Wake Up, America!
In the year 2022, if man is still alive and a woman can survive from COVID, or if Judgement Day comes from a war to determine civilization – I ask myself when will mankind realize what’s best for our civilization. We still haven’t learned from all those wars – the bodies in the grave, and many wounded soldiers. What will it take to realize how we were fooled, brainwashed, and lied to by political propaganda with the help from the puppet controlled mainstream media? And those politicians that got elected caused the problem and then seek re-election to solve the problem. Sooner or later, it will catch up to us how we were taking advantage of by those elites in power. Time to wake up in 2022.
Orlando “Wildman” Perez
National
Wealth Tax
I have a suggestion for the national Democrats in terms of how they can be fiscally responsible and pay for the “Build Back Better” proposal without adding one cent to the national debt and the federal budget deficit. Have the Congress pass Donald Trump’s 1999 proposal to institute a new “National Wealth Tax” of 14.25% on all individuals with a net-wealth and net-worth of $10 million and higher. That would generate more than enough new revenue to pay for it. Yes, he really did make that proposal.
Just look it up. The opinion editor of “USA Today” loved it.So do I. I think it is the best idea that he ever had.
Sincerely,
Stewart B. Epstein
Build America Bureau and The Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act
There is more to the recent news that the United States Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau approved refinancing.This has resulted in increasing the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan to the Empire State Development. It helped pay for the $1.6 billion Amtrak Penn Station Moynihan Train Hall. The project failed to add any new track or platform capacity for Amtrak, NJ Transit, LIRR or future Metro North Railroad service to this facility.
The new loan provides an additional $80 million. This increases value of the loan from the original $526 million to $606 million. The additional funding is supposed to assist in paying for completion of security and passenger safety at this new facility. You have to wonder why this work was not completed prior to opening of the Moynihan Train Hall on January 1, 2021. Does this loan imply that the real final project cost has increased by $80 million to $1.680 billion?
Pre-COVID-19, there were 260,000 daily Long Island Railroad and 90,000 New Jersey Transit commuters utilizing Penn Station. Amtrak riders account for only represent 5% of those who use Penn Station. Few LIRR or NJ Transit riders utilize Moynihan Train Hall.
In 1992, the estimated project cost was $315 million. Several years later, the cost grew to $500 million, and the completion date slipped to the late 1990s. That generation of Amtrak, LIRR, NJ Transit officials, along with project sponsors such as Senator Moynihan and other public officials were not happy with both cost increases and project delays. Final cost grew to $1.6 billion upon opening.
The loan still has to be paid back by revenues generated from private sector investments with shortfalls covered by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The Empire State Development Corporation is counting on the sale of air rights over the Farley Building as the source for its $570 million contribution.
In our COVID-19 world, many commuters continue working from home part and full time.
Sincerely,
Larry Penner
(Larry Penner is a transportation advocate, historian and writer who previously worked for the Federal Transit Administration Region 2 NY Office.This included the development, review, approval and oversight for billions of dollars in grants which provided funding for capital projects and programs to New Jersey Transit, New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority and over 30 transit agencies in NY & NJ).
