You want to lay the blame for these financial problems on Spitzer’s back, then so be it. But the reality is that about four weeks ago, Elliot Sander stood in front of a large crowd of people and promised service upgrades. He said that the MTA’s finances were looking good and that the upgrades would be forthcoming, possibly as soon as this summer. Even had they raised the base fares, it’s doubtful that they would have come up with the money to cover this tax revenue shortfall. And my point, in the end, was that the MTA should tone down their public promises of service upgrades if our current situation is the endgame.

I agree with you that our politicians should shoulder the blame. For decades, they have routinely shortchanged the MTA, and that’s a problem that should be rectified. I’ve written about that on numerous occasions. But in this case, I stand by what I wrote last week: The MTA should not have made public statements about the service upgrades if they couldn’t stand behind them 100 percent. Considering the MTA’s need for the congestion pricing revenue, now is not the time for the agency to be suffering from a credibility problem.

Recall that the MTA originally planned a steeper fare hike. Governor Spitzer insisted that it be scaled back. Spitzer compounded the misery by holding the largely symbolic “base fare” at $2.00, ensuring that the beneficiaries of his generosity would be those who ride the subway the least often. Had the MTA been allowed to go forward with their original fare proposal, they’d have the resources to implement the service improvements that they’ve now been forced to postpone.

I do agree with you that the MTA is guilty of, at the very least, very poor PR management. Making the improvements contingent on unpredictable future tax revenues always struck me as a bad idea. And I don’t understand how Lee Sander could have been so sure they had the funds at the beginning of March, only to pull the rug out a few weeks later.

But I do applaud the basic idea, which is that you shouldn’t make service changes that exacerbate the deficit. The real fault is with politicians, and in particular ex-Governor Spitzer, who forced the MTA into givebacks that left the agency more dependent on fluctuating real estate taxes than it should be.