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I am not for abolishing the MTA or actually raising prices to where it could break even, as that could be $10 each way for some commutes, but there are alternatives to the assault on motor vehicles that is a political issue in the city. It can be argued that one who lives in Manhattan already pays higher taxes, in the form of property tax on a higher value property, parking tax, etc. such that it's lunacy to force this on residents, since the proposal floated encompassed large swaths of residential real estate.
I would actually favor a separate use tax for dedicated MTA funding, pulling all the hidden taxes out of the system, and then allowing for funding that cannot be siphoned off to the general fund, unless the MTA turned a profit.
I'm not sure what part of the following statement you don't get: the MTA cannot and will not break even, nor should it have to. The capital costs of such infrastructure are simply too massive, but their economic benefit requires that they be at lower-than-end-user-fee level. In the US, we accept this with roads and air travel (look at how much airlines get bailed out), but for some reason it's lost on public transport such as passenger rail. Yes, it shouldn't be exorbitantly expensive to maintain or unsustainable, but we should expect some level of manageable debt. Remember also that the MTA is at the whim of the TWU, which always seems to win in arbitration.
^ I am well aware of the fact that the MTA cannot come close to breaking even -- no transit system can do that, especially not one with the scope; that's why there should be a provision under law to prevent the funds being diverted to the general fund -- as in a situation that will never happen, and can keep MTA funds where they belong.
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All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
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