You think its bad for PAT now, it's about to get A LOT WORSE! (Butler: apartments, leases)

[squarian]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

my hope is that (A) the legislature will add at least a bit more revenue than Corbett proposes to the transportation fund, even if not as much as Corbett's commission proposed; and (B) the legislature will at most make minor changes to the allocation of funds such that PAT gets most of its share of those revenue increases.

The good news is that there are some serious proposals in Harrisburg to increase both the fund and PAT's share of it:

[HB 2112] will amend Act 44 of 2007 to shift the entirety of the $450 million annual payment made by PennDOT by the PA Turnpike into a mass transit fund. The money will be solely available for mass transit systems throughout the state.

The bad news is that these proposals don't stand a chance in hell - HB 2099 (which raises PennDot's revenue by raising various fees) and HB 2112 are both before the Transport Cmte, where they will surely be dealt the death of a thousand amendments. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.

PA House Democrats Introduce Transportation Funding Reform Bills | Pennsylvania Walks and Bikes

[squarian]

Originally Posted by ferrarisnowday

doesn't it make some sense to also be mad at the state for disproportionately distributing the transportation funds?

Does it? Not for it's own sake, certainly - unless you gain something from sterile anger. So what will we do with that anger?

Vote against Corbett and the Gen Ass Republicans? Allegheny Co already does that, by and large.

Write to your representatives? They probably already agree - and are outvoted.

So, what then? Sign a petition? Hire some buses and stomp around with placards in front of the Capitol? Plot a coup? A political assassination? The Whiskey Rebellion?

[BrianTH]

Yeah, there is very little chance transit will actually do better in terms of share this round. I'm just hoping transit doesn't do too much worse.

In the future, though . . . the angry old drunks listening to talk radio are not going to control this state forever (that's part of what they are so angry about). And at some point, people in the Pittsburgh Metro will start realizing that we are no longer the Sick Man of Pennsylvania, and shouldn't be accepting whatever crumbs the state is willing to drop on us without question.

[squarian]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

the angry old drunks listening to talk radio are not going to control this state forever

I agree entirely - I even went so far as to predict a date above in this thread: 2025.

Not sure I'll still live here by then (or anywhere, for that matter). But if I do, I'll be very interested to see the results of the experiment: a large modern city attempting to exist without any transit system worth the name.

Something like a metropolitan version of the Khmer Rouge "Year Zero", I imagine.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by squarian

Vote against Corbett and the Gen Ass Republicans? Allegheny Co already does that, by and large.

Corbett actually won Allegheny County--barely, but still that is a huge haul of votes in comparison to Toomey, McCain, or so on.

Edit: Oh, and there are some state legislators in the Metro that writing to could be useful (not mine, admittedly, but others).

[gg]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Yeah, there is very little chance transit will actually do better in terms of share this round. I'm just hoping transit doesn't do too much worse.

In the future, though . . . the angry old drunks listening to talk radio are not going to control this state forever (that's part of what they are so angry about). And at some point, people in the Pittsburgh Metro will start realizing that we are no longer the Sick Man of Pennsylvania, and shouldn't be accepting whatever crumbs the state is willing to drop on us without question.

Tell that to the people with children trying to operate a restaurant that couldn't come up with the extra 10 and now 7 percent to fund something they have nothing to do with. I hope you are a good salesperson, because I don't think you are going to sell them on the idea that it is okay to fun PAT by taking money out of their pockets alone. Of course PAT is still in trouble. Still cutting routes. Still in a mess. What other new tax can we come up with Brian? Do you want to put a tax on clothing in Allegheny County? Just 7 percent. I mean clothing isn't taxed, so we could just tax our county and all will be great. What about taxing city residents only for PAT's troubles? You know, just add it to a property tax? That might work. Oh, we also have no tax on non-prepaired foods at grocery stores. We could throw a 10% tax on that one, right Brian?

[squarian]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Corbett actually won Allegheny County--barely, but still that is a huge haul of votes in comparison to Toomey, McCain, or so on.

I did say "by and large" - and the point remains: democratic action by a Dem-registered majority metro-city in a state controlled by the opposite party isn't likely to achieve much. Something about the tyranny of the majority, I think it's called.

[raubre]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

Tell that to the people with children trying to operate a restaurant that couldn't come up with the extra 10 and now 7 percent to fund something they have nothing to do with. I hope you are a good salesperson, because I don't think you are going to sell them on the idea that it is okay to fun PAT by taking money out of their pockets alone. Of course PAT is still in trouble. Still cutting routes. Still in a mess. What other new tax can we come up with Brian? Do you want to put a tax on clothing in Allegheny County? Just 7 percent. I mean clothing isn't taxed, so we could just tax our county and all will be great. What about taxing city residents only for PAT's troubles? You know, just add it to a property tax? That might work. Oh, we also have no tax on non-prepaired foods at grocery stores. We could throw a 10% tax on that one, right Brian?

Is there anywhere in the country (besides our area) that doesn't tax groceries or clothinig?

[squarian]

Originally Posted by raubre

Is there anywhere in the country (besides our are) that doesn't tax groceries or clothinig?

Depends on what you mean by tax, but Oregon has no sales tax. Not on groceries, not on clothing, nothing.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by squarian

Does it? Not for it's own sake, certainly - unless you gain something from sterile anger. So what will we do with that anger?

Vote against Corbett and the Gen Ass Republicans? Allegheny Co already does that, by and large.

Write to your representatives? They probably already agree - and are outvoted.

So, what then? Sign a petition? Hire some buses and stomp around with placards in front of the Capitol? Plot a coup? A political assassination? The Whiskey Rebellion?

I think the most important thing is to get the word out that state government matters on these issues. Too many people place the blame solely on PAT, Ravenstahl, and Fitzgerald. I'm not talking about on these boards specifically either, riding the bus and talking to coworkers, I constantly hear them say how they are going to write a scathing letter to PAT or the mayor.