Second Ave. Sagas

Paterson spars with GOP as deadline nears

Written by

Benjamin Kabak

in

At 11:45 a.m., the MTA’s Finance Committee will meet to approve recommendations for a fare hike and service cuts in an effort to close a budget gap in excess of $1.2 billion. While Richard Ravitch had proposed a plan that, through East River bridge tolls and an equitable payroll tax, would minimized the hike and cuts, a bitterly divided Senate could reach an agreement, and while Sheldon Silver’s Assembly was prepared to pass a modified Ravitch Plan, the Senate has tabled any MTA rescue package for now.

As this drama has unfolded over the past few weeks, Gov. David Paterson has taken up a lot of airtime urging Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith to get his caucus in line. The Democrats, who hold a 32-30 majority in the Senate, have been bitterly divided on the issue with many objecting to the tolls. On Friday, Paterson changed his stance a bit and based the State Republicans for doing exactly what he wants the Democrats to do: holding rank. The Republicans refuse to support the Ravitch Plan because it includes a payroll tax, and while it would be far worse to let mass transit in the city fail, the New York GOP is closing ranks on ideological grounds.

Pete Donohue and Glenn Blain talked about Paterson’s ire in the Daily News this weekend:

Paterson rapped Senate Republicans for taking a partisan stance against a revenue-raising plan, crafted by former MTA Chairman Richard Ravitch and featuring tolls on the East and Harlem River bridges. “I’ve been talking to them about this for the last four months,” Paterson said, referring to the GOP. “And I think that if 30 members of a party all vote the same way – what we used to call that when I was in the Senate was a party vote.”

There are 32 Democrats in the Senate and 30 Republicans. Several Dems oppose tolls, so the Ravitch rescue needs the support of at least some Republicans. Paterson said the package would not only avert whopping fare hikes and service cuts, but fund the MTA’s capital construction and maintenance program.

The program is a significant source of jobs in several upstate districts where there are subway and bus assembly plants, and other businesses with MTA contracts. “I don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t be voting for it because it has a direct economic, imperative affect on their districts,” Paterson said.

While Republicans denied to the Daily News reporters Paterson’s statements, the sentiments ring true. If even a handful of New York Metropolitan Area GOP Senators were willing to support the Ravitch Plan, not only would the MTA stave off a 23 percent fare hike and massive service cuts, but the entire state would benefit from sage investment in transit infrastructure.

Alas. It is not likely to be. New York politics remains stuck in a heavily bipartisan world where compromise between parties is unlikely and even sanity among a solitary party, as the Democrats have shown lately, is not to be expected.

Later this morning, the first of many days of reckoning will arrive. Just remember that the politicians — and not the MTA heads — are the ones responsible for this mess.

Comments

9 responses to “Paterson spars with GOP as deadline nears”

  1. AW

    “Just remember that the politicians — and not the MTA heads — are the ones responsible for this mess.”

    Oh Benjamin that is so not fair and you know it. The politicians have alot to be blamed for, but you know that the MTA is not an organization with alot of credibility, going back to the dual books but also to numerous cost overruns for offices and capital projects. That politicians are not falling over to support the plan – in the worst recessions/depression many of us will see in our lifetimes – is hardly surprising.

    This is the disaster that was set in motion many many years ago. And surely our leadership deserves some scorn – but there is alot of blame to go around, and I would suggest in a time where governments and companies are scaling back and making material cuts, the Ravitch plan lost support because it proposed only revenue increases – and not material expense cuts. Hard in this day and age to be surprised how that didnt gather support.

    Reply
    1. Benjamin Kabak

      Can we please stop with the dual books thing? As Errol Louis pointed out over the weekend, the MTA was exonerated in court of the dual books, and then Alan Hevesi resigned in disgrace from his comptroller position. That’s a red herring argument that people use to unjustly slam the MTA.

      Look, I don’t think the MTA is particularly well organized or efficient, but this is a problem that started at the top with Pataki. It’s his responsibility through and through and the politicians today are simply making the same mistakes they made 10-15 years ago.

      Reply
    2. Marc Shepherd

      Actually, the Ravitch plan did propose expense cuts. Read it again.

      On top of that, AW’s argument ignores a fundamental truth. The MTA is a creation of the state. If it is mismanaged, then it’s the state’s own fault, and no one but the state can fix it.

      Now, the MTA has announced that it has a problem, and if the state does not provide any other solution, it will solve the problem by drastically hiking fares and slashing service. If the state doesn’t like that answer, then it needs to offer a different one. Otherwise, the state (i.e., all of us) will get the MTA’s solution.

      Reply
  2. Scott E

    I’ve been seeing some Letters-to-the-Editor in Newsday which seems to put another interesting, and slightly twisted (although accurate) reason to oppose the payroll tax. The letters suggest that the money to save the MTA is coming at the expense of school funding. Since the schools are required to pay the same payroll tax as private employees, the money to help the MTA effectively comes out of the school budgets.

    I’m not quite sure what the political response is (or should be) to this one.

    Reply
    1. AW

      Precisely, just as debt service on capital expenditures of the MTA come out of operating expenses, this issue is far from simple

      Reply
    2. Benjamin Kabak

      That’s easy. Just exempt schools from the payroll tax.

      Reply
      1. Scott E

        That’s what I first thought. But just like the “me too” that inevitably followed the whole idea of “economic stimulus” funding, pretty soon every elected official, judge, bus driver, sanitation worker, police officer, and any other public employee’s employer will ask for the same exemption. Then comes the second tier — the private companies who provide services for the public ones (school lunch providers, cleaning staff, copy/printing services, etc). Once you open up an exemption, it’s hard to draw the line where the exemption ends.

        Reply
  3. Gary Reilly

    “Just remember that the politicians — and not the MTA heads — are the ones responsible for this mess.”

    Truer words were never spoken. It’s true, as AW states, that this was set in motion long ago . . . but again by politicians, not the MTA. If you wanted to put a face on this disaster it would be the grimace/smile of George Pataki.

    The MTA has been systematically underfunded for far too long, piling up the debt that is choking the current budget. I’ve been beating that drum for a while. But only the current politicians can get us out of this mess. What Ben said is absolutely fair. The Senate needs to get it’s act together immediately.

    Reply
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