[Meant to be a reply to cmdrogogov above]

Dude,

You realize you're getting played, right? The MTA, which takes us everywhere in the city, actually runs ok. The long term debt is an issue. But, on balance, it's issues are a result of the State STEALING the MTA's money. And, why wouldn't Albany do that? They steal the money, MTA raises fares and cuts services, and instead of people getting mad at albany, people get mad at the MTA, just like you.
It's not the MTA, aight! It's Albany, including the Governor.

Choice quotes from the NYDN article linked to in the gothamist article:

MTA CUT THE FAT RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE, oh wait:

MTA executives cut $500 million in spending last year. About 3,500 positions were eliminated, many through painful layoffs.

Stop, take a breathe. The MTA cut $500M last year. So, let's see, what else does the article say:

Whatever its shortcomings, the MTA's money problems aren't the result of corrupt transit executives, bungling bureaucrats or greedy workers, as some critics contend.

O RLY? Please, how is that so:

There never was an illegal "two sets of books," a myth that emerged after an ethically challenged state controller released a scathing report on MTA finances. The real shell game takes place in Albany.

Go on, I'm listening:

Much of the MTA's funding comes from a series of taxes the state Legislature enacted over time specifically to help pay the cost of transporting millions of people to their jobs every day - a public service one has a right to expect is both safe and affordable.

The state collects the dough - but doesn't always pass along the full amount to the MTA. It quietly skims off the top and uses it for other purposes.

Gov. Paterson and the state Legislature played that game and the MTA lost $160 million, causing last year's sweeping service cuts.

Listen, I hate waiting for the train too, I hate seeing all the nasty rats . . . I'm with yah man. But, it's not so much as the MTA as it is the state viewing the MTA's operating budget as a piggy bank.

And how is the state able to steal the MTA's money?

Because as a public/private partnership it is not required to open its books to public scrutiny. This has enabled the MTA to be used and abused by the state as a bank, a credit card and many other things besides during its long and rather unpleasant history.

As a purely public agency the MTA would be required to be completely transparent with its finances and the blanket that Albany uses to cover it all up would no longer be an option.

I fully agree that Albany needs some serious scrutiny as well, but I don't agree with you in that I feel changing the MTA to a fully public state (or better, city) run agency would ultimately be the better choice.

Thanks for the response,

I'm not sure we have all our facts straight, but, I'm open to hearing what you have to say, or perhaps I've misunderstood your previous comment.

[H]ow is the state able to steal the MTA's money?

Because as a public/private partnership it is not required to open its books to public scrutiny.

The MTA is a fully public corporation. Like the Port Authority, or the New York City Economic Development Corporation. It's books are completly open: http://www.mta.info/mta/budget...

According to the New York State Authorities Budget Office, the MTA is one of the more transparent and accountable Public Authorities in New Yorkhttp://www.streetsblog.org/201...

Re: city run,

I'm not sure that'd make sense since the MTA goes well beyond just the five boroughs. But, the mayor gets to appoint 4 directors to the Board. The only other person/entity that can appoint more than one director, is the governor, with 5 including the Chairmen.

I don't mean to pick on you, and please correct me if I've misunderstood you in anyway, but, the reason I'm banging this drum, is that, I consistently see so many people getting angry at the MTA, that seems, disproportionate to their actual degree of blame.

And for all my research, I've yet to see actually what exactly the MTA has done so wrong. I think their long term debt issues are a big problem. But, other than that, I actually like the MTA and feel somewhat grateful that, almost no matter where I am in the city or what time of night, I know I have a cheap way to get back home.

So for example, in the NYDN article linked to above, it says that the MTA laid off 3500 people last year. A lot of them were station agents. When the MTA did this, people (somewhat justifiably) got angry about stations without an agent. Well, they had to make some hard cuts. And if they're making those hard cuts, I don't know what else the MTA is supposed to do with respect to their regular operating budget (not the capital expenditures which is closely tied to the long term debt issue)

So, if you're going to blame or attribute Albany's ability to steal money from the MTA, to the MTA, then, really, I think we should blame ourselves, for not shaming the State politicians for trying to have it both ways. The same politicians who rail against the MTA are often the same ones who vote to appropriate revenue designated (like, specific taxes which were passed solely to support the MTA's operations) for the MTA to patch up the State's budget.

The MTA is at an impasse because of all the terrible decisions that have been made throughout its history. There IS NO WAY to get it running effectively. It has been allowed to invest badly and run up debt like a private corporation. The MTA is broken, by design.

The entire institution needs to be scrapped and replaced by a debt-free fully-public agency that is fiscally accountable to the people of the State of New York.