$ 60 Billion and Change (a Billion here, a Billion there)

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has expressed Outrage at the House not taking up Hurricane Sandy Relief on the last Day of the 112th Congress.  He is right, of course.  To this, it should be added that neither had the Senate and, if the Bill would have been ammended to include Hurricane Sandy by the House, that would have meant the Bill would have had to go back to the Senate for Approval, prolonging the ,,Fiscal Cliff’’ Crisis by at least another Day; the 112th Congress may or may not have had the Time, the Ability or the Inclination to finish it all off.

Be that as it may, however, the Amount of Relief sought by another Governor for the Damages arising of Hurricane Sandy, Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York, was around $ 60 Billion.  Without assuming that the Figure estimated by Governor Cuomo is or is not correct, it should, nonetheless, be noted that the 112th Congress, in its waning Days, found it appropriate to legislate $ 67 Billion of Tax Credits (which is equivalent to a $ 67 Billion Treasury Shortfall, same Thing as an Expense, really...not getting the Money or spending it adds up to the same Thing under the Bottom Line) for various specifically targeted Corporate Taxpayers, including, of all Things, NASCAR.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/04/16334798-fiscal-cliff-deal-includes-at-least-679-billion-for-special-interests?lite

It is a reasonable Question to ask, whether this Prioritising has been done in an equitable Manner; also, whether Governor Christie's Anger should not be directed at the Senate as well, for not including Hurricane Sandy Relief in the Legislation in the First Place but including $ 67 Billion in ,,Pork.’’

Elsewhere in this Column, it has been suggested that other Methods should be considered to finance the Rebuilding of the Hurricane Sandy Devastation; a Sales Tax on the Buying and the Selling of Stocks, an extremely profitable Industry which benefits the New York Tri State Area immensely and which is based in the Middle of the devastated Area.

It would also be beneficial, of course, for Governor Christie, yes, Governor Cuomo as well and all the Rest of us to also urge Congress to rescind the $ 67 Billion in Tax Credits (,,Pork’’) appropriated for NASCAR and other Special Interests; after all, the Treasury needs every Penny it can get.

The ,,Fiscal Cliff’’ and Hurricane Sandy

Good News!  The Fiscal Cliff Legislaton is a done Thing.  Well, not altogether done but at least the minimum necessary.  For about Two Months or so while still important Things need to be done; the Federal Debt Limit and those onerous Budget Cuts.

Some complain that $ 60 Billion or so of ,,Pork Provisions’’ got attached to the Legislation by various Interest Groups as the Price to pay for getting this Legislation done.  The Complaint is obviously legitimate.

Still others, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey and, to a lesser extent but just as convincingly, Governor Mario Cuomo of New York point out that the 112th Congress, which has now become History, adjourned and ended its Session without taking up Aid for the Victims and Reconstruction of Hurricane Sandy.  Interestingly, that Appropriation would have come up to about $ 60 Billion as well.

What is being missed in the Equation that the United States Government is in dire Straits and does not really have the Money either for the ,,Pork Appropriations’’ nor the Money needed for the Reconstruction of Hurricane Sandy.

On the other Hand, the News of the Fiscal Cliff Avoidance Legislation was ,,cheered’’ by Wall Street, with Big Gains on 31 December 2012, anticipating that an Agreement would be reached and some Legislation would be passed and, immediately following, on 2 January 2013, celebrating the Event.

Governor Cuomo should be thinking about and Governor Christie as well as President Obama should be suggesting to him that one look elsewhere to raise this direly needed Money from a minuscule Sales Tax levied on Stock Market Transactions of 0,1% or even 0,2%.  This would raise the Money for them very quickly, from a locally owned Institution which is controlling Trillions of Dollars and give the Federal Budget a welcome and much needed Relief.

One should be keeping in Mind that the Stock Market has been an enormous Beneficiary of Federal Largesse; propping up Corporations such as AIG and General Motors (the ,,New’’ General Motors, whatever that means) and, not the Least, the unbelievable and unheard of Policies of ,,Quantitative Easing’’ which have been pursued by the Fed under the Ægis of Mr. Bernanke.

The Federal Government needs to look for Economies wherever it is possible; even with increased Tax Rates, this comes nowhere near close to starting to make a Dent in the Federal Deficit (it actually allows it to continue to worsen), Governor Christie and all others should be looking for Revenues right in their own Back Yard.

The Address of the New York Stock Exchange is, as Mr. Christie surely knows,

No. 11 Wall Street, New York, N. Y. 10005.
Telephone:  1-212-656-3000

 

Thanksgiving Eve Present for the Working Class in New York

Folks,

As this By Line is going On Line (,,In Print'' as it were), Tens of Thousands of Commuters in New York are stuck in New York's Main Travel Station.  The Reason, a Power Outage.  This, on Thanksgiving Eve.  Imagine the Main Waiting Room (See Illustration below) overflowing with People (People who are trying to get into the Station are not being allowed to do so.  They are being kept outside).

Pennsylvania Station, Manhattan, New York

The Reason given:  a Power Outage by Con Edison, which is the Local Power Company in New York.  The People affected by this are by and large the Working Class People in New York who depend on Public Transportation and who live, also by and large, in Long Island (Long Island Rail Road, ,,LIRR'' Trains and Amtrak Trains have been affected by this but Amtrak states it hopes to have the Power back in ,,90 Minutes.''  More realistically, the LIRR states that it has suspended the service indefinitely).

We say the Working Class People because all of the busy Executives working on Wall Street and Corporate Upper Floors have long left for home in Private Limousines (called ,,Livery'' in New York), or, if they live nearby, in Mahattan's toney Districts, by Taxi.

We further ask the Question, coming on the Heels of the Hurricane Sandy Disaster, is this any Way to run a Railroad?  Of course, Con Edison is likely to blame for such a horrible Event to occur on Thanksgiving Eve.  However, Responsibility is when Blame is allowed to go around, not only to Amtrak and the LIRR, which should be asking themselves, ,,Is this any Way to run a Railroad?'' but also to the New York City and other supervisory Officials, starting with Mayor Bloomberg, who should feel a greater Sense of Responsibility towards the Working Class People of New York, who shoulder the Burden of creating Wealth in this, one of the most chaotic Cities in the World.

 

Pennsylvania Station, Manhattan, New York, before World War II, once the Greatest Railroad Station in the World