I sometimes find it hard to comprehend why politicians who are clearly awful cannot be challenged even if they get tons of money from their wealthy backers. Case in point: Governor Andrew Cuomo.
In this opinion piece from TheWeek.com, that I discovered from Reality Based Educator's Twitter account, Ryan Cooper clearly makes the case that Governor Cuomo is responsible for the wretched shape of the New York City subway system.
Here are the opening paragraphs of Ryan's article:
The New York City subway system, by far the largest and best public transit system in the United States, has reached a crisis level of dysfunction over the past few months, with serious congestion, delays, and a recent derailment in Harlem that injured 34 passengers. In a delayed response, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) declared a "state of emergency" on Thursday and ordered the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to produce a reorganization plan to fix the problem.
Don't fall for his shtick.
Cuomo has been directly responsible for the subway for over six years. It has been obvious since he took power that something like this would happen and he's done nothing but make it worse. The crisis is a clear result of his incompetence, his abysmal politics, and his odious personality.
Cooper cites overcrowding (subway ridership has doubled since 1990), aging technology and overpriced infrastructure as the three main causes of the system's decline. All should have been seen by the governor who basically controls the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Cooper continues:
A quality leader would have seen the problem approaching (or listened to the experts who have been shouting about it for years), and proposed a crash program to upgrade, modernize, and expand the subway. Tackling the maintenance backlog would reduce delays and forestall expensive repairs from failures. Upgraded technology would reduce train headways, which together with more trains and stations would allow for enhanced throughput — now a critical necessity in downtown especially. And tackling the cost problem would enable everything else, as dollars could be stretched much, much further.
Cooper's conclusion is a commercial for anyone running against Cuomo:
The man just does not have a clue.
That's just the kind of politician Cuomo is — an ultra-cynical lying snake who does things like help Republicans keep control of the state Senate, or lie about why Port Authority tolls are being raised, or get in a pissing match with New York Mayor Bill de Blasio out of pure spite.
Throw in anti-public school, anti-teacher, anti-worker and you kind of know everything you need to know about Andrew Cuomo. Will he get a primary challenge from the left in 2018 as he runs for a third term?
5 comments:
Cuomo is transparent. He wants to be president and only helped DeBlasio because of charters. I'd vote for Mussolini before Cuomo. He had much more character and got the trains to run on time.
The roads in New York are horrible also. Cross over into any neighboring state, the difference is astounding. Smooth oaved roads, paintd lines, no big potholes, sometimes even gorgeous reflectors right thee on the midline.
Cuomo what are you doing with all that taxpayer money? Not from the wealthy, the hard working used to be middle class.
PS Thats how we ended up with Trump. Mussolini over Cuomo. Trump over Clinton. No choice in the
is oligarchy.
Bronx ATR,
You may rest assured that Mussolini is not a neoliberal and he is not funded by Goldman Sachs.
Abigail Shure
Cuomo is responsible because he appointed a political hack as chairman of the MTA.That incompetent did a lot of damage. Then Cuomo lies and tries to skate responsibility by saying that he only has 6 appointees on the MTA board, so he has no control. The MTA board has nothing to do with running the subways. Cuomo is directly responsible for the mess.
Check the costs of the 3 stations on the 2nd ave subway --- billions. Remember how attentive Cuomo was to make sure it opened on Jan. 1? ALso the new station on the 7 line -- massive expense and delays. They let the system rot to get nice stations for the wealthy.
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