MTA's Doomsday Budget - UNFARE!

Holy crap. My wife and I will go from paying $172 to a whopping $206 a month for slower service with less employees at which to bitch. Grrrr. Argh. And not only is it this a ridiculous move during a brutal financial crisis, but the New York Times reports:

Transit advocates said these would be the most sweeping service cuts since the city’s fiscal crisis of the mid-1970s. Only once before in the 105-year history of the subway have fares risen two years in a row (fares last increased in March 2008).

“This is not cutting fat, this is cutting well into the bone,” said Andrew Albert, a rider advocate on the board. “This is going to make New York a very, very different place.”

That's right, folks. Welcome back to the 70s. Finally, a chance to wear bell bottoms! I thought I missed out on that!

Okay, seriously: Don't they have a crazy load of projects they can put a hold on to save some dough? What's the lesson learned here? Let's see what would happen if Starbucks took up the MTA's Doomsday Budget business plan...

"Hello, and welcome to Starbucks. Actually I am the only employee on today... they got rid of people who are just tellers... or baristas. Yeah, I know. Your grande half-calf, skim, mochachino latte used to cost $4.50, but from now on you'll be paying $8.50... and you can't have the skim... or mocha... and it has to be no-calf because we cut out the actual coffee. But-very exciting here-we are opening several new locations for your convenience."

I'm also tired of hearing the MTA say, "It's out of our hands. It's Albany's fault." Let's quit pretending, huh?

THEY ARE A MONOPOLY! THEY CAN DO WHATEVER THEY WANT! NO CHECKS! NO BALANCES!