You think its bad for PAT now, it's about to get A LOT WORSE! (Pittsburgh: standard of living, floors)

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by Enough_Already

Gasoline taxes paying for roads is much closer to a user fee than people who pay taxes to support bus service they never use.

Roads are not solely funded by gas taxes.

[WhoIsStanwix?]

Originally Posted by Enough_Already

Jobs are flowing out of this country due in a large part to our tax structure. Until we get government spending under control we cannot have a tax structure which encourages companies to grow in the United States. It is time for the government to stop subsidizing anything and everything. Setting the fares based on cost would be simple. Then we would not need taxes to subsidize services that do not make economic sense.

This has always been a major curiosity of mine. Why do people believe (without ever really analyzing) that growth is necessarily good. Population growth, GDP growth, or otherwise, the belief that growth is good obviously stems from a biological imperative that strength in numbers is likely to ensure the survival of a species. Interestingly enough, it is this same growth that's leading to the destruction of our planet and species.

Remind me again why we need lower taxes to fuel corporate growth. Remind me why we need growth at all.

[gg]

Originally Posted by Enough_Already

Jobs are flowing out of this country due in a large part to our tax structure. Until we get government spending under control we cannot have a tax structure which encourages companies to grow in the United States. It is time for the government to stop subsidizing anything and everything. Setting the fares based on cost would be simple. Then we would not need taxes to subsidize services that do not make economic sense.

I am tired of being stuck behind buses that stop every few feet. Nobody ever computes the cost of the time lost when people are behind buses in traffic. I am tired of seeing buses in the evening and night on the road when the are empty or nearly empty. That is a waste of taxpayer dollars.

We pay taxes for a better quality of life. That being said, there should be more money spent on transportation in general than there is. The real problem is the insane military budget. If we want to keep spending more than the entire planet combined, or even the top 10 other countries combined that is going to have consequences. It is best to either get used to the massive spending cuts on those of us that live in the US, or vote accordingly, to get rid of those that want to keep the military machine going. Have you ever looked at the real spending our tax dollars go towards the military? Oh wait, I can answer that for you because the answer would have to be "no". Why is the answer no? Because there is no way of knowing how much is actually spent on our military because they charge $10 for a coke and $6000 for a toilet. That of course is to hide how much we actually spend.

We are making our bed. Best to just enjoy what we have now, because as the budget for military keeps rising, our quality of life will continue to decline. There are so many other countries that have a much higher standard of living. They are putting their tax dollars into their own countries and many don't have much of a military to speak of. They don't live in fear either.

[Blackbeauty212]

Originally Posted by Enough_Already

Jobs are flowing out of this country due in a large part to our tax structure.

I would believe this line if wasn't for the Fact that Companies today are sitting on Record Profits, Tons of Free Cash, and CEO's that are making record salaries...

Taxes are not problem TODAY with why companies are not hiring.....But its the best Political Card to play when the Economy is in the Crapper.

The Real Problem to Jobs today.

1 - There's no demand, ever heard of Supply and Demand well there needs to be demand.

2 - Machines are replacing Humans this is just a fact...Self Checkouts are replacing Cashiers, ATMs are replacing Tellers, Kiosk are replacing ticketing clerks, IVRs are replacing Customer Service Reps.

3 - Internet is reshaping how we do business PERIOD, its the next wave in Evolution in Society....You can't stop the Monster known as the internet...Its scary just how dependent the World will be in a short time on the Internet.

[gg]

Originally Posted by Blackbeauty212

2 - Machines are replacing Humans this is just a fact...Self Checkouts are replacing Cashiers, ATMs are replacing Tellers, Kiosk are replacing ticketing clerks, IVRs are replacing Customer Service Reps.

This has always been the case, but one has to wonder if the rate of that right now is greater than anytime in history? Ezeepass is another example. I now get a discount using an Ezeepass. That being said, more people will use it and at some point there will only be one cash line on each exit. Way less people needed. Maybe it is best to work at a place the designs machines right now? These are interesting times. I think there will always be labor though. Sometimes people can't be replaced. I can see a day when teachers will be replaced by computers. Truthfully, that might help our tax situation in our region. Then we will only have to pay the MASSIVE pensions that will soon be due.

[Clint.]

I may have missed this somewhere earlier in the thread, but I read in the PG the other day that 4.4% of sales tax revenue goes toward the statewide transportation budget...does anyone have an idea of how much Allegheny County contributes in proportion to how much transporation money is returned?

My guess is sales tax revenues collected in Allegheny are more significant than what is collected in say, Franklin or Lycoming, but what is the ratio of what's returned per capita?

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by raubre

One more PAT story re: drivers.

Note: not all of the details are known as to if the driver is at fault, but I seem to rarely ever hear about a bus driver ever being at fault for an accident, even though there are witnesses that say they are.

Bus Hits Woman Downtown - Pittsburgh News Story - WTAE Pittsburgh

I would not have been surprised if it had been my bus driver yesterday, but I was on the 71A and this happened on the 82.

[mjost7]

Originally Posted by WhoIsStanwix?

This has always been a major curiosity of mine. Why do people believe (without ever really analyzing) that growth is necessarily good. Population growth, GDP growth, or otherwise, the belief that growth is good obviously stems from a biological imperative that strength in numbers is likely to ensure the survival of a species. Interestingly enough, it is this same growth that's leading to the destruction of our planet and species.

Remind me again why we need lower taxes to fuel corporate growth. Remind me why we need growth at all.

Maybe the human population growth will level out as development spreads.
Demographic-economic paradox - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Lobick]

Originally Posted by Enough_Already

I am tired of being stuck behind buses that stop every few feet. Nobody ever computes the cost of the time lost when people are behind buses in traffic. I am tired of seeing buses in the evening and night on the road when the are empty or nearly empty. That is a waste of taxpayer dollars.

Wait til you see the traffic jams caused by all of the additional cars on the road filled with people who would rather take the bus.

[gg]

Originally Posted by Lobick

Wait til you see the traffic jams caused by all of the additional cars on the road filled with people who would rather take the bus.

Actually when I lived on the North Side, (yes I spell it both ways because locals also do and it is fun), PAT went on strike. I was amazed at how much better the traffic flowed because the busses weren't jamming up everything and stopping at ever single block. Not sure why they have a million bus stops? Can't people walk one single block? Goodness!