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Even though no one gives a damn...here's the link Nassau: Private company to run LI Bus
Remember, Suffolk pays $24 Million and Westchester $30 Million to PRIVATE operators. We wont be left with much bus service at all.
Just saw this a little while ago. It's part of a broad cut in spending -- $121 Million to close a $121M-$165M budget deficit gap. NIFA suddenly changed accounting rules, so the county is now forced to do these cuts. NIFA changed the game.
They talk about LI Bus at around 14:00 in the video press release:
1. MCTMT tax
2. MTA .375% portion of New York State’s Sales Tax - Among Nation’s Highest
3. MTA Mobility Tax - Payroll Tax
4. Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District" fee when we go to register our cars which now costs $160, was $80 to do few yrs ago
5. Crappier and crappier service, higher fares, unreliable/unable to use it anyway
6. Pensions Nassau county is getting raped from NYS ERS - +45% increase or $43.6 Million increase in pension contributions burden on the county. Nassau County, Long Island New York
7. Getting raped every time we cross a bridge or tunnel
8. MTA has $56.2 BILLION in assets!!
9. MTA is a power+Money Hungry MONOPOLY
10. Plus all of the below:
-----
"More than 10 percent of the MTA's workforce--8,214 individuals in all--took home $100,000 or more in total pay, including overtime. The MTA's six-figure club included:"
-10 employees who earned more than $250,000, averaging $102,000 over their base salaries
-44 employees who earned between $200,000 and $250,000, averaging ------$89,000 over their base salaries
-600 employees who earned between $150,000 and $200,000
-7,560 individuals who earned between $100,000 and $150,000
-Eleven of the 654 employees who earned more than $150,000 in 2008 were Long Island Railroad car repairmen who earned an average of $206,000-which was $143,000 over their average base pay rate of $63,000
-62 Long Island Railroad and Metro-North Railroad conductors who averaged -
-$83,000 over their base salaries which averaged only $82,000
-40 police officers averaging $79,000 over their average base pay of $90,000
-39 gang foremen averaging $87,000 over their average base pay of $79,300
-30 Long Island Railroad engineers averaging $103,000 over their average base pay of $73,000 "
-$600+ MILLION in overtime! Approved without question , 77% of it undocumented!
I think that pretty much speaks for itself. Maintenance costs? Pfft...a mere 20% of the budget, and $5 million less than a comparably sized system in Virginia. Purchasing new vehicles? LI Bus spent $0 on them in 2009. Redundant, overpaid administrative positions? Sure....they're part of the problem, but when we're talking about $102 million dollars a year it puts in perspective how much more bloat is out there than a handful of six-figure pencil pushers. You can talk about what people "deserve", what you think "is fair" and "tough jobs" or "agendas" all day, but if you think your taxes are unreasonably high and would like that to change, then looking at something like this (and the breakdown is the same for all other government agencies) should really drive home where the problem is and what is needed to fix it. This is the bottom line, beyond all the sentimental BS and emotions and opinions: You can't pay people Don Draper money for doing Ralph Kramden jobs.
That still doesn't explain why Suffolk pays $24 Million for the operation of it's bus system, and Westchester $30 Million, to private operators, while Mangano thinks he can run Nassau buses with only $4 million.
On the bright side, at least the "illegal" landscapers that are always jamming up the buses will have difficulty getting to work.
Yeah, maybe we can lower the bridges on the LIE too so those illegals can't get to the beaches.
JIW, this is one of the few topics on which I agree with you. While the MTA surely has waste that can be cut, I'm already tired of the recent crop of slash-hungry conservatives gutting programs that primarily benefit the poor while freezing tax hikes on the wealthy and corporations or in some cases cutting their taxes even further. The benefits of public transport are well documented and it's a shame that crab mentality has taken hold in this country, sabotaging its future as well as the future of all of the social safety nets this country spent the last 60 years building. Jay Gould once said, "I can hire one-half of the working class to kill the other half" and that's never been more true.
Even though no one gives a damn...here's the link Nassau: Private company to run LI Bus
Remember, Suffolk pays $24 Million and Westchester $30 Million to PRIVATE operators. We wont be left with much bus service at all.
That still doesn't explain why Suffolk pays $24 Million for the operation of it's bus system, and Westchester $30 Million, to private operators, while Mangano thinks he can run Nassau buses with only $4 million.
Yeah but we're not Westchester and we're certainly not Suffolk. Suffolk is over 3x greater in land area than Nassau, with a much lower population density and lower ridership.
Nassau could easily privatize it and run the new and improved LIBus at $$neutral (or even make a small gain) by raising fares to where they should be, ie-what it actually costs to run it. Raise fares by $0.75 and that will bring in at least $25+ extra revenue. If the illegals don't like it, they could always walk or take a cab together to wherever they need to go.
The MTA payroll tax introduced in 09 is a tax on ALL of us, including middle class, small biz, entrepreneurs, and lower working class folks. Think about it -- this overreaching MTA payroll tax DISCOURAGES HIRING!! And encourages HIRING ILLEGALS John!! There's your answer as to why there are so many illegals here; Because it costs a fortune nowadays to operate a business on LI. NY is #1 in business failures and Dead LAST in business startups.
I encourage everyone to watch that video if you haven't already.
Yeah but we're not Westchester and we're certainly not Suffolk. Suffolk is over 3x greater in land area than Nassau, with a much lower population density and lower ridership.
Nassau could easily privatize it and run the new and improved LIBus at $$neutral (or even make a small gain) by raising fares to where they should be, ie-what it actually costs to run it. Raise fares by $0.75 and that will bring in at least $25+ extra revenue. If the illegals don't like it, they could always walk or take a cab together to wherever they need to go.
The MTA payroll tax introduced in 09 is a tax on ALL of us, including middle class and low class folks. Think about it, this tax discourages hiring and encourages HIRING ILLEGALS John!! I encourage everyone to watch that video if you haven't already.
Can this tax be rescinded completely or lowered for Nassau once MTA is no longer involved in Nassau's bus service? The MTA is certainly picking our carcass and giving us next to nothing in return except what has turned out to be the most expensive commuter railroad in the world, the LIRR. Gee thanks, MTA!
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Get rid of the MTA
