Few New Yorkers may realize it, but today is an election day. From the relatively high-profile House race to replace former Rep. Anthony Weiner to a trio of Assembly districts in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, voters are being asked to head to the polls for some special elections. While transportation isn’t a major issue in any of these campaigns, it is always on the minds of New Yorkers, and to that end, the Tri-State Transportation Campaign has published a voters guide to transportation.
In the House race, New York City transit isn’t a major issue. David Weprin has opposed congestion pricing, and his GOP opponent Bob Turner repeated the tired talking about about the “job-killing” MTA-supporting payroll tax. The race in Brooklyn’s 54th Assembly district hasn’t touched upon transit while Jane Deacy in Queens also railed against the “job-killing” payroll tax. She has no other solutions for MTA funding, but neither does Democrat Phil Goldfeder. In Manhattan, GOP candidate Paul Niehaus also received the talking points memo about the “job killing” payroll tax while Dan Quart wants to “restructure the MTA to ensure dedicated funding streams so our subways, buses and roads do not fall into disrepair.” So there you have it; now get out there and vote.
1 comment
I doubt either guy is a transportation ace, but to say that a payroll tax is “job-killing” is true, it’s not a “tired talking point”. To put this in terms you can understand: Obama just announced his jobs plan which cuts payroll taxes as an inducement to hire. The MTA tax is a tax on payroll. This tax is an inducement to lower payroll. It may be the most wonderfulest way in the whole wiode world to support the MTA, but it most certainly kills jobs. If you had a payroll to meet, you might consider it differently.