I guess they decided it was better to pay unionized transit workers an average salary of $180,000 as thanks for political support than it was to pay for required maintenance.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/18/nyre ... -news&_r=1

_________________
“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

Good article. I've been fascinated by how badly the MTA is breaking down -- New York has never felt bigger or more important in our lifetimes, but all the while it's rotting from the inside out. But I think laying the blame at the feet of labor (evident by your implicit emphasis on "unionized") is a little misleading. It looks like there's been all sorts of financial malfeasance going on at the state level. But there's no argument that they've all lost sight of what should be their top priority, which is making sure stuff works. Labor involved in something as important as the New York subway system should be paid fairly, but not at the expense of operating it.

_________________

I have zero sympathy for a city's financial problems when they employ rent control.

_________________

Congratulations, you've identified New York's largest problem: longtime residents can't get evicted so that investors can run airbnbs.

_________________

Nowhere near the top of " problems" but I've always disagreed with telling landlords how much they can rent for.

_________________

Illinois doesn't have to get better. The other states just need to get worse

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Yeah, but if there wasn't rent control, we wouldn't have unemployed people on Friends living in fancy apartments overlooking Central Park.

_________________

Reverend Watkins was a sage

_________________
There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

Maintenance is largely overlooked in most industries these days. The plan is simple, run the shit till it kills someone then buy new shit.

_________________
the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

Yep and anytime production actually has the balls to shutdown for a couple days for scheduled maintenance, everyone flips out. They also all flip out when there are unscheduled delays as well. So basically, just have everything run perfectly at all times. Is that too much to ask?!?

_________________

_________________
Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

I'd hate to see Tiny's vote where road building is concerned.

_________________
There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

The case in point for this is NJ Transit over the summer. They cut services to Penn to perform very needed track repair and people lost their shit. If you think the NY Subway is a disaster, I'd argue the Hudson River Tunnels are an even more pressing problem. They are 100+ years old, at full capacity and they still cannot agree to build a 3rd tunnel.

_________________
“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson