Op-Eds from Mike

Let’s be clear, Gov, Kathy Hochul’s congestion pricing plan isn’t about protecting the environment or easing traffic, it’s about forcing another tax on working and middle-class New Yorkers to bail out the bloated and corrupt MTA. It’s one more burden imposed by a state government that has lost touch with the people it’s supposed to serve, hurting families, workers and our state’s economy.

Hochul’s plan will penalize people for the “sin” of needing to commute to Manhattan to earn a living — including small business owners, police officers, firefighters, teachers and other essential workers who serve New York City and our state every single day. Hochul’s plan charges these folks up to $2,500 per year just to get to work — and then she has the gall to tell them she’s doing them a favor by not making it $5,000 a year. Thanks a lot, Kathy!

Make no mistake, congestion pricing is a symptom of a deeper problem in our state: government overreach and mismanagement. The MTA is one of the worst-run agencies in America. They’re facing a staggering $3 billion budget deficit in the coming years due in large part to fare evasion, which drains over $700 million a year from the system. And they’ve already racked up over $45.5 billion in debt on their books — a number larger than the budgets of 38 states.

However, rather than addressing these issues, trying to slash debt, and driving down internal costs, the MTA and Hochul are looking to squeeze more money out of New Yorkers to cover their own failures.

The MTA’s budget woes didn’t come out of the blue. The waste, fraud, abuse, and unchecked spending at the MTA is legendary. Janno Lieber and the MTA’s leadership operate under the assumption that Hochul and Albany Democrats will bail them out, regardless of how irresponsibly they manage their finances. We need real accountability for the MTA, including a full audit of their books, and an analysis of what must be done to tackle their uncontrollable spending habits.

Meanwhile, violent crime on the subway has surged, with murders in our subway system jumping more than 60%. New Yorkers are, understandably, increasingly hesitant to use public transportation due to these crimes, a direct result of our state’s disastrous cashless bail law that frees repeat offenders, allowing them to commit offenses again and again. Hochul has failed to address these serious safety issues. Rather than making public transit safer, she’s chosen to fast-track a tax that will push people away from going into the city altogether.

The entire process behind congestion pricing has been flawed from the start. It has only been made possible by manipulating federal programs, such as the Value Pricing Pilot Program, which Congress approved more than 30 years ago. The Biden Administration further enabled this scheme by shortcutting the environmental review process and fast-tracking Hochul’s significant changes to her proposal that she announced immediately after the election.

As we look to the future, I hope that President-Elect Donald Trump will work with me, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-Staten Island, and Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-Bergen County, and other opponents of congestion pricing to end this flawed policy once and for all. We need solutions that improve MTA services and don’t levy additional taxes on hardworking middle-class families. New Yorkers deserve accountability from the MTA, not another unnecessary tax to make calling New York home even more brutally expensive. Hochul’s congestion pricing plan won’t solve our transportation challenges. Instead, it punishes those who have no choice but to drive to work due to safety concerns or lack of access to mass transit.

I won’t stop working with Republicans and Democrats to put an end to this misguided policy, restore accountability to the MTA, and reduce the crushing tax burden on New Yorkers, which is driving away millions of residents from our state. You can count on that.

https://www.lohud.com/story/opinion/2024/11/26/kathy-hochul-congestion-pricing-cash-grab-opinion/76587362007/