08 Jun 2007 “A Unique Opportunity for Federal Money”

Rarely is a green politician so straightforward about one of the main motivators of green advocates:

Just a day after announcing that he had the support of the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is presenting his plan for a green New York at the first in a series of state hearings today.The mayor kicked off his testimony at the first in a series of State Assembly hearings in Midtown by going straight to the heart of the matter, urging lawmakers to approve his controversial congestion pricing plan.

‘Time is running out on us,’ he told Assembly members. ‘We have a unique opportunity for federal money… Now is the time to do this.’

The article goes on to explain how taxpayers in all 50 states would be required to pony up $225 million so the city of New York could charge cars $8 and trucks $21 to enter Manhattan.

This brings me to my second bit of praise for Mayor Bloomberg: His admission that some taxes cost money.

If only Mayor Bloomberg realized that requiring people in Kansas and Alabama to pay for a local New York City initiative is a BAD thing, not an “opportunity.”