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Not going to happen as long as WMATA is underfunded by the various jurisdictions.
I think you're missing the point. By "lean"....I mean cost cutting...getting rid of redundancies....reduction of the workforce....reduced workforce costs. None of that portends additional funding.....in fact the opposite.
What it portends is utter systemic failure fueled by purposeful bias and other sorts of knee-jerk misconception. The system has for years now been slowly bled dry by backward, transit-hating local government ideologues who always seem to find something better to do with the money than giving it to Metro. The problems you see in the system today are ALL the result of under-funding. They would not be here had funding been maintained at levels a gerbil would have seen as necessary to maintain a first-class transit system. Come up with a dependable long-term revenue source for Metro -- something they can plan and count on. Problems solved.
Last edited by Reynard32; 10-09-2015 at 10:47 AM..
What it portends is utter systemic failure fueled by purposeful bias and other sorts of knee-jerk misconception. The system has for years now been slowly bled dry by backward, transit-hating local government ideologues who always seem to find something better to do with the money than giving it to Metro. The problems you see in the system today are ALL the result of under-funding. They would not be here had funding been maintained at levels a gerbil would have seen as necessary to maintain a first-class transit system. Come up with a dependable long-term revenue source for Metro -- something they can plan and count on. Problems solved.
You are absolutely delusional on this matter. You are defending a broken agency that is subsidized significantly by DC, Maryland, and Virginia, as well as our fares. You must work for them if you cannot see the problems from this top heavy, and poorly managed agency. Never mind the fact it was one of the worst unions, as well as tons of customer service issues.
WMATA would be rather easy to fix starting from scratch. One is no more defined benefit pensions, and defined contribution. DC switched to defined contribution ages ago, and it is one of the reasons it's one of the few states/municipalities which is in the black budgetary wise. The death spiral is common for entities which have defined benefit pensions.
Secondly, the entire organizational structure needs to be streamlined, layers of management solves nothing. One executive and one assistant director responsible, but no other managers for each division, and far fewer divisions. Clearer lines of communication as well.
This is a broken agency, and if you think it's because of some anti-transit agenda you are downright delusional. I want great transit in the city, I depend on transit as I don't own a car. But to say metro runs well, and place the blame elsewhere is telling. This is a broken organization, and you need to quit fooling yourself about it. It's not the lack of funds, it's the agency itself and it's employees. Commuters want the transit system to work, but the people who work at the transit agency and the agencies management are the problem.
If anything you are indicative of the knee jerk blame everybody else problem with WMATA. This is why the agency really should be restructured, go into receivership (which is very likely at this point), or dissolved and reconstituted entirely.
The reason why we are having problems is not because of funding, but because of negligent management and agency. Frankly, I am not surprised that nobody trusts anybody at WMATA at this point.
Not going to happen as long as WMATA is underfunded by the various jurisdictions.
One reason they are underfunded is because when they get more funding, it just goes to paying lazy, incompetent employees higher salaries instead of improving customer service.
Are they REALLY under funded? Or do they just suck at using the money they get properly? I think its a little bit of both. They would get more funding if people saw positive results from funding increases. But again.. it just goes to paying lazy, idiotic, rude, incompetent, metro staff higher salaries while customer service and reliability continues to degrade.
One reason they are underfunded is because when they get more funding, it just goes to paying lazy, incompetent employees higher salaries instead of improving customer service.
Are they REALLY under funded? Or do they just suck at using the money they get properly? I think its a little bit of both. They would get more funding if people saw positive results from funding increases. But again.. it just goes to paying lazy, idiotic, rude, incompetent, metro staff higher salaries while customer service and reliability continues to degrade.
Bingo. People try to paint it as being one way or the other, when in reality, as is true with 95% of social and political issues in life, there are multiple factors at work.
You are absolutely delusional on this matter. You are defending a broken agency that is subsidized significantly by DC, Maryland, and Virginia, as well as our fares. You must work for them if you cannot see the problems from this top heavy, and poorly managed agency. Never mind the fact it was one of the worst unions, as well as tons of customer service issues.
LOL! You don't have to work for Metro to recognize blatant jaded babble when you see it. I've ridden the system for 30 years. I know what it was like then, I know what it is like now, and I know what happened in between to create a difference. The same management structure, the same sort of workforce, and the same union contracts were in place during the system's heyday. Those have nothing to do with declines in system performance. Declines are ALL primary, secondary, and tertiary effects of systemic underfunding over more than a decade now. That is what has caused the problems. It's quite a simple diagnosis for those without some sort of crude social agenda to put forward.
Last edited by Reynard32; 10-10-2015 at 01:08 PM..
One reason they are underfunded is because when they get more funding, it just goes to paying lazy, incompetent employees higher salaries instead of improving customer service.
How much of that worthless slander is just code-words for black?
Bingo. People try to paint it as being one way or the other, when in reality, as is true with 95% of social and political issues in life, there are multiple factors at work.
Wake up. The 800-pound gorilla here is UNDERFUNDING. Fund the system properly and your other complaints -- many of which are apt to be baseless in any case -- will be much reduced in number. You cannot drive a brand new Lexus while paying for a used Yugo.
How much of that worthless slander is just code-words for black?
Black has nothing to do with it. There are many black professionals in DC and around the world who do amazing work and are amazing at their jobs.
If the first word that comes to your mind when I say "lazy and incompetent" is "black" then YOU are the one who associates these characteristics with black people.
Don't project your own racism onto me please.
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