Mayor Bloomberg is a champion of the nanny state's duty to care for its people. The government has your best interest at heart and knows better. It started with those pesky crimes like sitting on milk crates. Then car idling. Transfats. Salt. Smoking has always been on the radar screen as the most egregiously unhealthy activity and once he got rid of smoking section for total smoking bans, one would think he would stop.
But no. He need to levy stiff taxes against smokers with $2 and now almost $4 taxes per pack (wasn't the increased tax revenue to go to education or children's healthcare or something?) Estimates run in the $20's of millions in lost tax revenue due to a thriving black market. But that wasn't enough for Mayor Mike.
New York City Council with Mike's enthusiastic support has determined you can't smoke in certain outdoors sections like... the outdoors. And this is good... because smoking is bad. So bad we need to tax and deter and punish and inconvenience smokers into submission. (you reading this Obama?) Congrats, New York. Your 8 million children are safe. Will you wipe their chins and feed them their bottle next?
I suggest being truly radical. If we are going to care for the health of the citizenry... if we really want to protect them... we will just make smoking illegal. Drugs are illegal. Why not smoking?
Just ask the smoking Nazis about the "dangers of second hand smoke". Scientific evidence shows that anyone breathing within 1000 feet of a smoker will die instantly. Each year millions of people die from second hand smoke... just ask the Nazis.
So why not just make it illegal- completely and utterly illegal? Is it because thousands of people are employed in the tobacco industry? Is it because we export billions in cigarette sales around the world and need the money? Is it because New York needs the tax revenue? What could be more noble than just eliminating the entire industry once and for all?
We stopped slavery. We prohibit prostitution. Mayor Mike- if smoking is so dangerous and deadly- just make it completely illegal. It's the right thing to do for your people. It will be a moral victory and make New York a leader in world health. It will be your victory- Mayor Mike- the healthiest mayor in America. No, in the world. What a victory!
And we'll celebrate that victory with fine Cuban cigars. We can still smoke cigars, right?
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
We did trains already
Today President Obama announced his plan to spend $53 billion on high speed rail. Nate Taggart he is not.
As luck would have it, whenever the folly of the administration needs further emphasis Joe Biden is not far behind. His being an Amtrak alumnus someone makes him an expert in the railroad industry. Just ask him. He will tell you about logging some 7,900+ trips between Wilmington, Delaware and Union State on Acela Express as if sitting in business class reading Highlights Magazine somehow imparted industry knowledge.
What if we don't spend this fortune on railroad? "If we do not, you tell me how America is going to be able to lead the world in the 21st century," asks the Veep. Leadership- especially leadership in the future- is somehow intimately tied to railroads. At least in this Administration's mind.
China plans to spend $500 billion on their railroads in the next 5 years. And you see, that is 10x more than we plan to spend. Which means China's railroads must be 10x something more than us- faster, better, healthier- I don't know. But neither does Obama nor Biden (who in my mind is wearing a blue and white train conductor's hat). So to stay competitive with China, we have to spend more money, too.
I think Biden fails to realize that China is, basically, a third world country with some big cities. The vast majority of China is illiterate and has no running water and electricity. China has no infrastructure- in fact the last infrastructure project in China was the Great Wall. They are building from scratch.
We did trains already. We did trains over 100 years ago- ask the Vanderbilts. Shouldn't Anderson Cooper- when not getting beaten up in Cairo- ask the Veep "Didn't my great grandfather do this already?" We can't compare what China needs to do to be civilized and what America did in the days of Cowboys and Indians. It's silly.
If Joe Biden is so concerned about China spending billions of dollars on it's interiors, maybe he should stop giving them more money. Borrowing $53 billion on trains no one wants to use is typical of this Administration's cluelessness. Maybe next we can borrow $50 billion from China to improve typewriters.
Funny- light bulbs are an old technology America invented and exported, too. And yet now we are forced to buy them from China thanks to this same liberal philosophy. Trains, light bulbs... what's next?
As luck would have it, whenever the folly of the administration needs further emphasis Joe Biden is not far behind. His being an Amtrak alumnus someone makes him an expert in the railroad industry. Just ask him. He will tell you about logging some 7,900+ trips between Wilmington, Delaware and Union State on Acela Express as if sitting in business class reading Highlights Magazine somehow imparted industry knowledge.
What if we don't spend this fortune on railroad? "If we do not, you tell me how America is going to be able to lead the world in the 21st century," asks the Veep. Leadership- especially leadership in the future- is somehow intimately tied to railroads. At least in this Administration's mind.
China plans to spend $500 billion on their railroads in the next 5 years. And you see, that is 10x more than we plan to spend. Which means China's railroads must be 10x something more than us- faster, better, healthier- I don't know. But neither does Obama nor Biden (who in my mind is wearing a blue and white train conductor's hat). So to stay competitive with China, we have to spend more money, too.
I think Biden fails to realize that China is, basically, a third world country with some big cities. The vast majority of China is illiterate and has no running water and electricity. China has no infrastructure- in fact the last infrastructure project in China was the Great Wall. They are building from scratch.
We did trains already. We did trains over 100 years ago- ask the Vanderbilts. Shouldn't Anderson Cooper- when not getting beaten up in Cairo- ask the Veep "Didn't my great grandfather do this already?" We can't compare what China needs to do to be civilized and what America did in the days of Cowboys and Indians. It's silly.
If Joe Biden is so concerned about China spending billions of dollars on it's interiors, maybe he should stop giving them more money. Borrowing $53 billion on trains no one wants to use is typical of this Administration's cluelessness. Maybe next we can borrow $50 billion from China to improve typewriters.
Funny- light bulbs are an old technology America invented and exported, too. And yet now we are forced to buy them from China thanks to this same liberal philosophy. Trains, light bulbs... what's next?
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Holding a City Hostage
I spent an extra three days in New York City for my Christmas vacation. Not willingly, however. My car was snowed in.
As a native New York, I used to laugh at DC’s response to snow. Even the slightest dusting still triggers mass panic, early closures of schools and business and a rush to the local grocery for bottled water, milk and toilet paper. (I guess for Washingtonians, snow necessarily means a desire for hot chocolate, a fear of pipes freezing and chronic diarrhea.) Last year’s major back-to-back blizzards which closed the federal government for 4 days was a national headline and northeasterner’s punch line. But they laughed too soon.
New York was crippled for three days. New York City… not Calcutta, not Mogadishu, not even DC. New York City. And no one could understand why. 24 inches, though certainly a lot of snow, is not unheard of in the City that never sleeps… so why the sudden shut down? Why was New York City suddenly incapable of responding to a snowstorm.
We thought all along it was a union plot. And by “we”, I mean my conservative, politically savvy family with whom I was snowbound sans internet or TV (thanks, Time Warner Cable. Glad Comcast doesn’t have the monopoly on crap cable companies). We witnessed snow plows driving along the streets with plows raised. We saw sanitation trucks parked with engines off and workers sitting inside the truck. For three days, they didn’t pick up garbage and they didn’t plow snow. So what did they do?
They protested.
Sanitation workers make an average of $67k per year. Now starting salary is low- $30 or 31k. But that jumps to over $44 in just one year with some overtime. Managers can make well into 6-figures. And as a protected class, they all retire with full benefits and pension in 20 years. I’ve been working for over 15 years and don’t see retirement in the near future… but high school classmates of mine are only 3 years away from a retired pension of close to $80k… for life. Pick up a few hours working at blockbuster video and you are making over $100k at the ripe old age of 41.
You know… suddenly being a garbage man doesn’t sound so bad.
Sanitation workers union is mad at the Mayor. First off, join the club. Everyone is mad at Bloomberg because he’s a terrible mayor, nanny state leader, bike lane fascist, chronic tax increaser, manipulative big dog who uses his vast fortunes to rule others. But the sanitation union is not mad at any of that. No, they are mad that he is cutting sanitation workers. And this was their revenge.
Sadly, Bloomberg is letting himself take the blame and not holding the union accountable for their deliberately orchestrated show down. Instead, Mayor Mike should “put his boot on the neck” on the union bosses and remind the workers that their loyalty is to the city (whose 8 million residents pay their salaries) and not to the union. He didn’t do this. And the union won.
Unions are holding New York City (and most major cities) hostage. New York transit just announced a series of fare increases. Now the subway is $2.50 per ride up from $2.25. And that additional quarter is going to union pensions. That’s right- not one cent of that is for track improvement, the 2nd Avenue expansion, maintenance, clean-up… no. The entire amount is for retired transit workers, who, like the sanitation union, have retired after 20 years with full benefits and handsome pensions. Another hostage situation.
The snow slow down and financial crippling are direct consequences of unions that have become too powerful and spineless government officials who sign their contracts. Where is their sense of duty to the citizens? Who protects the 8 million from the tyranny of 6300 sanitation workers? It’s shameful and prevalent enough to drive this conservative bonkers. But it is also reflective in the 2010 U.S. census results. Those union-rich states are losing population and the red states, right to work states are growing. New York will lose 2 districts. Texas will gain 4. That’s voting with your feet.
I love New York. I love DC. And I don’t feel like I have to move to escape the tyranny of the unions and their death grip on city services, schools, roads and construction. And I’m sure Utah and Wyoming are great states but I want to live here. Changing a city as liberal as New York or DC is near impossible. But the solution to the union power is simple. And, I think, inevitable: Bankruptcy.
New York will be forced to declare bankruptcy. Not just the city but the entire state (as will California and several others.) To sound awfully cliché it’s not a matter of “if” but “when”. The math is as certain and unstoppable as the Titanic’s sinking. The city is overpaying its underperforming employees and allowing them to retire extremely young. Ironically, the Nation considers raising the retirement age to 67… a good 26 later than the first retirees of New York’s stellar sanitation department. People and business are migrating out of New York- not in waves but in a constant drip drip drip of exodus. Once declared bankrupt, the city can cancel every one of their hoodwinked union contracts and renegotiate sane, sound ones that don’t exploit the taxpayers. Novel concepts like work performance and accountability can be addressed and the blanket “get paid no matter what you do/don’t do” approach (that has, surprisingly, not worked) can be abolished.
It does start with the people and the elections. On the one hand, New York did just vote in another Cuomo who will undoubtedly take the unions into his bedroom for some intimate moments. And we here in DC did elect Vince Grey who was endorsed by Marion Barry. So I guess, we both get what we vote for.
Maybe, then, Utah is my only option. Because being held hostage by half retired, unqualified, unskilled, heavily compensated, glorified bus boys cannot be my reality. Not if I want to stay sane and keep my wallet out of the union’s reach.
As a native New York, I used to laugh at DC’s response to snow. Even the slightest dusting still triggers mass panic, early closures of schools and business and a rush to the local grocery for bottled water, milk and toilet paper. (I guess for Washingtonians, snow necessarily means a desire for hot chocolate, a fear of pipes freezing and chronic diarrhea.) Last year’s major back-to-back blizzards which closed the federal government for 4 days was a national headline and northeasterner’s punch line. But they laughed too soon.
New York was crippled for three days. New York City… not Calcutta, not Mogadishu, not even DC. New York City. And no one could understand why. 24 inches, though certainly a lot of snow, is not unheard of in the City that never sleeps… so why the sudden shut down? Why was New York City suddenly incapable of responding to a snowstorm.
We thought all along it was a union plot. And by “we”, I mean my conservative, politically savvy family with whom I was snowbound sans internet or TV (thanks, Time Warner Cable. Glad Comcast doesn’t have the monopoly on crap cable companies). We witnessed snow plows driving along the streets with plows raised. We saw sanitation trucks parked with engines off and workers sitting inside the truck. For three days, they didn’t pick up garbage and they didn’t plow snow. So what did they do?
They protested.
Sanitation workers make an average of $67k per year. Now starting salary is low- $30 or 31k. But that jumps to over $44 in just one year with some overtime. Managers can make well into 6-figures. And as a protected class, they all retire with full benefits and pension in 20 years. I’ve been working for over 15 years and don’t see retirement in the near future… but high school classmates of mine are only 3 years away from a retired pension of close to $80k… for life. Pick up a few hours working at blockbuster video and you are making over $100k at the ripe old age of 41.
You know… suddenly being a garbage man doesn’t sound so bad.
Sanitation workers union is mad at the Mayor. First off, join the club. Everyone is mad at Bloomberg because he’s a terrible mayor, nanny state leader, bike lane fascist, chronic tax increaser, manipulative big dog who uses his vast fortunes to rule others. But the sanitation union is not mad at any of that. No, they are mad that he is cutting sanitation workers. And this was their revenge.
Sadly, Bloomberg is letting himself take the blame and not holding the union accountable for their deliberately orchestrated show down. Instead, Mayor Mike should “put his boot on the neck” on the union bosses and remind the workers that their loyalty is to the city (whose 8 million residents pay their salaries) and not to the union. He didn’t do this. And the union won.
Unions are holding New York City (and most major cities) hostage. New York transit just announced a series of fare increases. Now the subway is $2.50 per ride up from $2.25. And that additional quarter is going to union pensions. That’s right- not one cent of that is for track improvement, the 2nd Avenue expansion, maintenance, clean-up… no. The entire amount is for retired transit workers, who, like the sanitation union, have retired after 20 years with full benefits and handsome pensions. Another hostage situation.
The snow slow down and financial crippling are direct consequences of unions that have become too powerful and spineless government officials who sign their contracts. Where is their sense of duty to the citizens? Who protects the 8 million from the tyranny of 6300 sanitation workers? It’s shameful and prevalent enough to drive this conservative bonkers. But it is also reflective in the 2010 U.S. census results. Those union-rich states are losing population and the red states, right to work states are growing. New York will lose 2 districts. Texas will gain 4. That’s voting with your feet.
I love New York. I love DC. And I don’t feel like I have to move to escape the tyranny of the unions and their death grip on city services, schools, roads and construction. And I’m sure Utah and Wyoming are great states but I want to live here. Changing a city as liberal as New York or DC is near impossible. But the solution to the union power is simple. And, I think, inevitable: Bankruptcy.
New York will be forced to declare bankruptcy. Not just the city but the entire state (as will California and several others.) To sound awfully cliché it’s not a matter of “if” but “when”. The math is as certain and unstoppable as the Titanic’s sinking. The city is overpaying its underperforming employees and allowing them to retire extremely young. Ironically, the Nation considers raising the retirement age to 67… a good 26 later than the first retirees of New York’s stellar sanitation department. People and business are migrating out of New York- not in waves but in a constant drip drip drip of exodus. Once declared bankrupt, the city can cancel every one of their hoodwinked union contracts and renegotiate sane, sound ones that don’t exploit the taxpayers. Novel concepts like work performance and accountability can be addressed and the blanket “get paid no matter what you do/don’t do” approach (that has, surprisingly, not worked) can be abolished.
It does start with the people and the elections. On the one hand, New York did just vote in another Cuomo who will undoubtedly take the unions into his bedroom for some intimate moments. And we here in DC did elect Vince Grey who was endorsed by Marion Barry. So I guess, we both get what we vote for.
Maybe, then, Utah is my only option. Because being held hostage by half retired, unqualified, unskilled, heavily compensated, glorified bus boys cannot be my reality. Not if I want to stay sane and keep my wallet out of the union’s reach.
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