The subway hasn't been "just fine" for the past 100 years. Up until the '80s disinvestment was the norm, to the point where pieces of elevated track were literally falling on people on the streets below. It takes a long time to correct 50+ years of deferred maintenance, and we're not out of the woods yet.
Fewer miles of track is a legacy of that time period, as subway replacements for demolished elevated lines never came, and then elevated lines had to be demolished because they were a safety hazard.
As far as construction costs go, the problem is actually that the MTA is not involved in construction union negotiations at all, and the firms are more than happy to oblige the unions and pass on the cost to their captive consumer. The barrier to entry for new firms is quite high due to byzantine NYS bidding rules as a result of '20s era reform, and even if you could have a new firm start up they'd be hiring from the same pool of workers; it's not as if specialized construction workers can be hired on visa.
At the heart of the issue is the obscure way that construction costs are set in New York. Worker wages and labor conditions are determined through negotiations between the unions and the companies, none of whom have any incentive to control costs. The transit authority has made no attempt to intervene to contain the spending.
The main issue is that New Yorkers are extremely cynical and detached from the elections process, particularly on state and local elections which tend to take place on non-presidential years. Ocasio-Cortez and Gounardes showed that it is possible to turn things around if voters are motivated enough, but for the most part they aren't, and party machine politicians on both sides would like to keep it that way.
is possible to turn things around if voters are motivated enough, but for the most part they aren't, and party machine politicians on both sides would like to keep it that way.
Reminds me of David Foster Wallace...
“If you are bored and disgusted by politics and don't bother to vote, you are in effect voting for the entrenched Establishments of the two major parties, who please rest assured are not dumb, and who are keenly aware that it is in their interests to keep you disgusted and bored and cynical and to give you every possible reason to stay at home doing one-hitters and watching MTV on primary day. By all means stay home if you want, but don't bullshit yourself that you're not voting. In reality, there is no such thing as not voting: you either vote by voting, or you vote by staying home and tacitly doubling the value of some Diehard's vote.”
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The subway hasn't been "just fine" for the past 100 years. Up until the '80s disinvestment was the norm, to the point where pieces of elevated track were literally falling on people on the streets below. It takes a long time to correct 50+ years of deferred maintenance, and we're not out of the woods yet.
Fewer miles of track is a legacy of that time period, as subway replacements for demolished elevated lines never came, and then elevated lines had to be demolished because they were a safety hazard.
As far as construction costs go, the problem is actually that the MTA is not involved in construction union negotiations at all, and the firms are more than happy to oblige the unions and pass on the cost to their captive consumer. The barrier to entry for new firms is quite high due to byzantine NYS bidding rules as a result of '20s era reform, and even if you could have a new firm start up they'd be hiring from the same pool of workers; it's not as if specialized construction workers can be hired on visa.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/nyregion/new-york-subway-...
Thanks for the insight. I will look into that law more. It doesnt excuse the political process that has kept it on the books though.
The main issue is that New Yorkers are extremely cynical and detached from the elections process, particularly on state and local elections which tend to take place on non-presidential years. Ocasio-Cortez and Gounardes showed that it is possible to turn things around if voters are motivated enough, but for the most part they aren't, and party machine politicians on both sides would like to keep it that way.
Reminds me of David Foster Wallace...