Schumer: MTA should bring free WIFI to LIRR
Here is Schumer’s quote:
“The time for high speed Internet on rapid transit is right now,” said Schumer. “It is long past time to bring the LIRR in to the 21st century and wireless Internet will make commuting more productive and pleasant for LIRR riders. The technology is ready and raring to go so its time for the MTA to get rolling.”
How are we going to pay for this service, which will cost $1,000 per train? He won’t, and the MTA won’t - the federal government will:
Schumer said Wi-Fi could be provided at no cost to the MTA or riders, with funding by the Internet providers or through federal stimulus dollars.
Most interesting is that Schumer doesn’t even pretend that this will create jobs or is a legitimate use of stimulus dollars. In fact, he himself admits that the purpose is productivity and pleasantry for MTA riders.
The trillions of dollars of debt we’ve run up in the past year, compounded with the debt of the past 8 years, means that at some point we have to tigthen our belt. This proposal is just one more proof that this will never happen. Even in such dire straits as these, where states and the federal government are going bankrupt, there’s no restraint or reprioritization.
It’s a classic tragedy of the commons with the stimulus money: nobody “owns” this money. Schumer feels he and the MTA can dip into it presumably without effect; until we wake up and realize everyone’s been doing this, and we’ve just wasted billions of dollars on things like WIFI in the LIRR.
If we’re ever going to diminish the debt, we need a legitimate “pay-as-you-go” provision, not one that excludes over half the federal budget if you include things like healthcare, like Obama’s recent provision does.
