Irony
This one goes out to my urban New York friends, many of whom, it seems, base their opinions about the problems with American politics and culture on the fact that they don't uniformly sync up with the politics and culture of... urban New York.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg all but conceded defeat Tuesday on his plan to reduce traffic by charging drivers extra fees, saying the state Legislature's failure to act was a "terrible setback" for the city.
"I can't ascribe motives to the lack of action in Albany, but I can definitively say the environment and the future quality of life in New York took a beating," Bloomberg said in a statement a day after the plan appeared to collapse in the state Capitol.
Mark my words, California, land of big cars and suburbs beyond the horizon, will someday have a more impressive environmental record on a per capita basis than your precious, much vaunted boroughs.
Update: Dear Atrios readers, welcome. Please note the lack of sneer--except at friends of mine like Ben Adler who I and Mr. Atrios agree is worthy of regular and intense sneering. Then, have a look around, and, if you'd like, bookmark me or add me to your RSS readers. Cheers!
I'm not sure who your "urban New York friends" are - or whether they hail from Rochester or Timmy's own Buffalo,but I hope that they could explain to you how the New York State Constitution gives certain powers to the State Legislature. Our State government is often characterized as the most dysfunctional in the nation. That is notas true as in New York City. On a per capital basis the five boroughs that make up N.Y.C have a far, far better environmental record than CA can dare to dream of.
Posted by: bbbustard | July 17, 2007 at 05:48 PM
Yeah, Beutler, if you want to crow triumphantly over New York City, at least pick something that New York City failed to do, not Albany. Or don't you understand that there's a New York State as well?
A truly insipid post.
Posted by: Glenn | July 17, 2007 at 05:52 PM
Before any of the (for the most part) New York-based commenters out there get too upset, please note, this is all very muchtongue in cheek.
Posted by: Brian | July 17, 2007 at 06:01 PM
42% of the people in NYC do not own cars jackass.
Posted by: seth edenbaum | July 17, 2007 at 08:29 PM
To be fair, one of the issues here isn't congestion pricing as a concept... it's that the enforcement of it would involve hundreds of cameras placed around the city, in order to monitor people and administer fines. I'm a NYC resident and I see the value of the congestion pricing idea, but I also think that those cameras are a legitimate civil liberties threat. For one thing, it's asking too much of people to have to answer in court for what a mindless camera sees. But I also wonder, once those cameeras are in place, whether or not they'll be used for other, non-traffic espionage.
Posted by: Mike M. | July 17, 2007 at 11:59 PM
I see. You couldn't hack it in the big city. Go drown your sorrys at the Fudruckers early bird special or something.
Posted by: Blah Blah Blah | July 18, 2007 at 10:24 AM
That's a good point Mike. Also, Fudruckers is a burger joint and a shit one at that. They have them in New York, too, Blah. Don't kid yourself.
Posted by: Brian | July 18, 2007 at 10:32 AM
I live in NYC. I was psyched about this going through.
I hope you enjoy laughing at us while we get kicked in the guts.
Posted by: nyer | July 18, 2007 at 10:37 AM