Joe the bartender took my glass to resupply me with another
beer. I nodded my approval, as a special report came over the television set hanging
down precariously over the bar. CONGESTION
PRICING SUSPENDED INDEFINITELY in large red letters.
“What!?” Everyone exclaimed simultaneously, completely taken
by surprise!”
“These crazy B…….! They just spent half a billion dollars
studying the proposal for six years and another half a billion dollars
installing the gantries and infrastructure to implement it!” exclaimed a suit
who seemed to be in favor of the tax. “I was looking forward to a 10-minute
drive to the office instead of my usual half hour”.
“That is easy for you to say,” retorted Pete the cab driver,
a small, short nervous man. “The cost comes out of your expense account, not
your pocket! I'm going to lose more customers again with this money grab! They
may take their $15 or $30 dollars and go buy a pair of walking shoes, and if
they do, I'm dead,” said the nervous cabbie.
“Now, Ernie a towering burly construction worker in an old
pair of blue overalls and a black beer froth infused walrus moustache, wiped
his face with his hand and then onto his overalls and slammed his strong fist
down on the bar.
“These b…… politicians if they had to do a real day's work
to earn those billion dollars instead of picking our pockets for it, they would
think twice before they wasted it! “
Sally a short rotund crossing guard still in her uniform and
orange, neon vest piped in, “Well I wasn't looking forward to another tax but
less cars would certainly have made my job easier.”
Phil the bookkeeper who sat a few stools past Sally tweeted,
“Kathy Hochul is playing politics, SUSPENDED INDEFINITELY translates to
November 6th the day after the election assuming the Dems retain
power. It is just another parlor trick! Nobody throws away a billion dollars! “
Next, Hector a tow truck driver added his perspective “Well
let's look at the bright side, road rage and accidents won't be dropping, so I'll
be able to make enough money to feed my family!”
There was an awkward silence as everyone gave Hector a dirty
look. The bartender showed no interest, content to having sold a few extra
rounds of beer while looking forward to his ride home on a Citibike, a mode of
transportation excluded from the congestion pricing tax.
June 2024
No comments:
Post a Comment