Now is it just me or is this a really BAD IDEA! I mean come on, Mayor Bloomberg (a RINO if I ever saw one) is really going to force the men and women of the tri-state area, who work hard to earn a living in NYC, pay a fee for going to work in their own cars just because they happen to be traveling during "Peak Hours"?
This is just another ploy by statist politicians to take away more choices from individuals.
And I call bullshit!
Remember folks; Politicians can never be trusted to do what's right for the individual, all they really want is power.
From the NY Post:
Mayor Bloomberg's congestion-pricing scheme has cleared its first major hurdle, the City Council, and is now headed to Albany - where it faces an infinitely more formidable roadblock: Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
The council passed the legally required home-rule message by a 30-20 vote (by Council standards, an unusually slim margin). Now the Legislature must give its final approval by next Monday - the deadline for $350 million in federal transit funds needed to offset the program's startup costs.
But Silver is in no rush to get anything done - even though the Senate's GOP majority is ready to take up the issue right away.
In fact, the speaker says he won't even begin considering the matter until both houses have passed the state budget - which likely will take until Friday.
This means that congestion pricing would come before the Legislature as a stand-alone item, rather than as part of the budget process - making it much more difficult to pass.
More here.
And from the NY Daily News:
In voting to endorse congestion pricing, the City Council recognized the plan for what it is: the biggest boost for New York mass transit in decades.
The Legislature must show the same wisdom. Albany lawmakers - notably Speaker Sheldon Silver and Assembly Democrats - should approve pouring the billions of dollars that would flow from congestion pricing into transportation improvements.
The Council stepped up big-time. Led by Speaker Christine Quinn, members voted, 30 to 20, to require drivers to pay $8 (minus tolls) to enter Manhattan below 60th St. on weekdays.
That means tolling the four East River bridges, a step long viewed as akin to touching a political third rail. What made it smart and do-able was the commitment to dedicate revenue for transit improvements that would benefit the majority of New Yorkers.
Amazingly, two-thirds of Council members who voted yes represented the outer boroughs. Some of their constituents would be hit with the charge, but commuting would get easier for many more.
More here.
I'd just like to end this post with a quote that is usually attributed to Ben Franklin:
"Democracy is two wolves and a small lamb voting on what to have for dinner. Freedom is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote."
