The MTA was saved by the banks?

[TheNewYorkElevated]

Two of the biggest banks in the United States, Bank of America and JPMorgan have been awarded up to $900 million dollars of the 's debt, with the main goal to finance the transit agency's projects for the subway, railroads and buses. Bank of America got $600 million dollars and JPMorgan got $300 million dollars. The bonds related to this sale are due in 2050, 30 years from now. 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-15/bank-of-america-jpmorgan-win-900-million-of-new-york-mta-debt
 

 

[Vulturious]

5 hours ago, TheNewYorkElevated said:

Two of the biggest banks in the United States, Bank of America and JPMorgan have been awarded up to $900 million dollars of the 's debt, with the main goal to finance the transit agency's projects for the subway, railroads and buses. Bank of America got $600 million dollars and JPMorgan got $300 million dollars. The bonds related to this sale are due in 2050, 30 years from now. 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-15/bank-of-america-jpmorgan-win-900-million-of-new-york-mta-debt
 

 

Well, it's better than nothing I guess even though they asked for $12 Billion. 

[Trainmaster5]

I've been trying for years to figure out the disconnect between some transit fans and the "real world" and I'm at a loss. Don't they still teach civics in junior and senior high schools ? Bondholders/ banks are the arbiters of what happens in the   along with the real estate interests. The politicians and the appointees, from the Governor on down, know this and act accordingly. Remember that the Governor who conceived the agency bitch slapped the mighty Robert Moses and humbled him. That Governor, Nelson Rockefeller, had a brother named David who controlled the Chase Manhattan Bank. Nelson had the governorship but David had the purse strings. $$$$=power. It's something some transit fans seem to overlook at times. Whether the funds come from DC, Albany, the City, or the counties the banks hold the markers. Just my take. Carry on.

[QM1to6Ave]

Well, this line isn't really surprising but sad to see in writing:

"Still, today’s yields are similar to those on junk-grade debt even though the MTA carries investment ratings."

[B35 via Church]

On 9/18/2020 at 8:40 PM, Trainmaster5 said:

I've been trying for years to figure out the disconnect between some transit fans and the "real world" and I'm at a loss. Don't they still teach civics in junior and senior high schools ? Bondholders/ banks are the arbiters of what happens in the   along with the real estate interests. The politicians and the appointees, from the Governor on down, know this and act accordingly. Remember that the Governor who conceived the agency bitch slapped the mighty Robert Moses and humbled him. That Governor, Nelson Rockefeller, had a brother named David who controlled the Chase Manhattan Bank. Nelson had the governorship but David had the purse strings. $$$$=power. It's something some transit fans seem to overlook at times. Whether the funds come from DC, Albany, the City, or the counties the banks hold the markers. Just my take. Carry on.

You're never going to figure out the disconnect between fanatics & pragmatists... Pretty sure you heard the saying feelings doesn't trump facts..... Emotionalism being used as a pejorative.... The whole bit isn't much different than attempting to figure out one of the oldest disconnects in all the free world - that of between men & women!

As far as civics, that may as well be a car to most anyone younger than the youngest Gen X-er now.... The only subject matter I took that remotely resembled civics, was that of American History back in high school - and that was an AP (advanced placement) course at that... It wasn't part of the "normal" curriculum, it was optional....

[Infamous85]

2010’s HS graduate here, I had to look up the definition of “civics” and I’m still somewhat lost as to what it means in this context.

But it’s too bad the government (at all levels) treats these transit agencies like garbage. MTA carries more passengers daily than all US air travel combined, several times over, yet these airlines are deemed “too big to fail” and receive bail-outs while transit agencies are left to dig in the couch. This entire debacle is a mess.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

On 9/18/2020 at 8:40 PM, Trainmaster5 said:

I've been trying for years to figure out the disconnect between some transit fans and the "real world" and I'm at a loss. Don't they still teach civics in junior and senior high schools ? Bondholders/ banks are the arbiters of what happens in the   along with the real estate interests. The politicians and the appointees, from the Governor on down, know this and act accordingly. Remember that the Governor who conceived the agency bitch slapped the mighty Robert Moses and humbled him. That Governor, Nelson Rockefeller, had a brother named David who controlled the Chase Manhattan Bank. Nelson had the governorship but David had the purse strings. $$$$=power. It's something some transit fans seem to overlook at times. Whether the funds come from DC, Albany, the City, or the counties the banks hold the markers. Just my take. Carry on.

I sometimes wonder if we're living on the same planet because transit fans don't seem to make the connection between reality and fantasy, that's for sure.

[Trainmaster5]

I graduated from high school 45+ years before you did so obviously the curriculum changed completely during those years. B35 has a bead on what my generation was taught albeit we learned it in junior high. Basically it boiled down to the responsibility of Federal,  state,  local governments and the citizenry and how they interacted with each other. You have to remember that I grew up with people who had personal knowledge of the Holocaust and was taught by their children and grandchildren .I'm an African American who came of age during the Civil Rights struggle so I'm well aware of the government's actions,  good and bad,  on the national and local level. Finally there was Vietnam which cemented my opinion of the role each participant was supposed to adhere to. I've seen the influence of the northern,  mass transit oriented big cities wane, while the southern,  western politicians took over the national focus. Let's get real. Mass transit is a very localized problem as far as Congress is concerned. Even suburban residents of the mass transit states have no use or concern for mass transit the further they are from the big cities. There was a time  in my life when almost every Congressional committee chairman was a Northerner. A Democrat who had common cause with the Republican members of their committee. Those days are gone but that's what we were taught about "civics" back then. As it pertained to American history it meant acting for the common good. BTW the reason why we spent so much time on this particular subject in junior and senior high vs World history...just think about how many countries became independent in the early to mid sixties. Just my perspective. YMMV.  Carry on. 

Edited September 21, 2020 by Trainmaster5

[Via Garibaldi 8]

5 minutes ago, Trainmaster5 said:

I graduated from high school 45+ years before you did so obviously the curriculum changed completely during those years. B35 has a bead on what my generation was taught albeit we learned it in junior high. Basically it boiled down to the responsibility of Federal,  state,  local governments and the citizenry and how they interacted with each other. You have to remember that I grew up with people who had personal knowledge of the Holocaust and was taught by their children and grandchildren .I'm an African American who came of age during the Civil Rights struggle so I'm well aware of the government's actions,  good and bad,  on the national and local level. Finally there was Vietnam which cemented my opinion of the role each participant was supposed to adhere to. I've seen the influence of the northern,  mass transit oriented big cities wane, while the southern,  western politicians took over the national focus. Let's get real. Mass transit is a very localized problem as far as Congress is concerned. Even suburban residents of the mass transit states have no use or concern for mass transit the further they are from the big cities. There was a time  in my life when almost every Congressional committee chairman was a Northerner. A Democrat who had common cause with the Republican members of their committee. Those days are gone but that's what we were taught about "civics" back then. As it pertained to American history it meant acting for the common good. BTW the reason why we spent so much time on this particular subject in junior and senior high vs World history...just think about how many countries became independent in the early to mid sixties. Just my perspective. YMMV.  Carry on. 

There seems to be a lot that isn't taught in school anymore. I'm also appalled at the poor grammar that our youth uses today. They don't know the difference between "your" and "you're", "there", "their" and "they're" and "dose" versus "doesn't". It's crazy.

[bobtehpanda]

On 9/18/2020 at 5:40 PM, Trainmaster5 said:

I've been trying for years to figure out the disconnect between some transit fans and the "real world" and I'm at a loss. Don't they still teach civics in junior and senior high schools ?

They teach super, super basic stuff, enough to pretend like they still do, but not so much that you start asking uncomfortable questions like "what's the Queens County machine?"

[B35 via Church]

4 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

There seems to be a lot that isn't taught in school anymore. I'm also appalled at the poor grammar that our youth uses today. They don't know the difference between "your" and "you're", "there", "their" and "they're" and "dose" versus "doesn't". It's crazy.

Good luck getting these youngsters to actually sign their name on something.... They just print twice when they're told to sign & print....

[Via Garibaldi 8]

13 minutes ago, B35 via Church said:

Good luck getting these youngsters to actually sign their name on something.... They just print twice when they're told to sign & print....

It's scary. We're millennials, but we were fortunate enough to have had grammar drilled in our heads while being exposed to technology. I also had penmanship and had to learn cursive. That's something that is likely a dying breed with the generation after ours.

Edited September 21, 2020 by Via Garibaldi 8

[Trainmaster5]

You can imagine what we Boomers went through.  Penmanship,  grammar and cursive were definitely staples back then. It fascinates my young nephews that I can write cursive with either hand. IIRC BrooklynBus and I had French lessons in the sixth grade and I continued my Romance language education with 6 years of Spanish. My proteges,  11 and 13, can't believe that I started reading on my own, and not just school assignments,  in the fourth grade. I've been an avid reader since then and when my mom told them that I had an adult library card before I got to junior high school that really impressed them. That's what frustrates me about some posters that know every bus or subway type but lack critical thinking when describing transit issues. Enough of my past. It's a different era. Such is progress I guess. Carry on. 

Edited September 21, 2020 by Trainmaster5
Context

[Trainmaster5]

21 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

There seems to be a lot that isn't taught in school anymore. I'm also appalled at the poor grammar that our youth uses today. They don't know the difference between "your" and "you're", "there", "their" and "they're" and "dose" versus "doesn't". It's crazy.

I don't how many times I've read posts in the subway or bus threads where some line, yard, or depot is" loosing", rather than "losing", some piece of equipment. Make that mistake more than one time and I guarantee you that my mom or my teachers would never let you forget it. Writing the word correctly would mean repeating it 50 times in your notebook or at the blackboard. Let's just say that your peers/classmates were rougher on you than the adults. The youngsters showed no sympathy back in those days.

[Deucey]

17 hours ago, Trainmaster5 said:

You can imagine what we Boomers went through.  Penmanship,  grammar and cursive were definitely staples back then. It fascinates my young nephews that I can write cursive with either hand. IIRC BrooklynBus and I had French lessons in the sixth grade and I continued my Romance language education with 6 years of Spanish. My proteges,  11 and 13, can't believe that I started reading on my own, and not just school assignments,  in the fourth grade. I've been an avid reader since then and when my mom told them that I had an adult library card before I got to junior high school that really impressed them. That's what frustrates me about some posters that know every bus or subway type but lack critical thinking when describing transit issues. Enough of my past. It's a different era. Such is progress I guess. Carry on. 

I’m the last year of Gen X or Gen Y. I still remember how to write cursive, and I remember the world when Oxford commas were the norm if you weren’t a print journalist.

[R10 2952]

4 or 5 years ago I remember some twenty-something yuppie at PABT asking me if he could borrow my cell phone to make a call because his battery died.  I pointed behind him and said, "There's a bank of payphones right there."

Disoriented look on the kid's face was priceless....

Edited September 22, 2020 by R10 2952

[bobtehpanda]

14 hours ago, R10 2952 said:

4 or 5 years ago I remember some twenty-something yuppie at PABT asking me if he could borrow my cell phone to make a call because his battery died.  I pointed behind him and said, "There's a bank of payphones right there."

Disoriented look on the kid's face was priceless....

To be fair, a fair amount of the payphones around New York no longer work.

[R10 2952]

1 hour ago, bobtehpanda said:

To be fair, a fair amount of the payphones around New York no longer work.

That may be the case now, but at the time the incident I described occurred (2015), the ones at PABT, GCT, and Penn still worked.  Saw people still make calls from them occasionally.

 

Edited September 22, 2020 by R10 2952

[Deucey]

17 hours ago, R10 2952 said:

4 or 5 years ago I remember some twenty-something yuppie at PABT asking me if he could borrow my cell phone to make a call because his battery died.  I pointed behind him and said, "There's a bank of payphones right there."

Disoriented look on the kid's face was priceless....

Amazing that I and my younger sister are the last generation that know how to call collect from pay phones or use phone & calling cards.

Speed talking to beat the beep is a lost language.

[Around the Horn]

1998 kid here, they taught us cursive in elementary school until the 3rd grade and then *poof* it just disappeared never to be seen again.

[bobtehpanda]

Cursive doesn't really have a point other than signing in the modern era, and I barely use it for that (I was raised by people in medicine so I have a scrawly doctor's signature). I know my school offered ballpoint calligraphy as an art elective.

[GojiMet86]

19 minutes ago, bobtehpanda said:

Cursive doesn't really have a point other than signing in the modern era, and I barely use it for that (I was raised by people in medicine so I have a scrawly doctor's signature). I know my school offered ballpoint calligraphy as an art elective.

 

I learned cursive, too. But I really don't understand what the praise here is all about. Sounds more like reminiscing about the good old days, about how everything was better.

[Trainmaster5]

2 hours ago, GojiMet86 said:

 

I learned cursive, too. But I really don't understand what the praise here is all about. Sounds more like reminiscing about the good old days, about how everything was better.

Actually everything wasn't better back then. I have a pretty good memory or so I've been told. I remember a teacher saying that all change is not guaranteed to be better because we humans have a tendency to take backward steps while still insisting it's progress. Just had a conversation with a younger relative who can't imagine what we oldtimers did without calculators and computers. He got silent when I told him that calculators and computers have human input to get results that humans need quickly and are verified by human beings. When he was in grade school I used to mind him a few nights a week and check his homework. I finally met his teacher and we laughed because she was teaching " to the test" but she learned her math differently than she was teaching and I, Mr. Dinosaur, learned a completely different way. As long as we all came up with the same answer it was all good. These are the good old days to the younger generation so I won't rain on their parade. My thoughts. Now back to the topic .Carry on.

[Deucey]

25 minutes ago, Trainmaster5 said:

When he was in grade school I used to mind him a few nights a week and check his homework. I finally met his teacher and we laughed because she was teaching " to the test" but she learned her math differently than she was teaching and I, Mr. Dinosaur, learned a completely different way.

It’s kinda nice Common Core teaches kids to do math the way we do it in our heads, but I feel like memorizing that times table chart is still needed.

4 hours ago, Around the Horn said:

1998 kid here, they taught us cursive in elementary school until the 3rd grade and then *poof* it just disappeared never to be seen again.

Did schools out here make you stop using pencils outside of math class in 5th grade like they did us in Northern California?

[Around the Horn]

1 hour ago, Deucey said:

Did schools out here make you stop using pencils outside of math class in 5th grade like they did us in Northern California?

They didn't really make us stop using them. It was more of a gentle push to use pens instead in 5th and 6th grade so that by 7th grade we were using pens instead of pencils for everything except math.