MTA Getting Ready To Ride Us Again

It's a given that transit operating costs have gone up since the last rate increase. What isn’t a given though at the MTA is whether or not all unnecessary costs and wasteful spending have been eliminated. Even with an increased number of riders, the MTA continues to lose money. A 12-person commission appointed by Governor Paterson is studying whether to raise transit fares, impose congestion pricing (though the idea was rejected before) and even raise taxes. No real mention though of increasing the MTA’s efficiency or trimming the budget, FIRST! Their report is due out in December. Who’d bet against a new transit rate hike in 2009 or 2010 at the latest? Get ready to personally get the MTA back on track again with your financial support. It's obvious that those we pay, can’t do their jobs … except with more money from us.

Energy Consumption Tax Too Taxing

Mayor Bloomberg thinks the best way to reduce energy consumption is to raise taxes. It’s sad for us how most politicians believe that "higher taxes solve problems." He doesn’t see any short-term fixes for the high price of oil. The fix he does see though is a breathtaking rise in energy taxes to discourage our energy usage. It’s true that much higher prices at the pump will force some motorists to curtail unnecessary driving. However a higher price for gas will also punish those who must drive for employment. It will unfairly raise costs for those who don’t even own cars (Sounds like "Taxation without transportation!). These poor souls will pay more for many retail goods and services that use or depend on vehicle deliveries. What’s needed now are innovative ideas … not old ones like higher gas taxes, tolls or mass transit fares. Improving and expanding mass transit services to accommodate more riders, reducing the size of city-owned vehicles to burn less gas (Let the politicians and police squeeze into Austin Coopers like we're being forced to!), maybe even issuing tax breaks to vehicle owners who drive more efficient cars; these are just a few examples. Give residents of New York City better transportation options instead of sticking the City's hand deeper into our pocket.

Local Fitness Centers Unfit

Male and female workout enthusiasts are complaining about more and more lewd and rude club members throughout facilities in New York City. This offensive behavior is taking place both in the gym area and locker rooms. Bad conduct nowadays goes beyond guys posing in mirrors and kissing their biceps. Excessive nudity in locker rooms, inappropriate stares, open-leg vogue-ing by men and women not to mention pickup attempts and sexual comments is out of control. What’s that famous saying? No pain-in-the-asses, no gain. That doesn’t sound quite right. You'd better build up your muscles quickly so you can better deal with these ill-mannered people … or get the hell out of these places faster!