The former MTA big has a point about sales tax
Charlotte, N.C.: Wow! Joe Lhota presented a cogent, reasonable, easy-to-implement and fair plan to replace the congestion pricing program (“Better funding for the MTA capital plan,” op-ed, June 26). So, of course, it will never be implemented. Plus, he is a former MTA chairman, so he speaks with knowledge and authority.
It astonishes me that proponents of congestion planning are so dismissive of the “Jersey effect.” We hear all the time about the plan being implemented in London. Fine, but how many commuters in London already pay a $16 toll minutes before getting to London? I’m sorry, but paying $23 a day for workers in the city is not chump change. Lhota made the point that NYC has the lowest transit sales tax rate of all the cities in the country and even with his increase, NYC will still have the lowest rate. Perhaps this has been the problem all along, as other cities don’t have this constant hand out we get from the MTA.
Every time I drive in Boston, I’m newly astonished that there’s no charge for that fantastic submerged road (yes, I know the Big Dig problems). Motorists have been subsidizing the MTA for years, as every driver on Long Island forks over money for the MTA even if they never cross the line into Queens (FYI, you won’t save money on car registration by moving to North Carolina. We’re a personal property tax state and it costs more to register your car). Barbara Haynes
Open the books
Ocala, Fla.: It would be terrific to see the complete MTA budget and see what they are really spending our money on. I am sick of them asking for money from commuters, and I suspect the top managers get paid handsomely. This must be public knowledge that you can divulge to all of us. I am hoping my beloved Daily News will publish the full details of every single line item they send to politicians. The public needs to know. Lynn Miller
Missed the show
Brooklyn: Note to Macy’s and NBC: Next time, instead of giving us a concert with accompanying fireworks, how about fireworks with accompanying music? While I appreciate the talented musicians who participated in the program, the cameras were so focused on the concert stage that it eclipsed the visual beauty of the display. Chris Matthew Sciabarra
Supervision solution
Richmond Hill: Why is it that every time a couple of youngsters decide it is too hot and it’s time to go swimming at night, when there are no lifeguards on the closed beaches, people ask for more lifeguards? Why not ask why their parents failed to teach them not to do anything stupid and life-threatening? Maybe we should outlaw riptides! How about giving all kids mandatory swimming lessons, personal flotation devices, a compass and a blinking strobe light so they might not drown, can find their way home and at least make their bodies easier to find? Try as we might, we have never been able to outlaw stupidity. That is why, as parents, we have to hold onto our children for dear life and try to keep a low summer body count. Robert Clolery
Amoral man
Brooklyn: Voicer Marlene Danoff spouts a lot of ignorant nonsense deprecating her version of Democrats’ support of cultural issues. She then pledges fealty to MAGA led by an amoral person who has been convicted of a host of felonies, including fraud and a judgment of rape; a man who openly vows to destroy American democracy. Herman Kolender
Late realization
Bronx: The power of the media is alive and well. They are now turning on President Biden because of his dismal showing in the recent debate and his growing signs of dementia — a media that always made excuses or refused to air his erratic behavior. A media that did not call out the president for his lack of, or all too brief, press conferences. A media that saw the physical and mental decline of the leader of the Free World and chose to keep the American people in the dark. Al D’Angelo
Closed at 8
Tivoli, N.Y.: So, Sleepy Joe says he will not do anything after 8 p.m. Does the rest of the world know this? Has he told our allies and enemies that they must be quiet after 8 p.m.? Boy, I hope no crisis happens after 8 p.m. because if it does, we are screwed. Joe needs to step down and just hand the election to Donald Trump. We are the laughingstock of the world. Shh, Joe is sleeping, please be quiet! Marc Savino
Still declining
White Plains, N.Y.: I feel that Biden should step down because he is not mentally fit to be president. It is not only that he did so badly in the debate, but he has had many times where he has just lost it and couldn’t remember what he wanted to say, didn’t know where he was or wandered off. I am afraid of what our enemies will do next because they see how weak Biden is and feel they can take advantage of the situation. I doubt that he is going to get much better, but he might get worse as time goes on, which could be dangerous for our country. Joan Cocurullo
Radical plan
Howard Beach: Voicers Ross de Marco and Leonard G. Villa seem to be positive that America’s democracy will remain intact under Trump if he gets reelected. Have these two men heard about a 900-plus-page handbook called Project 2025? A Google search will surely enlighten them that the ultra-right wing has its own plans for what America will be like in a second Trump term, and any resistance to their doctrines may lead to a second American Revolution, according to Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation. Barbara Berg
Look it up
Manhattan: For those retirees who worked for the NYC government and oppose the Medicare Advantage plan the city is trying to push: A conservative administration under Trump will do the same, but to everyone — replace Medicare with Medicare Advantage and privatize Social Security. So, if you plan to vote for Trump but oppose NYC’s plan, please educate yourself about this pending disaster. Project 2025 is a collection of policy proposals from the conservative Heritage Foundation to reshape the U.S. federal government. Is this what you want? A king in the White House? Don’t take the word of pundits on either side. Read about it in black and white. Google “Project 2025.” Elizabeth Forel
Odious utterance
Manhattan: I once had a literary agent, the late Gloria Safire, who hated one expressive English language word and would go out-of-proportion ballistic when anyone uttered it. That word was “fart.” I suspect she would be appalled by Donald Trump and the fact that during his latest trial, the expression she loathed so was being bantered about nightly on the news as freely as a never-used tennis ball. Too bad. The coinage is out of the closet. One wonders if the tidbit will later go back in — or, is it here for all time. As far as Trump is concerned, “fart” is one more watershed communication he may take credit for forcing to the surface. Election be darned, no problem there — most voters have already made up their minds anyway. James A. Fragale
Drama demographics
Manhattan: I went with my friend to see “The Outsiders” at the Bernard Jacobs Theatre Wednesday night. I could not help noticing something: I could not find even five non-white people there. And the theater was packed. I only saw two Asian people and one African-American person, a boy in his teens. I pointed this out to my friend, who was also surprised. A theory comes to me about why: Could it be the play? It is, after all, about white kids. The story is about three brothers, the oldest is struggling to raise the two younger boys due to the deaths of their parents. The story is told from the perspective of Ponyboy, the youngest of the three brothers. They and their pals are struggling with life and more affluent peers, the Socs. By the way, two roles were played by Black actors, one actor, one actress. Charles Adrian O’Connor
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