throwsplasticattrees

throwsplasticattrees OP t1_jdj4o9j wrote

This should be interesting. State Auditor Diana DiZoglio responds that "we are not asking for permission". The classic, if you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't be concerned.

I would believe Speaker Mariano that the "people of the Commonwealth are final arbiters of the performance of their duly elected representatives" if every time I went to vote there was more than one option to elect a representative. It's hard to take this position seriously when the vast majority of elected representatives run uncontested election after election. It's difficult to arbitrate performance when the elected representatives only need their own ballot to win their seat.

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throwsplasticattrees t1_j9pqu44 wrote

Any information of what the plan is to replace those funds? Gas tax is unsustainable, a vehicle miles traveled tax will be a more effective means to fund road maintenance. But if the plan is to simply eliminate the gas tax with no replacement or dedicated road funding, it's a foolish endeavor.

We don't want our roads subject to annual appropriations. We want the funding proportional to the amount the roads are used since that's what drives maintenance costs.

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throwsplasticattrees t1_j9oo9kl wrote

I agree. I like the reservation system in general. First come, first served has it's merits, but can also be anxiety inducing to plan around. I feel like the reservation should be non-refundable to prevent space saving. It is very frustrating to arrive at a campground and find sites empty but reserved.

I've used a reserved site for a single night when rolling in late on a Friday night. It's like people reserve Friday for an arrival on Saturday. I don't do it out of habit, but when it's 10 PM and it's empty and I plan to be out by sunrise, I don't see the issue.

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throwsplasticattrees t1_j9o9iex wrote

This is frustrating. If there a refund for cancelling a reservation? If the site is paid for and unused, is it really different than if it is paid for and used?

The problem is when the door is reserved and then cancelled without penalty.

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throwsplasticattrees t1_j9fc5ie wrote

Check with your city/town planning department. If your city/town is eligible for Community Development Block Grant funds from the Federal Government, they may be used for programs to help first time buyers. Don't expect much, it won't be Daddy Warbucks help, but you may be eligible for lower interest rates, or some other closing cost assistance.

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throwsplasticattrees t1_j6ocymc wrote

Oh, I work in the industry, I can provide a perspective that may not be considered. Free transit is great, but more transit is better. If the state will supplement the fares with additional revenue and makes it free, that looks good doesn't it?

But there is a backside to that: if they had put that same amount of money into the system but kept the fares, the state can buy way more service, and that's what makes it attractive to passengers. If you take a bus that comes once an hour and now it comes twice, you can make commuting by bus much more attractive. Do that to routes that come every thirty minutes and now they come every fifteen your customers may not even need to look at a schedule. More people will ride. It's the frequency of service that puts more people on transit. Fare cost factors way less into the decision.

However, if the state only supplements the fare revenue making it free, but the service isn't great, it won't convince more people to ride. And, it works against the customer for demanding more service because the canned response is that they don't pay for it: "you get what you pay for".

There is also a deleterious effect that free transit fares can bring. Buses can become rolling homeless shelters. Without fare enforcement, there is nothing to prevent someone from riding all day, every day. This is not an anti-homeless position. They need proper facilities in the community to seek shelter, the free transit bus is not that facility but will be used that way in the absence of proper facilities.

Cynically, free transit only benefits the politicians that vote for it. It lets them off the hook of making real hard decisions about transit, transit infrastructure, and which road users should have the most access to the limited supply of roadways. Initiatives like dedicated bus lanes, level boarding platform stops, real time arrival information are costly and take space from single occupancy vehicles. Those are hard decisions to make, but ultimately benefit transit and drivers alike, they just don't play well in modern politics. So, instead, they go for the easy answer: free transit.

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throwsplasticattrees t1_j3xyjs6 wrote

I don't have children and yet a fair amount of my property tax and state income tax goes to support the public school system. Doesn't seem fair, now does it?

Its just me and the wife, but I have to purchase a family health insurance policy that is more than double the cost of a single plan. Doesn't seem fair, now does it?

We live in a society where we all contribute at different levels and receive benefits in different amounts. Just because you don't get a direct benefit doesn't mean you don't benefit. It's how it works.

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throwsplasticattrees t1_ixlson1 wrote

The only thing we can trust then to do is act in their own self interest.

Police have way too much power, and much of it comes from social hero worship they have induced. Cops aren't heroes, they are just doing a job that isn't even dangerous. It's time we recognize this. They aren't heroes, they are the C student that never left town.

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