Cartoon: SCAT Fare Hikes
By Anthony | May 29th, 2006 | 12:05 am
SCAT, Greensboro’s appointment-based public transportation system for the disabled, is apparently straining the city’s budget. Sandy Carmany has made several posts recently at her blog detailing some of the public transportation issues facing City Council (here, here, and here).
The subject kind of flew under my radar at first, until I read a couple of posts that Beth at Greensboring.com made on the matter (she even created a couple of SCAT cartoons of her own). While I disagree with the way she ties the SCAT issue into the tax breaks for the Wachovia Tower, I do think she makes a good argument that the SCAT rate increases are too harsh. It’s reasonable that the rates should increase so costs are covered better, but surely they could be increased gradually, or some middle ground can be found that won’t completely upend the lives of people who are dependent on SCAT without much wiggle room in their own budgets.
May 30th, 2006 at 9:05 pm
Anthony, I read Beth’s and Mrs. Carmany’s posts on this topic. I know that since someday if I ever find myself a widow and having no family I since I am handicapped will be totally dependent upon society this will sound self serving. But then you who know me know that I feel government is there to serve the people who need and not those who just have greed.
I sat down and did a little back tracking to just last September when I stated blogging and added up the money spend by our city council for things that should have never been a tax payer responsibility and found that these funds would have covered the larger part of the Scat expenses. Just the welfare for the well off and unnecessary indulgences: $200,000 + annually for the upkeep of a privately owned park, almost $1.5 million in Corporate welfare to flourishing companies, $1 million more on top of a like amount already given to Skip Alston’s piggy bank known as the Civil Rights Museum ( remember that out of $10 million $8 million was spent on administration?). $800,000 yearly just for Bryan park and now plans to almost double it’s size, closing a landfill that had an additional 25 years of free usage because people who bought CHEAP property in the area because the landfill was there now don’t want it there., thus causing the tax payers to pay astronomical amounts from here on out in order to have someone else take our trash.
I compassion does not sway our city officials at least 300 people will become overnight prisoners in their homes when they have committed no crime. No crime unless illness or misfortune and probably being poor due to the inability to get good jobs are now considered crimes.
My argument can also be used fairly for the homeless in our city. All this largess to the well off or spoiled and the people working to help the homeless have to beg for donations and the pittance the city gives them.
Just where are our priorities?
May 31st, 2006 at 8:01 pm
Good points, Brenda. If we decide that it is a priority to continue to subsidize SCAT at the current level of service for the users, then the money can easily be found.
For that matter, I feel we need to continue to prioritze our county and city budgets so that we do not have to submit to constant tax increases.
We deserve better government than what we get for our money now.