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The MTA has decided to raise subway fare to $3


Via Garibaldi 8

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That particular individual and that organization are so melodramatic, that its not even worth listening to them anymore...

It's more realistic than you think it is. Money equals freedom. And when you don't have much and sometimes have to choose between travel and eating, it's hard.

 

Not being dramatic, but even I've had those times. Thanks to the minimum wage increase, it's become a slight less of a problem.

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It's more realistic than you think it is. Money equals freedom. And when you don't have much and sometimes have to choose between travel and eating, it's hard.

 

Not being dramatic, but even I've had those times. Thanks to the minimum wage increase, it's become a slight less of a problem.

Well I get it.  I've been working since I was 15 because I relished economic independence (asking your parents for money for this and that gets old real quick), and I've worked plenty of minimum wage jobs during my high school and college years to have pocket money and work experience, so I totally understand.  What I don't get is how much of an increase it would be that he would have to give up his cell service.  That seems a bit dramatic to me.  If you think the minimum wage is bad now, I remember when I worked with the (MTA).  It had to be a little more than $5 an hour ($5.15 I think). Iol I found an article on this guy.  If it's really that tough, he needs to go out and work and help out.  He's 23 so he's old enough to be working.  I'm critical because there is no easy way.  At 23, I was working 2 or 3 jobs to get to where I wanted to go.  It's all about hard work and hustling and not looking for hand outs. 

 

 

Even an increase of a few dollars would be an additional hardship, said Samuel Santaella. The 23-year-old, his mother and 10-year-old sister get a couple of hundred dollars a month in public assistance.

"The MetroCard is a must," Santaella said. And to pay for it, he said, "We have to cut down on food a little bit toward the end of the month."

Source: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/7c5b0b58543f445fbbcc7743aa7527cf/transit-fares-soar-nyc-advocates-push-discounts

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Well I get it.  I've been working since I was 15 because I relished economic independence (asking your parents for money for this and that gets old real quick), and I've worked plenty of minimum wage jobs during my high school and college years to have pocket money and work experience, so I totally understand.  What I don't get is how much of an increase it would be that he would have to give up his cell service.  That seems a bit dramatic to me.  If you think the minimum wage is bad now, I remember when I worked with the (MTA).  It had to be a little more than $5 an hour ($5.15 I think). Iol I found an article on this guy.  If it's really that tough, he needs to go out and work and help out.  He's 23 so he's old enough to be working.  I'm critical because there is no easy way.  At 23, I was working 2 or 3 jobs to get to where I wanted to go.  It's all about hard work and hustling and not looking for hand outs. 

 

Source: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/7c5b0b58543f445fbbcc7743aa7527cf/transit-fares-soar-nyc-advocates-push-discounts

I mean, it's not bad now. But it's not enough to live here either. He probably has some mainstream company not realizing there is this thing called Boost Mobile. And I'm pretty sure that 5.15 Minim wage is pretty much what 7.25 equated to in todays dollars. So I wouldn't even call that much of a difference. But minimum wage discussion is for another topic.

 

It's also not that easy to get a job. I got lucky each time because of who I knew or being in the right place at the right time. The past few months were hard because I was out of work due to surgery. You can work hard and still need benefits. You can't even get benefits these days without earning them. A couple hundred a month in PA is nothing. A couple hundred to cover food and transportation, for three people, is nothing. And how do you know they aren't working? Poverty is a thing. For all you know, he can't find a job right now. These days, it's hard to find a place where you can just walk into a place and go, "Here's my resume". Most places do things online and you have to sit in the same pool as a few hundred others, hoping to get picked. He may not have the right skills to get him a job. Interview skills to ace that. Many factors that need to be considered. Just because he's 23 doesn't mean there aren't things holding him back.

 

You can't know what his situation is just from a bit in an article. Just like unless I tell you, you can't know what my struggle is.

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I mean, it's not bad now. But it's not enough to live here either. He probably has some mainstream company not realizing there is this thing called Boost Mobile. And I'm pretty sure that 5.15 Minim wage is pretty much what 7.25 equated to in todays dollars. So I wouldn't even call that much of a difference. But minimum wage discussion is for another topic.

 

It's also not that easy to get a job. I got lucky each time because of who I knew or being in the right place at the right time. The past few months were hard because I was out of work due to surgery. You can work hard and still need benefits. You can't even get benefits these days without earning them. A couple hundred a month in PA is nothing. A couple hundred to cover food and transportation, for three people, is nothing. And how do you know they aren't working? Poverty is a thing. For all you know, he can't find a job right now. These days, it's hard to find a place where you can just walk into a place and go, "Here's my resume". Most places do things online and you have to sit in the same pool as a few hundred others, hoping to get picked. He may not have the right skills to get him a job. Interview skills to ace that. Many factors that need to be considered. Just because he's 23 doesn't mean there aren't things holding him back.

 

You can't know what his situation is just from a bit in an article. Just like unless I tell you, you can't know what my struggle is.

Yeah well 23 is 23.  You can either make excuses for yourself or get out there and make it work.  

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http://www.mta.info/news/2017/01/25/mta-board-keeps-base-fare-flat-approves-lowest-fare-toll-increases-2009

 

As has been reported elsewhere, here is the MTA press release about the fare increase. 

 

Noting that it's the "LOWEST fare increase since 2009" is a little self-congratulatory, eh?  :mellow:

I guess they have to sell it somehow, but I did the math and I am pushing ever so close to $500.00 a month between my Metro-North pass and express bus weekly pass... $446.00 - 505.50 for months with longer weeks.  Granted I use the hell out of both passes overall but still.  There are some days that I only use the Metro-North pass when I stay in the city...

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Well I get it.  I've been working since I was 15 because I relished economic independence (asking your parents for money for this and that gets old real quick), and I've worked plenty of minimum wage jobs during my high school and college years to have pocket money and work experience, so I totally understand.  What I don't get is how much of an increase it would be that he would have to give up his cell service. That seems a bit dramatic to me.  If you think the minimum wage is bad now, I remember when I worked with the (MTA).  It had to be a little more than $5 an hour ($5.15 I think). Iol I found an article on this guy.  If it's really that tough, he needs to go out and work and help out.  He's 23 so he's old enough to be working.  I'm critical because there is no easy way.  At 23, I was working 2 or 3 jobs to get to where I wanted to go.  It's all about hard work and hustling and not looking for hand outs. 

 

Source: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/7c5b0b58543f445fbbcc7743aa7527cf/transit-fares-soar-nyc-advocates-push-discounts

 

You don't know if he actually is or isn't working. Maybe he works for Riders Alliance itself (then again, I think they offer MetroCard stipends so maybe not). Cell phone service, not sure what plan he has, but if it's one of those $40/month plans, I could see how getting rid of it could help him scrape up enough for a MetroCard. Not buying new clothes....can't really say I feel sorry for him considering I don't go clothes shopping too often myself.

 

And he's saying the minimum wage increase has helped. We just had a nice little jump from $9/hr to $11/hr that took effect on New Year's Eve. (It's going to go up to $15/hr in like 2-3 years. I forget the details, but I know right now it's $11/hr for large employers, $12/hr for fast-food employers, and $10.50/hr for small businesses with less than 10 workers I believe). 

 

In any case, I do actually agree that people should hustle first before looking for handouts. At my minimum wage job, it annoys me when my coworkers complain about not having enough money, but yet they don't want to pick up an extra shift or extra hours.

 

I remember reading an article about a guy who made $9/hr (this was a few years ago. I think the minimum wage was $7.25 at the time, so he was making a little more than that) and he's complaining about how he has to walk home for 3 hours a day so he can buy milk for his daughter. 3 hours a day times 5 days a week is 15 hours per week. Most minimum wage jobs usually try to keep their workers around 15-20 hours per week, so that works out perfectly (if he's lucky, he can get the hours at his first job so he doesn't even have to go through the extra traveling). A few evenings a week, or maybe a couple of overnight or weekend shifts....granted he'd have even less time to spend with his daughter, but at least he'd know she's well-fed.

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The Fare for LIRR and Metro North is getting ridiculous. Especially going short distances (Nassau/Westchester). It is getting to the point that it's cheaper to take a curb side bus all the way to Boston, than a Metro North Train to Bridgeport.

I agree.  That's another thing that is leading to subway overcrowding because the people in suburbs are running to pack on the subways for a cheaper ride.  

 

You don't know if he actually is or isn't working. Maybe he works for Riders Alliance itself (then again, I think they offer MetroCard stipends so maybe not). Cell phone service, not sure what plan he has, but if it's one of those $40/month plans, I could see how getting rid of it could help him scrape up enough for a MetroCard. Not buying new clothes....can't really say I feel sorry for him considering I don't go clothes shopping too often myself.

 

And he's saying the minimum wage increase has helped. We just had a nice little jump from $9/hr to $11/hr that took effect on New Year's Eve. (It's going to go up to $15/hr in like 2-3 years. I forget the details, but I know right now it's $11/hr for large employers, $12/hr for fast-food employers, and $10.50/hr for small businesses with less than 10 workers I believe). 

 

In any case, I do actually agree that people should hustle first before looking for handouts. At my minimum wage job, it annoys me when my coworkers complain about not having enough money, but yet they don't want to pick up an extra shift or extra hours.

 

I remember reading an article about a guy who made $9/hr (this was a few years ago. I think the minimum wage was $7.25 at the time, so he was making a little more than that) and he's complaining about how he has to walk home for 3 hours a day so he can buy milk for his daughter. 3 hours a day times 5 days a week is 15 hours per week. Most minimum wage jobs usually try to keep their workers around 15-20 hours per week, so that works out perfectly (if he's lucky, he can get the hours at his first job so he doesn't even have to go through the extra traveling). A few evenings a week, or maybe a couple of overnight or weekend shifts....granted he'd have even less time to spend with his daughter, but at least he'd know she's well-fed.

Listen at 23 I was just finishing up my degree and coming back to the States.  I stayed behind for a while to do some traveling and then came back after a few months.  I was such a good worker that I was able to immediately go back to my old jobs.  I worked overnights (grave yard shift) doing security and worked my old office job during the day so that I had money coming in while I waited for my final grades. Once I had my degree, I started temping until I was hired full-time and the rest is history.  My point is at 23 I wasn't depending on help from my parents or relatives to pay for my expenses, and even when I lived in Italy, it was off of my own money that I made working.  My parents helped here and there, but overall I paid for my expenses.  My parents' attitude was we put you through high school, fed you and clothed you, and if you want to go to college you, we'll help you, but we aren't going to give you everything.  Gotta work for what you want.  My cousins on the other hand were spoiled rotten and they wish they had the experiences that I had.  This guy should not be depending on his mom's public assistance at 23, whether he is working or not.  That's my take on it.  He's going to be in his 30's and still living at home...  As a young person, I believe young people need to make a way for themselves instead of making excuses.  Makes you a survivor long-term.

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I agree.  That's another thing that is leading to subway overcrowding because the people in suburbs are running to pack on the subways for a cheaper ride.  

 

Listen at 23 I was just finishing up my degree and coming back to the States.  I stayed behind for a while to do some traveling and then came back after a few months.  I was such a good worker that I was able to immediately go back to my old jobs.  I worked overnights (grave yard shift) doing security and worked my old office job during the day so that I had money coming in while I waited for my final grades. Once I had my degree, I started temping until I was hired full-time and the rest is history.  My point is at 23 I wasn't depending on help from my parents or relatives to pay for my expenses, and even when I lived in Italy, it was off of my own money that I made working.  My parents helped here and there, but overall I paid for my expenses.  My parents' attitude was we put you through high school, fed you and clothed you, and if you want to go to college you, we'll help you, but we aren't going to give you everything.  Gotta work for what you want.  My cousins on the other hand were spoiled rotten and they wish they had the experiences that I had.  This guy should not be depending on his mom's public assistance at 23, whether he is working or not.  That's my take on it.  He's going to be in his 30's and still living at home...  As a young person, I believe young people need to make a way for themselves instead of making excuses.  Makes you a survivor long-term.

 

Ah, yes, because being in your 20s today just as easy as it was when you were in your 20s, given that even at public colleges in-state tuition rates are rising at more than double inflation, and this is before we start talking about food, rent, transport, utilities, etc.

 

Older people need to realize that the 20s experience today is much different. Cost of living is higher, cost of education is higher, finding a paid job or internship that doesn't require already having five years of experience or a college degree is harder. The era where you could work a summer job and use that money for college, rent, and food for the rest of the year is long gone, and for most young people travel is just out of the question.

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Ah, yes, because being in your 20s today just as easy as it was when you were in your 20s, given that even at public colleges in-state tuition rates are rising at more than double inflation, and this is before we start talking about food, rent, transport, utilities, etc.

 

Older people need to realize that the 20s experience today is much different. Cost of living is higher, cost of education is higher, finding a paid job or internship that doesn't require already having five years of experience or a college degree is harder. The era where you could work a summer job and use that money for college, rent, and food for the rest of the year is long gone, and for most young people travel is just out of the question.

Yeah because I'm such a dinosaur.  Listen, college didn't just become expensive.  Yes, the cost of tuition has been going up considerably, but it was expensive when I attended too.  My last semester was over $20,000.  You're the first one to yell about how great globalism is but these are some of the consequences... Kids that should be working now have to compete with other people who are trying to support their family, but we know how great retraining has been.  You talk out of both sides of your mouth and it's quite funny to say the least.

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Yeah because I'm such a dinosaur.  Listen, college didn't just become expensive.  Yes, the cost of tuition has been going up considerably, but it was expensive when I attended too.  My last semester was over $20,000.  You're the first one to yell about how great globalism is but these are some of the consequences... Kids that should be working now have to compete with other people who are trying to support their family, but we know how great retraining has been.  You talk out of both sides of your mouth and it's quite funny to say the least.

 

20,000, today, would be on the cheaper end for a SUNY today, unless you lived with your parents and depended on them for food, shelter, etc. Retraining today doesn't work because it's so expensive, because government has continually cut its share of higher education funding to the point that SUNY and CUNY get the lion's share of their funding from tuition, when historically this was not close to being the case (remember that CUNY was initially free). The elites have reaped all the gains from globalization, yet poorer people do not see the benefits because for whatever reason, we are allergic to the obvious solution, which is to take some of those economic gains and provide educational stipends for those who need retraining. Literally every other developed country in the world does this except the United States.

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20,000, today, would be on the cheaper end for a SUNY today, unless you lived with your parents and depended on them for food, shelter, etc. Retraining today doesn't work because it's so expensive, because government has continually cut its share of higher education funding to the point that SUNY and CUNY get the lion's share of their funding from tuition, when historically this was not close to being the case (remember that CUNY was initially free). The elites have reaped all the gains from globalization, yet poorer people do not see the benefits because for whatever reason, we are allergic to the obvious solution, which is to take some of those economic gains and provide educational stipends for those who need retraining. Literally every other developed country in the world does this except the United States.

$20,000+ a semester is not on the "cheaper end" today... By comparison, my master's degree today would be around $80,000... I checked the yearly tuition of one school I attended before going to a private school, and per year, it is still well under what I paid for a semester, at $16,500, and that's the whole package.  Most would qualify for aid.  

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Kids today are screwed compared to previous generations. College costs have been going up for 2 main reasons:

 

-Decrease in government funding (ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION) of public universities

-Administrative bloat and needless capital projects at BOTH public and private universities

 

Sound a lot like the problems with costs in the transportation industry????

 

Kids today also make about 20% less (ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION) than their parents did.
SOURCE: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/01/13/millennials-falling-behind-boomer-parents/96530338/

 

They are less likely to have full benefits at a job, far less likely to have a defined benefit pension plan and must, in many cases, FULLY FUND THEIR OWN RETIREMENT. They are subject to the highest costs in the developed world for healthcare and housing, and can look forward to paying someone else's mortgage for them by being forced to rent well into their 40s...which ensures they'll have to pay a mortgage well beyond what should be retirement years if they hope to ever own a home at all.

 

Government made its f**king choice. Government supports contractors that generally do the same work in-house employees do at roughly double the cost (and that includes the cost of those pesky benefits you have to pay employees!) Government supports "initiatives" (if you can even call it that) overseas to protect the interests or cash rich multinational corporations that don't give a shit about the US, only where the next dollar will come from, despite the fact that these cost trillions, instead of investing in its own infrastucture, roads, people, and paving the way to a brighter future. Government would rather look the other way as these same companies degrade what was once the greatest standard of living in the world, forcing American labor to compete with slavery, and undoing 65 years of gains for workers and families that ultimately grew the standard of living in America as much as the previous 165.

 

Now we are living in a f**king economic feudalism, anyone who is responsible with their money feels it and is pissed off, and the majority of this country is so god damned illiterate and dumb it watches - and even enables! - as a man who has literally done nothing except con the world and promote himself falsely and take credit for a "business acumen" that largely consisted of being a rich heir who sat there and did nothing but inherit the first half of his life, wins an election people think still means something...when it reality it just enables the snakes in Congress who are bought and sold by corporate America, to continue enacting their anti-worker, anti-family agenda...and the most important topic the eve of the inauguration wasn't how to REALLY and meaningfully fight back but rather about a bunch of f**king charletans (celebrity entertainers) and what "they" thought as if the world is really supposed to give a shit about what a bunch of airhead idiots who maybe have a decent singing voice or a team with mad autotune skillz.


$20,000+ a semester is not on the "cheaper end" today... By comparison, my master's degree today would be around $80,000... I checked the yearly tuition of one school I attended before going to a private school, and per year, it is still well under what I paid for a semester, at $16,500, and that's the whole package.  Most would qualify for aid.  

 

I am shocked that you would defend "aid"

 

You know what aid is? A way of saying you should be dependent on the government or the charity of an institution. That's un-American. America used to be all about we will give you a standard of living that will, through hard work, make you able to afford almost anything you set as a goal.

 

And that's not the case anymore, because you will need to rely on the "kindness of strangers" or the "kindness of the government" to open certain doors for you that you obviously can't unlock by yourself.

 

I'm not OK with that message.

 

Improve my standard of living.

 

Improve OUR standard of living.

 

Stop offering me trinkets.

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Kids today are screwed compared to previous generations. College costs have been going up for 2 main reasons:

 

-Decrease in government funding (ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION) of public universities

-Administrative bloat and needless capital projects at BOTH public and private universities

 

Sound a lot like the problems with costs in the transportation industry????

 

Kids today also make about 20% less (ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION) than their parents did.

SOURCE: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/01/13/millennials-falling-behind-boomer-parents/96530338/

 

They are less likely to have full benefits at a job, far less likely to have a defined benefit pension plan and must, in many cases, FULLY FUND THEIR OWN RETIREMENT. They are subject to the highest costs in the developed world for healthcare and housing, and can look forward to paying someone else's mortgage for them by being forced to rent well into their 40s...which ensures they'll have to pay a mortgage well beyond what should be retirement years if they hope to ever own a home at all.

 

Government made its f**king choice. Government supports contractors that generally do the same work in-house employees do at roughly double the cost (and that includes the cost of those pesky benefits you have to pay employees!) Government supports "initiatives" (if you can even call it that) overseas to protect the interests or cash rich multinational corporations that don't give a shit about the US, only where the next dollar will come from, despite the fact that these cost trillions, instead of investing in its own infrastucture, roads, people, and paving the way to a brighter future. Government would rather look the other way as these same companies degrade what was once the greatest standard of living in the world, forcing American labor to compete with slavery, and undoing 65 years of gains for workers and families that ultimately grew the standard of living in America as much as the previous 165.

 

Now we are living in a f**king economic feudalism, anyone who is responsible with their money feels it and is pissed off, and the majority of this country is so god damned illiterate and dumb it watches - and even enables! - as a man who has literally done nothing except con the world and promote himself falsely and take credit for a "business acumen" that largely consisted of being a rich heir who sat there and did nothing but inherit the first half of his life, wins an election people think still means something...when it reality it just enables the snakes in Congress who are bought and sold by corporate America, to continue enacting their anti-worker, anti-family agenda...and the most important topic the eve of the inauguration wasn't how to REALLY and meaningfully fight back but rather about a bunch of f**king charletans (celebrity entertainers) and what "they" thought as if the world is really supposed to give a shit about what a bunch of airhead idiots who maybe have a decent singing voice or a team with mad autotune skillz.

 

I am shocked that you would defend "aid"

 

You know what aid is? A way of saying you should be dependent on the government or the charity of an institution. That's un-American. America used to be all about we will give you a standard of living that will, through hard work, make you able to afford almost anything you set as a goal.

 

And that's not the case anymore, because you will need to rely on the "kindness of strangers" or the "kindness of the government" to open certain doors for you that you obviously can't unlock by yourself.

 

I'm not OK with that message.

 

Improve my standard of living.

 

Improve OUR standard of living.

 

Stop offering me trinkets.

I'm at work trying not to applaud this masterpiece of a post. I appreciate this so much. 

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