The New York City's transportation system is in trouble. Delays have skyrocketed on the century-old subway system, and several recent accidents have raised safety concerns. Joseph J. Lhota, chairman of The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, has called upon the mayor to provide more money to fix the system, recently outlining a roughly $800 million emergency rescue plan with a sweeping set of fixes that he vowed would turn around steadily deteriorating service.
“We’re here because the New York City subway system no doubt is in distress, and we’re here looking for solutions,” Mr. Lhota said during a news conference at the authority’s headquarters in Lower Manhattan.
Well, it appears Mr Lhota is about to have his wish come true courtesy of 'the rich' once again.
Mayor Bill de Blasio plans to push for a tax on wealthy New Yorkers to pay for improvements needed to address the crisis, according to a report from The NY Times.
Mr. de Blasio will announce a so-called millionaires tax on Monday for wealthy New York City residents to pay for subway and bus upgrades.
The proposal also includes funding to offer half-price MetroCards for low-income riders — part of a national movement that is gaining momentum in New York.
“Rather than sending the bill to working families and subway and bus riders already feeling the pressure of rising fares and bad service, we are asking the wealthiest in our city to chip in a little extra to help move our transit system into the 21st century,” Mr. de Blasio said in a statement.
Of course - de Blasio faces an uphill battle for his populist plan to soak the rich just a 'little' bit more...
The tax changes would require approval from state lawmakers in Albany - a difficult task, with Republicans in control of the Senate, though the urgency of the subway’s decline has raised the stakes and captured the attention of both parties.
The mayor’s proposal builds on an effort by State Senator Michael Gianaris, Democrat of Queens, to tax the wealthy to support the subway, and a campaign by transit advocates to establish reduced fares for poor residents after a successful program in Seattle.
“I would argue that the M.T.A. is in a full-blown crisis and that would justify our return to Albany to enact this measure in an emergency session,” Mr. Gianaris said.
The new tax would raise about $700 million to $800 million a year, with more than $500 million going toward capital costs for subways and buses and about $250 million for the half-price MetroCard program, city officials said. It would increase the city’s highest income tax rate by about 0.5 percent, to 4.4 percent from about 3.9 percent, for married couples with incomes above $1 million and individuals who make more than $500,000.
City officials estimate that the tax would be paid by about 32,000 New York City tax filers, or less than 1 percent of those who file their taxes in the city. New Yorkers already contribute to the authority through various taxes and fees, and the city has committed $2.5 billion for the agency’s current capital improvement plan.
Anyone else see 'the broken subway fallacy' at work here? Still doesn't matter, the 'rich' can afford it right? It's only 'fair',,,