23
Mar
2011
“Public” vs. Private
Someone posted this on my Facebook. I appreciate the effort, but this guy doesn’t sound anything like me.
If you want the book after hearing this excerpt, here’s the link. And note I am so lazy, I’m not even looking up my Amazon Associate link. I pass the savings on to you, or rather, Amazon.
Ha–great. I’m guessing this company, Blackstone Audio, has produced an entire audio book of your guide?
PS– I wonder if even a private subway company would pack customers in standing positions, just because people are now used to cramming into subways. The only alternatives would be to require people to sit down in the limited number of seats– right?
“How does it benefit the mayor of New York, or any of his subordinates, to fix this problem? It would probably cost millions of dollars to hire extra employees and or revamp the platforms to enforce the new boarding limits. The extra cash would either have to come from fare hikes or general revenue, in either case there would be huge political opposition. And for what?”
First thing first, the fare hike part is a red herring. The reason a movie theater or airplane is not overcrowded is because the fare is sufficiently high to equate demand with capacity. The fact that subways are overcrowded is evidence that the fare is too low (ie, there is a shortage of space, since the price is too low). Raising fares might have some political costs, but it would also have political benefits if the mayor’s political machine is able to capture the increased satisfaction of commuting. Let’s say it’s a net wash: some voters thank they mayor, other damn him.
The second thing is the important thing. The mayor would LOVE to higher those extra employees to work on the subway. Doing so would increase the reach of his patronage, and strengthen his machine (this helps with the first point). This would definitely be a political benefit. Now more people owe their jobs to the mayor. I mean, now the mayor is putting NYers to work fixing NY!