to MTA specifically.
Public Transit IS more fuel efficient, reduces pollution, improves quality of life, incites exercise, reduces stress, reduces costs from building and maintaining roadways, etc, etc, etc. It is a very good solution for many problems that face our country, from obesity to pollution.
Everything about public transit is good, and it should definitely become the primary means of transportation for EVERYBODY in the world, with private transportation only being used as a backup, for lugging heavy stuff or for some recreational travel.
The problem is that MTA has a monopolyinside NYC, which creates a single point of failure.
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It sounds like you want multiple competing private lines of mass transit rather than public transit.
BTW I agree mass transit should be the primary form of transportation in urban environments but it just does not work well in suburban and rural environments when people have to travel in many directions.
Things are far too decentralized in my area to make mass transit worthwhile for most people.
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
It sounds like you want multiple competing private lines of mass transit rather than public transit.[/quote]
Actually, something in between.
Trains and subways need to be city/state owned. Attempts in Europe to privatize them failed miserably, the whole system collapsed. It’s just not viable, for many reasons.
Bus lines should NOT be state/city owned, and should serve as a viable alternative, with plenty of bus-only lanes / streets.
Problem is that MTA has both… Single point of failure.
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
BTW I agree mass transit should be the primary form of transportation in urban environments but it just does not work well in suburban and rural environments when people have to travel in many directions.
Things are far too decentralized in my area to make mass transit worthwhile for most people.[/quote]
You’re right. Same problem here in most of the Bay Area.
But that is the result of a short-sighted culture that doesn’t take public transit into account from the get-go. Urban planning / zoning needs to be done in a way that allows public transit to be the primary means of transportation. It’s not that hard… It just requires a culture change, one that is already happening, for example, here in San Jose. Hopefully others will follow.
Your being brainwashed by big biz into a lower standard of living.
I’m a bleading heart liberal but I am also educated enough to see that if this country wishes to remain competitive in the new global economy we all need to give back some.
Why are so many jobs moving to India and China, lower costs. What do our unions always ask for? More money and no increase in what they pay into healthcare (I don’t even want to touch the pension isue b/c a lot of people retiring in 15 years will be F’d).
What does that cause employers to do? They either have to raise the prices of their goods which leads to people buying cheaper brands made overseas OR the employer lays off the workers in the US and moves the jobs overseas for a fraction of the cost and headache.[/quote]
Oh, cmon.
One day, and I hate to say it, but FOREIGNERS WILL UNIONIZE!! No more sweatshps where workeres get paid 5 cents an hour for no bathroom breaks…this is what America is built on.
One day, and I hate to say it, but FOREIGNERS WILL UNIONIZE!! No more sweatshps where workeres get paid 5 cents an hour for no bathroom breaks…this is what America is built on.
[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:
One day, and I hate to say it, but FOREIGNERS WILL UNIONIZE!! No more sweatshps where workeres get paid 5 cents an hour for no bathroom breaks…this is what America is built on.
It will happen, and I garauntee it.
What will happen then?[/quote]
I’m not sure if they will UNIONIZE!! but the laws of economics (including the laws of inflation) dictate that the prices and the salaries in countries like China and India will go up at an exponential rate and eventually match the ones in the US. Just look at what happened in Ireland.
What will happen then? Very good question.
The answer?
We’ll keep finding new sources of cheap labor (after China and India, Vietnam and Indonesia. And after that… someone else will show up). And when we have run out of cheap qualified labor? A serious recession – one unlike anything we have ever seen in the past two centuries, at a global level.
“Hopefully” it will take a few generations for that to happen, so fear not – we won’t be around when our great-great-grandkids start cursing our greed, short-sightedness and ignorance.
One day, and I hate to say it, but FOREIGNERS WILL UNIONIZE!! No more sweatshps where workeres get paid 5 cents an hour for no bathroom breaks…this is what America is built on.
It will happen, and I garauntee it.
What will happen then?
robots
[/quote]
Great, then I can have someone be rude to me in binary.
[quote]rainjack wrote:
I am absolutely anti-union. They have not really had a purpose for existing since the 40’s other than legalized extortion.
I hope the MTA stands firm and refuses to give in to what amounts to holding an entire city hostage.
I can;t believe I am writing this - but I agree with harry. Mass firings are indeed in order. Hell - I’d sit in a damn booth and collect subway tokens for 40K/year. I am sure there are others that would do it for way less than that. [/quote]
I agree totally! Unions today just exist to keep themselves in business. They should all be fired!
[quote]hspder wrote:
FightinIrish26 wrote:
One day, and I hate to say it, but FOREIGNERS WILL UNIONIZE!! No more sweatshps where workeres get paid 5 cents an hour for no bathroom breaks…this is what America is built on.
It will happen, and I garauntee it.
What will happen then?
I’m not sure if they will UNIONIZE!! but the laws of economics (including the laws of inflation) dictate that the prices and the salaries in countries like China and India will go up at an exponential rate and eventually match the ones in the US. Just look at what happened in Ireland.
What will happen then? Very good question.
The answer?
We’ll keep finding new sources of cheap labor (after China and India, Vietnam and Indonesia. And after that… someone else will show up). And when we have run out of cheap qualified labor? A serious recession – one unlike anything we have ever seen in the past two centuries, at a global level.
“Hopefully” it will take a few generations for that to happen, so fear not – we won’t be around when our great-great-grandkids start cursing our greed, short-sightedness and ignorance.
So, screw them! Who cares, right?
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They will only increase if the skill required to do the job increases. You aren’t going to have an increased labor cost of people who do some no-brain unskilled task.
[quote]Lorisco wrote:
They will only increase if the skill required to do the job increases. You aren’t going to have an increased labor cost of people who do some no-brain unskilled task. [/quote]
Say, like collecting and selling tokens in the Subway?
What Universe do you live in? Have you met this wonderful species called Homo Sapiens Sapiens? Do you understand the basic concepts of Economic Inflation and Entitlement Inflation?
They are human beings. Eventually they’ll either demand a higher salary or refuse to continue to do the work. Happened before, will happen again. It’s an unavoidable cycle.
but the laws of economics (including the laws of inflation) dictate that the prices and the salaries in countries like China and India will go up at an exponential rate and eventually match the ones in the US. Just look at what happened in Ireland.