53percenter's Blog

Remember those halcyon days of one week ago, when the mainstream media all hated President Trump because his administration cut (and then reinstated) funding for the Special Olympics?

Well, it turns out that outrage only really works if it’s Republicans doing the cutting. When it’s Democrats — the official party of nine out of 10 media apparatchiks — it’s no big deal.

That’s at least the takeaway from lawmakers in New York state, which was set to cut funding by $50,000 to the Special Olympics while giving themselves rather hearty raises for in the process.

“New York’s budget for the Special Olympics decreased from $200,000 in 2018 to $150,000 for this year,” The Daily Caller reported on Monday.

“Meanwhile, every one of the state’s 213 lawmakers will ultimately receive a raise that is almost the same amount cut from the games for disabled athletes.”

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In their first pay raise since 1999, Empire State lawmakers hiked their salaries from $79,500 to $110,000, The Daily Caller reported.

And that $30,000 raise is just a start.

“Under the budget, legislators will eventually earn $130,000 in 2021,” The Daily Caller wrote.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, meanwhile, did even better, according to The Daily Caller, getting a raise of $70,000 to make his salary “a quarter million dollars a year, the highest of any governor.”

And there was no outrage from the Special Olympics this time, either.

“Special Olympics New York is thankful to the Governor and Legislature for securing $150,000 in State Budget to support our Unified Champion Schools program, which is creating inclusive school communities throughout New York State,” Special Olympics New York CEO and President Stacey Hengsterman said in a statement.

“The budget process is always difficult and we are grateful we had so many champions advocating on our behalf. We will continue to work with our representatives in state government to hopefully increase these funds and continue to grow this important program.”

Contrast this with the statement from Tim Shriver, chairman of Special Olympics International, who called Trump Education Secretary Betsy Devos’ now-aborted decision to cut Special Olympics funding an “enormous slap in the face for these people and an insult to our values.”

Trump, of course, reversed the Special Olympics funding cut.

As it turns out, Cuomo also reversed course on the decision and restored Special Olympics funding, according to the New York Post — although certainly not with as much sturm und drang behind it we saw with the Trump administration.

And Cuomo’s decision again saw gratitude from the New York state Special Olympics president.

“Special Olympics New York is thankful to the Governor for fully funding the State’s annual $1.1 million commitment, and restoring the $50,000 for the Unified Champion Schools program. Special Olympics New York is grateful to the Governor for his generous support during a difficult budget year,” she said, according to WBKW-TV.

Again, contrast this to Shriver after Trump reversed course on Special Olympics funding:

“In some ways the most powerless, vulnerable, forgotten people in the country brought to their knees the most powerful people in the country,” he said after Trump’s decision became public, according to Politico.

“Probably in my 39 years of professional life, I’ve never had more attention than we got last week on anything I’ve ever worked on, honestly.”

That sounds more like gloating than gratitude.

In both cases, it’s not necessarily clear how much difference the public funding would have made, given that the vast majority of the organization’s money comes from private donations.

That being said, neither cut was probably a good idea politically. However, the media reacted in markedly different ways to the move.

In the case of the Trump administration, there was universal outrage, including from the Special Olympics. In the case of New York state — even as politicians gave themselves massive raises — the outrage was limited.

Was it because the state is controlled by Democrats? Is the sky blue?

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The state of New York is facing a budgetary shortfall, in large part due to the ongoing exodus of residents fleeing high taxes and restrictive regulations imposed on the citizenry.

Meanwhile, New York City is facing the longstanding and growing problems of too much traffic congestion from motorists and too few funds to improve and maintain mass transit systems like buses and subways.

Thus, lawmakers in Albany have devised a plan that they believe will address those problems in one fell swoop, but which in actuality could make those issues even worse, if not give rise to new problems and unexpected consequences.

New York CBS affiliate WLNY reported that lawmakers want to impose a new tax on motorists — disingenuously framed as “congestion pricing” — who drive into midtown Manhattan, with the proceeds of that toll ostensibly going toward improvements and maintenance for the city’s buses and subway system.

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In theory, the new toll imposed on driver’s entering Manhattan — around $11.50 for personal cars, $25 for large trucks — will raise upward of $1 billion annually while also reducing traffic congestion as some drivers avoid entering the area.

Of course, left unmentioned or explained is how a tax that seemingly relies on motorists driving into the city to raise the estimated windfall would work when that same tax also serves to discourage vehicular travel into the city, which would result in fewer drivers who would bring in less than anticipated revenue.

Then again, New York has already shown that it has literacy problems when it comes to the fundamentals of basic economics, so utopian dreams of disparate rewards from the same tax — more drivers pay the toll to raise money while fewer drivers also improve congestion problems — aren’t too surprising.

Some New Yorkers have no problem with the tax on motorists entering Manhattan, as they support the idea of reducing congestion in the crowded city.

There are others, however, who have taken issue with the proposed tax, such as those who live within the toll zone, and would have to pay just to travel to and from their own residence.

Thus, lawmakers are already discussing exceptions to Manhattan “congestion pricing,” a long list of cut-outs that will likely grow longer as more special interests speak out and demand an exception.

As of now, exceptions and a possible “day pass” are already being proposed for residents who live in the new toll zone, those who earn low incomes or suffer from disabilities, and of course, exemptions for emergency vehicles and city-owned vehicles.

It is worth noting that two major thoroughfares that cut through the new toll area — the FDR and West Side highways — are excluded from the surcharge, and lawmakers said that motorists who pass through the area multiple times per day will only have to pay the toll once.

Gridlock consultant and engineer Sam Schwartz told WLNY that he believed the toll would be effective and said, “The bottom line is the city is a competitive city. It is a world city. We can’t have a world city if our transit system is running 65 percent on time and our traffic is moving at 4.7 mph. This will get us back in the ball game to be a world-class city.”

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Should the toll be imposed and traffic levels remain the same, the state and city will get the money it is siphoning out of motorists, but will do nothing to improve the congestion issue that prompted the tax in the first place.

However, should the toll result in fewer drivers entering Manhattan, the city will not only lose out on expected revenue from that tax, but also lose tax revenues from businesses such as gas stations and convenience stores and oil-change/tire service stations, among countless others, that rely on the steady flow of drivers and vehicles to help make a living.

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