Big Patrick Victory

From a Patrick presser, something like this should be huge news. Unfortunately, it's overshadowed by all the silly, pesky issues.

BOSTON – July 24, 2009 -- Governor Deval Patrick and legislative leaders announced today that the Commonwealth has saved $190 million in transportation-related costs as a direct result of sweeping transportation reform signed into law less than one month ago. Due to five risky financial transactions – so-called “swaptions” - entered into by the Turnpike Authority in 2001, the Authority was at direct risk of having to pay the financial institution UBS $257 million dollars immediately. The passage of transportation reform improved the Authority’s bond rating to the point of negating the need to pay $190 million of that amount. Today, it was also announced that UBS would extend the July 24th deadline for payment or other resolution of the final swaption – valued at approximately $67 million – to allow for more time for the state to reach a similarly positive result.

Pike Just Doesn't Get It

It doesn't matter how much the Pike tries to defend using tolls for paying off the Big Dig, they just are no longer allowed to do it. They can hope and pray the current lawsuit gets dismissed, but Jan Schlictman has won tougher battles. He's going to win this one, on the merits. Beyond that lawsuit, though, the state just passed a new law explicitly saying the Pike can no longer use tolls to pay for the Big Dig -- that the tolls have to pay for the roads toll riders are on.

Now, this new law was dropped on the T pretty quickly, probably without enough new revenue to immediately stop using toll money for Big Dig debts. However, I feel no compassion for this organization because they're not even sorry or apologizing for their predicament. They're not trying to figure out a way to get out of the situation. They don't even want to comply with the law. A new law was created and they're content to just freaking ignore it.

Short of the state compelling them to obey, they won't. Let's hope there was some teeth to this new law, otherwise it's going to be meaningless. Meanwhile, toll users should be getting ready for a big, fat reimbursement once Jan Schlictman wins his court case.

HT David Guarino.

Toll Fraud

[Note: Please read the important update below. The Pike's still in the wrong, but for a slightly different - and not quite as bad - reason. The Herald article was a little bit confusing, so I apologize for getting some of this wrong originally. Went offline today to learn more so I could correct it.]

Why do we allow this authority to exist anymore?

A $100 million state legislative bailout of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority was supposed to make possible a reduction in tolls - but there’s been no talk of fulfilling that promise since the cash was approved weeks ago.

And what do we get?

“Since then the Authority has experienced additional fiscal strains,” said Executive Office of Transportation spokesman Colin Durrant. “The costs of the system simply do not permit toll reduction to be a viable option.”

Should anyone be surprised? A great deal of people were sounding the warning bell months ago, declaring this would happen. They knew, even after we raised taxes to give all the requested money to the Pike, the Pike would raise the tolls anyway. These people were calling for the state legislature to enforce the Pike's promise to lower or keep the same toll rate. Sadly, the State did not listen.

Let us not forget: The MBTA did the same exact thing. What is it with these Massachusetts Authorities thinking they can have their cake and eat it too? The Pike told the State House it needed $100 million or it would have to basically double all tolls. The MBTA said it needed $160 million, or it'd have to make extreme cuts to services and hikes to fees. The State House actually raised taxes and provided the necessary funds. Both Authorities raised the fees anyway. Who do these people think they are? In what world do they live in -- because it's clearly not the one the rest of us draw breath from.

The brashness of these assholes is, at this point, legendary. Their lack of honor, dignity or compassion makes them downright alien. Both of these authorities are declaring open warfare on Massachusetts taxpayers. People should park their cars in the Ted Williams tunnel. They should stand in the doorways of the Green Line. It is time to shut down the Pike and MBTA. It is time to say no more. They don't give a shit about you or me. They don't give a shit about the people who use their services. They don't give a shit about the fact that we're all losing jobs, taking paycuts or doubling payments on our healthcare just to get by. They care about protecting their rackets. They care about maintaining the status quo. They need to be fired. The tolls need to be taken down. And we need real, live, fucking accountability in our "authorities" for once.

Important Update: Okay, I'm calming down a little bit, because I went offline to talk with some people today to get the real scoop. The Pike is honoring the existing rate after the state dug up the $100 million for them, but it's not honoring the clause in the bill that said the Pike can no longer use toll money to pay off their Big Dig debt.

On the one hand, that latter clause was a hard-fought addition to the law. On the other hand, 58 cents of every dollar paid at Pike tolls goes to pay off the Big Dig. So, the state's going to have to cough up more money if it's going to get the Pike to actually honor the law. It's still an unaccountable organization -- they could have done something to at least show that they wanted to honor the new law. And nothing's changed about the fact that the MBTA completely lied and showed an utter disregard for its passengers when it claimed the need for $160 million or else, got it and raised prices anyway. That utter disregard shows a need for the public to become much more active in getting these authorities to be accountable -- one way or the other, legislatively or through civil disobedience. These people need to learn that they serve at our pleasure, not the other way around.

Time to Talk Revenue

One Massachusetts is trying to push the issue of revenue the best way possible -- through the grassroots. Deval Patrick and the state legislature have cut the budget this year, through midyear cuts, by over 3 billion dollars. This is on top of cuts that have taken place year after year after year. The result?

Don't you all see it? This state is facing crumbling roads and we can't manage to run a functioning subway system. Teachers are being laid off in every community. In fact, schools often can't even fund substitutes anymore -- forcing students of all classes into study halls when their teachers are absent. Health clinics are being cut. Parents are being forced to pay hundreds of dollars a season so their students can play sport or participate in extracurricular activities -- both things that are proven to help student performance.

Paul Levy made the interesting comment at BMG that we pay anyway. No matter what, we're going to pay. If we don't adequately fund our roads, we run over bad potholes that do hundreds of dollars of damage to our cars. My car, just last winter, ran over a bad pothole, which threw my car out of alignment. If we adequately funded our roads, maybe that wouldn't have happened? Studies have been done that have shown the average person pays hundreds a year to fix their vehicles because of our bad roads. A somewhat modest increase to the gas tax of 15-20 cents could actually save people hundreds a year. The state isn't providing enough funds for schools? We pay anyway -- in cuts to quality, added fees and interest payments on debt schools take on to fund new textbooks. Why pay for something once over when you can pay twice as much?

Some in the State Senate have clung to the utterly meaningless and distracting slogan, "reform before revenue." In reality, it's a do-nothing slogan, because the legislature -- unless we poke and prod them -- doesn't even have the appetite to reform. While it's true that we can't completely tax our way out of problems, we can't "reform" our way out of them, either. We don't need reform before revenue, we need reform and revenue. So, for sure, let's save money where we can, improve services through reform where we can -- but we also need to make sure that our system is adequately funded. If it's not, we'll pay anyway -- and it will probably be by magnitudes more.

Charlie Baker and the Pike

Before Charlie Baker took his robust salary in 1998 to head Harvard Pilgram Healthcare, he served several high-profile positions in the Weld-Celluci administrations, widely regarded as one of the most prominent voices in state government at the time. One of those positions was as Secretary of Administration and Finances, a position he occupied in the midst of when the Celluci's MO on the Big Dig was that it was 'on time and on budget.' Yeah, right.

Joan Vennochi was not shying from this question in her recent column about Baker's latest quixotic quest for Governor, but how much blame should Baker get for the Turnpike?

Vennochi:

Baker served eight years in state government, first as secretary of human services and then as secretary of administration and finance. During the Weld/Cellucci years, Big Dig costs rose and the state borrowed money to cover them.

"When Charlie was head of A&F, the state borrowed against future federal highway aid. We're paying for that now," said Michael Widmer, who heads the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation and supports a 25-cents-per-gallon gas tax hike.

If Baker runs for governor, Widmer said, it is fair to ask, "How much of what happened on his watch is what we're having to pay for now?"

While it's true that the MTA is an independent authority within Massachusetts and has a large say over its own finances, that rings a hollow excuse. It's not as if the administration didn't know what was going on and couldn't do anything to stop it. Baker and the rest of the administration could have exposed what the Turnpike was doing if it was so opposed to the practice. They didn't. Doesn't that speak volumes?

I think former State Treasurer Joseph Malone (R) would say so.

In November 1997, two months before he launched an ad campaign blasting Kerasiotes, Malone was visited by members of the Artery Business Committee (ABC) and other business backers of the Big Dig. Malone, who now oversees business development for a Cambridge dotcom firm, recalls what happened: “They tell me that when Bill Weld and John Kerry were running for the Senate, we got their word that they wouldn’t bring up the Big Dig as an issue. They both stuck with that promise. Joe, why don’t you do the same thing? I said, You’re in the wrong place if you think I’m going to let this boondoggle get further and further out of control. You mark my words. This is going to get to the point where everyone will say, How did we sleep through this whole thing?”

“Their whole message was, Joe, the federal government is picking up 80 percent [of the project’s costs] and that’s good for everyone,” Malone adds. “So the spin was that Malone is going to end up screwing up our federal funding…for his own political benefit.”

Far from retreating, Malone kept up his warnings, and Cellucci kept responding that the project was on time and on budget.

Are we really to believe that the Weld and Celluci administrations, who were trying to bury the Big Dig as a political issue and calling it 'on time and on budget,' bear none of the responsibility? If so, how does Charlie Baker avoid any of the blame when he was as one of the most influential members of the Administration? At the very least, Baker could have used his considerable respect within state government as a platform to expose what was going on. The fact that he didn't means he was either complicit in the arrangement or wasn't even paying attention to Big Dig and Turnpike finances whilst he was Secretary of Administration and Finance. Either way, those mistakes are damning.

The Turnpike is now likely on the hook for $400 million in surprise debt. They're paying $130 million a year today to pay for yesteryear's salaries. A lot of these things happened at the very time Charlie Baker was one of the most powerful people in state government, heading up A&F. Of all those who could be held responsible for these costly failures, Charlie Baker may not be the most guilty person of the bunch, but at the very least he must explain everything he knew and when he knew it before he ever considers truly pursuing state office.

The Pike and Swaptions

This is some seriously good stuff.

If people want to understand what's behind the Pike's apparent collapse and what the state should do and can do from here, that's the link to click and read.

No Gas Tax Increase = Western Mass Loses

A lot of the opposition to the gas tax is coming from people outside the Greater Boston area, perhaps most vocally by folks in Western Mass. Beyond mentioning the fact that construction projects cost more in Western Mass and the population centers of Metro Boston contribute a great deal toward paying for those proportionately-higher expenses, let's pretend that Western Mass has a point. What happens if we don't raise the gas tax to increase revenue for construction projects?

Drivers pay well more than they would have for the gas tax.

But what about those who never pay a toll or transit fare? They, too, are better off financially with a higher gas tax. Due in no small measure to inadequate funding, the Massachusetts transportation system is so poorly maintained and badly congested that Massachusetts motorists spend an estimated $718 million each year on car repairs attributable to bad roads. This amounts to nearly $300 per household or roughly three times the proposed gas tax increase. One blown-out tire or bent wheel can cost a lot more to fix than several years of a higher gas tax.

Moreover, because so much of the construction projects we do pay for comes from 20-year bonds, we end up paying double the actual costs in the end. If we paid for more of our necessary projects with cash on hand - and had more cash on hand to spend - we'd save a great deal in the long run.

Perhaps most insidious is the cost of Massachusetts's longstanding reliance on debt to pay for basic road operations and maintenance. About half of the Massachusetts Highway Department's budget is currently funded by issuing 20-year bonds. That means Massachusetts taxpayers are not only paying interest for 20 years on the costs of construction, but often on the salaries and supplies needed to pick up litter and mow grass in medians. Twenty years of interest payments more than doubles those highway maintenance costs. Without more gas tax revenues, Massachusetts will continue to issue bonds to pay for maintenance on state highways and this will cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars in added debt service costs - which will, of course, come from income or sales taxes or other fees.

Non-metro residents are beyond frustrating. They've become the party of no, for no good reason. Instead of trying to kill the gas tax, they should own the issue and try to advocate for their own interests. If they're not satisfied that there's enough money going their way, why not demand the gas tax become 5 cents bigger, with that 5 cents going directly toward their part of the state? Working with - instead of against - the NS and Metro West is a far more powerful position to bargain from. There's going to be a gas tax hike - the only question is how much of that will go to non Metro Boston. By being the party of no, non Metro legislators are making sure that as little as possible ends up going their way. If I were a constituent in Western Mass and was listening to my legislator knee-jerking against the gas tax, I'd go looking for a new state legislator.

Gov's Transportation Reform Plans Tomorrow

From his daily update:

Transportation Reform—Governor Patrick plans to publicly lay out his vision for transportation reform tomorrow. The Governor has said any proposals for new revenue must be accompanied by a "radical simplification of our transportation bureaucracy and a more focused and aligned way to develop and implement transportation strategy."

We shall see.

The Podcast of Doom

Or, actually, Gas.

Lots of Gas Podcast

Lynne and I are going live today at 2:30 with a podcast on the proposed gas tax as well as some other recent issues. Mike's not joining us today because, unfortunately, he took a really bad spill in the ice was seriously injured. So everyone wish him well and come watch me host to see how badly I screw it up. If you miss it live, I'll be posting it on LeftAhead later.

A Permanent Way for Patrick to Deflect Questions

Don't cut local aide! See, that's easy.

Slightly harder part? Raise revenue. .3-.5% on the income tax should cover it, along with some sensible cuts and efficiencies. Heck, the Senate just came up with one.

Finally, to save money, don't wait to regulate health care. Do it now. Make a goal to put in place regulations that will save this state 10% on its health care premiums, even if that means limiting the health industry's profits, starting with the HMOs. That saves schools and saves wallets, money that will go right back into the economy to create jobs. Put some of the state's savings into UMASS Worcester to expand its size, as well as create scholarship opportunities. That will help shore up the shortage of doctors. There, we solved our structural deficit and improved health care at the same time.

Pike Privatization: Still a Bad Idea

Maybe if we're super-duper lucky, privatizing the 11 service plazas on the Pike could bring in $300 million up front. Seems rosy, but let's go with it. After all, if Christy Mihos says it, it must be true.

However, we're currently getting 6.2 million/year from Gulf and 11.6 million/year from McDonald's - to say nothing of the many other restaurants and convenience shops paying millions more. So, we've got to be getting more than $20 million/year from these plaza. How much more? No idea, but it's a safe estimate. If we're getting around $30 million/year, it'll only take a decade to bring in the rosy $300 million we'd get up front to give the plazas up forever. If it's closer to $20 million, it'll take a few more years, but still the point remains: we'll be losing money and lose a key revenue source that helps pay for the Pike. Plus, we lose the ability to help set up the parameters in which those facilities are run - making sure there's no gas price gauging because of Gulf's monopoly, etc.

Taking all that into consideration, doesn't it make more sense to deal with the Big Dig debt and need for our roads and bridges in other ways - like an increased gas tax? Otherwise, sure we may be okay for a few years, but we'll be in a much worse situation once that $300 million is spent, without revenue sources that are key to our transportation infrastructure. Short term thinking leaves long term problems in government. Enough of that.

Now's the Time for Gas Tax

Gas is going up, so if the state's going to raise the gas tax to cut the tolls, now's the time. Do it now and few complain, do it at $2 or $2.50 and the state may risk losing public support. Just get it done.

Till the Last Toll

Went to the Lynn Turnpike hearing tonight. There were so many people, so much anger, I almost felt bad for the membership of the Turnpike Authority. Almost.

The thing is, these people hold a lot of influence - if they want to, anyway. The legislature often does what's asked of them by whomever is perceived to be the authority on that subject. How could they not? For example, when the Secretary of State said no to same-day voter registration, what is a no-brainer then stalled in the state house and hasn't quite gained enough traction on Beacon Hill to pass again all these years later. If, for example, the Turnpike Authority had decided to publicly ask for major transportation reform that's good for the people of this state and tore down the tolls, then it would pass in the State House in a New York minute.

So, no pity. They've created this mess; they've avoided real solutions for years; they've allowed their agency to exist behind a curtain. This wrath is all their own.

So the big movement in this state will be to "tear down those tolls," channeling the voice of one of my least-favorite Presidents as he had one of his few good quotes. It's long since time that the working people of the many struggling North Shore cities and towns have the same opportunity to succeed and survive as people from other parts of the state. A $1800/year extra tax to get through a tunnel when others don't have to pay it is not equal opportunity or social justice for a region of the state that has suffered as the rest of the state has boomed.

The pure anger in the North Shore and Metro West will fuel reform, because people are going to park their cars on the road before they pay $7 to pass the Sumner. This genie the Turnpike Authority let out of the lamp isn't going back in, not until the last toll is gone.

Pike Privatization: Bad Idea All Around

Globe says go slow on pike privatization; I say go no where at all. Let's be honest: there's only two reasons why the government would want to privatize. First, they know whoever will buy it won't care about its employees, paying them less and probably reducing services by paying for as little on the roads as possible.

Second, and more important, it's a way to pass off the buck. $10 or $15 tunnel tolls? That's not the government's fault - it's those pesky people operating the tolls. Those dastardly people! Beacon Hill didn't intend for them to do that at all! Yeah, right. Oh - and when the roads are in crappy condition because private companies will be cutting all those costs? Not Beacon Hill's fault, either.

Let's get real. We need roads that work. That do what they're supposed to do. The people that tend to them should be paid well, or we risk having roads that are even in worse condition. Furthermore, since roads are a public good, we ought to have a public agency in charge of it so we have at least somewhere to go for redress when something's fracked up. A private agency is no better equipped to deal with roads than the government is; indeed, the Globe notes that there are plenty of obstacles that make running private toll companies less efficient than the government.

No, the solution isn't privatization of the roads. That's a deal we'll regret a few years from now for more than the rest of my life, and I'll be kicking around for another 60-70 years (with any luck, anyway). All for some upfront chump change? What is this, one of those cash-in commercials targeted toward law suit winners? We didn't get hit by a bus and we don't need to find the nearest ambulance chaser. That's no way to run our government.

Anti-Toll Hike Activism Opportunities

Public hearings:

• 12/10 Boston: 10 Park Plaza, 2nd floor, 6:30-8:30
• 12/15 Lynn: Lynn City Hall, 6:30-8:30
• 12/17 Framingham: Framingham Memorial Building, Nevins Hall, 6:30-8:30
• 1/7 Worcester: Worcester City Hall, 6:30-8:30

Written testimony:

In addition, written testimony and comments will be accepted for one week following the hearings, until 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 14, 2008.

Written testimony and comments should be sent to:
Office of the General Counsel
Massachusetts Turnpike Authority
10 Park Plaza, Suite 4160
Boston, MA 02116

Also, sign the petition at this site.

Only you can stop wild fires toll hikes.

The Gas Tax Math

Some people seem to think that raising the gas tax would be somewhat comparable to the increase in tolls. Apples and oranges.

I did the math.

10 cents a gallon would cost $1.20 a week if I fill my tank up once a week. Spread that over the course of the year and we're talking $60-70 bucks. Over 365 days of the year, would anyone even notice that?

Average drivers with gas guzzlers would pay maybe $150, tops, but their cars do more damage to the environment and roads anyway. Plus, it's a very small incentive to buy more fuel efficient cars or use public transportation when available. Many of these funds could then be used all across the state to improve the transportation infrastructure.

All of that is a pittance, spare change any given week, compared to the very tangible funds people would see evaporate paying those tolls (which would now go up to $1820/year for drivers going through the Sumner or Ted Williams Mon-Fri) or using public transportation ($200-600/month for most out of the city, plus the cost of gas if someone has to drive).

Commuting Options of a North Shore Resident

• Driving Option A: Soon-to-be seven dollar toll, plus parking and gas, to take the Tobin or Sumner. $7/toll equates to $140/month just in tolls.
  
• Driving Option B: Avoid the tolls, take Route 93 and 95. Not only is this 20-30 minutes out of the way for most (at least), it would cost more in gas, which is worse for the environment. It will also further strain the already-massive traffic on Route 95 and 93. Who knows what the effects would be?
  
• Subway: $5 parking/day, $59 subway/month - amounting to a total of $199/month, plus gas or time to take the bus, assuming there's one nearby (huge assumption).
  
• Rail: $2/day for parking (unless that's been raised too), $135-250/month for rail ($163 for me), plus gas or additional time to take the bus, amounting to $195-310/month.
  

How is any middle or working class citizen supposed to afford these fares? These expenses not only curb people from going into Boston, but they take money out of the economy. Obviously, these services need to be paid for, but there are other ways to do it. For example, businesses nearby who benefit from having their workers and shoppers shuttled to and fro could be contributing, etc. As already mentioned on this blog, a small increase to the gas tax would pay for the gap in funding for highways, whilst also helping push some people toward public transportation - and the more people who use it, the more affordable it gets. I certainly don't have all the answers, but those are just two ideas on how to reduce the burden on the middle and working classes of this state, so they have more funds to put right back into the economy and improve the quality of their lives.

$7 Tobin/Sumner

They're CRAZY.

Seriously, this is absolutely rediculous. If you live in the South Shore, you get to use these services for free. North Shore? At least $35 a week, about $1820 a year. That's 1820 a year that could be going to the local economy. That's $1820 that could be someone's food or phone or rent. That's $1820 that may cost people their jobs, no longer able to afford to commute into the city, especially those without good access to public transportation or who work during hours that the T is not open.

The death of the Turnpike Authority couldn't happen soon enough. Don't these people get it - middle class and working class people cross these bridges and tunnels every day? I couldn't even afford to cross the Tobin with these changes, and I use it frequently. I'm going to have to go all the way to Route 95, to catch Route 93, and go without the toll. The result? The MBTA loses my $3 a trip, I have to spend more on gas and I lose about 20 minutes of my day. It's a freaking lose, lose, lose.

It's well past time for this state to dump all the tolls, or at least those that aren't on the border, and just raise the gas tax by a small sum. 5-10 cents a gallon would make up the difference and then some, so we could focus on more roads beyond Greater Boston.

Update: How many people are going to change their commutes because of this? My guess? A lot. What does that mean? More traffic on 95, where people can catch Route 93 and avoid any toll. What does that mean? More traffic on 95, where the traffic is absolutely, positively horrendous. Worse yet, it means people will use more gas, contributing more toxic fumes to the climate. This is piss poor policy for the entire state. Obviously, we need to pay for the state's highways. That's why we have a gas tax. Raise it by 5-10 cents and share this burden, solving the problem in a far more fair and affordable way.

Jeez

I'm not wild about this.

But in the long run, Patrick said he hopes to eliminate all tolls except those at the state borders and harbor tunnels.

Tolls are horrid policy because they're a) expensive and b) impact everyone just the same, including and especially those who can least afford it. Combine that with all the increases at the MBTA - including adding $2 for parking - and there's no good, affordable way into the city. This impacts countless people on the North Shore and Metro West, many of whom don't earn that much money.

Why not get rid of all tolls, at least those not on state borders, and spread the cost around to the entire state in a fair manner. A 10 cent addition to the gas tax would totally offset the need for tolls, while cutting the major costs of our state's highway system. This really is a no brainer.