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Permalink Reply by Frosinone on October 12, 2009 at 4:01am

imho it is the current retirement pension schemes that are the main reason for city/ county governments' and/or services' financial crises ... they get traditional pensions and not 401Ks

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Permalink Reply by GP on October 12, 2009 at 6:30am

They're going to keep cutting until we have nothing left of a transit system, either cut service or raise fares but doing both is asking for people to abandon public transit.

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Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on October 12, 2009 at 8:14am

And what about this? It's almost literally throwing money into a hole.

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Permalink Reply by brandon lee* on October 12, 2009 at 8:26am

I almost want to start riding the cta in hopes to save the 1200 jobs that would be cut. Are we joking?! How do they expect people to pay more while creating more jobless who will probably need that service to search for another job?

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Permalink Reply by Brian Bauer on October 12, 2009 at 11:44am

And on that topic, considering I just drained my bank account buying a wind/waterproof jacket and plan on using it, would anybody like to buy a u-pass?

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Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on October 12, 2009 at 1:15pm

Sell it back to the CTA for a few bucks less than they charged your school (and you) for it. I hear they need money.

Brian Bauer said:

And on that topic, considering I just drained my bank account buying a wind/waterproof jacket and plan on using it, would anybody like to buy a u-pass?

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Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on October 12, 2009 at 3:42pm

Expand your knowledge about this: Look into how the decline in retail sales since 2008 hurt the CTA, Metra, and Pace.

Frosinone said:

imho it is the current retirement pension schemes that are the main reason for city/ county governments' and/or services' financial crises ... they get traditional pensions and not 401Ks

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Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on October 12, 2009 at 4:01pm

How about you explain how retail sales are connected to public transit?

Steven Vance said:

Expand your knowledge about this: Look into how the decline in retail sales since 2008 hurt the CTA, Metra, and Pace.

Frosinone said:

imho it is the current retirement pension schemes that are the main reason for city/ county governments' and/or services' financial crises ... they get traditional pensions and not 401Ks

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Permalink Reply by Eric R on October 12, 2009 at 5:05pm

I believe the CTA and other transit agencies get revenue from sales tax.

On another note, how did that reporter get access to view the block 37 transit station? I guess a person can do anything with a helmet and a reflective vest.

Tank-Ridin' Ryan said:

How about you explain how retail sales are connected to public transit?

Steven Vance said:

Expand your knowledge about this: Look into how the decline in retail sales since 2008 hurt the CTA, Metra, and Pace.

Frosinone said:

imho it is the current retirement pension schemes that are the main reason for city/ county governments' and/or services' financial crises ... they get traditional pensions and not 401Ks

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on October 13, 2009 at 12:42am

Exactly.

brandon lee* said:

Are we joking?! How do they expect people to pay more while creating more jobless who will probably need that service to search for another job?

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on October 13, 2009 at 12:45am

It's a HUGE reason to hate Blago for what he did. While I have lots of friends over 65 who appreciate their free rides, most of them could afford to pay half fare instead of getting it for free. These freebies, the dysfunctional funding formula and the economy's contribution to lack of sales tax revenue are big reasons (but not the only reasons) for the current budget hole.

h3 said:

CTA and PACE recieve funding to cover the portion of operating costs not covered by fares (~1/2 to 2/3 depending on who you ask) as a fixed percentage of Cook County Sales Tax. The percentage was raised a few years ago for the first time since 1983 to adjust for inflation and stave off one of those "doomsday scenarios"-- that was when Blago blocked it at the last minute, refusing to sign unless he could be the big hero and take credit for free rides for seniors and disabled. That was the moment I began to hate him.
The city council had to have an emergency meeting to figure out how it was going to cover the free rides, and decided to raise the property transfer tax to cover it.
At the time people didn't realize a point would come soon in which almost no property was exchanging hands, and that cook county sales tax would suffer due to decreased spending in recessionary times.
There have been calls to redesign the CTA's dysfunctional funding formula from the ground up for decades, but our legislators have consistently failed us.
FYI the above applies to everyday operating costs only- capitol improvements are federally funded in the form of grants/earmarks.

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