Wednesday, August 17, 2011

I $ New York.

Checking the news this morning, I glanced over something about New York City and bridges and money. "Nope," I muttered to myself, "I wouldn't do it for four bucks and I won't for fourteen bucks. You're going to need to offer me more than that."

And then I realized that that was how much they were going to charge me to drive across the bridges into their wretched hive of scum and villainy, not how much they were going to pay me to do so.

You have got to be out of your ever-loving mind.
.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wait, let me set my bowcaster down.

I thought you people, People of the Wookie, were down with toll roads?

Shootin' Buddy

Robert McDonald said...

On the one hand, it's probably about time for a toll hike. On the other, it's just giving more money to people who think food stamps are a stimulus to the economy.

I do love the 'people are starving!!!!111' moron. Any idiot who starves in the US deserves to starve.

Tam said...

I've got no problem with toll roads at all. What made you think I do?

However, if I wasn't going to buy a scoop of turd-flavored ice cream for $4, tripling-an-then-some the price is unlikely to make me a customer.

Anonymous said...

I see.

I'd only point out that New York City is the biggest economy in the world. If they use the bridges they should have to pay. Better New Yorkers pay than reach into my pocket to pay for them.

Shootin' Buddy

Bram said...

Living in New Jersey, friends from other places always say things like "It must be great living close the New York, how often do you visit the city?"

I had a business meeting there in 2005. That was the last time I couldn't avoid it (and somebody else was paying my tolls and gas).

Jim said...

Four bucks is too much to get into Gotham, but many's the time I would have paid 20 times as much to get out of the goddam place.

Tam said...

SB,

"Better New Yorkers pay than reach into my pocket to pay for them."

Oh, don't worry. I'm sure this is just on top of the fact that they've been federally stimulated to hell-and-gone.

North said...

"Stimulated" used to be a word I really liked.

Anonymous said...

I'm with Jim.

The didn't call the movie Escape To New York.

Gerry

Zendo Deb said...

They should just move stuff out of the city. With modern communications tech, nothing really needs to be downtown anymore.

The markets? Move them to Iowa.

staghounds said...

I've been to the city probably 200 times. Every time cost more than $14, and every time it was worth it.

Wretched hive of fun, beauty, interest, learning, excitement, and unexpected delight, too.

Standard Mischief said...

I'd also like to remind everyone that NY taxes your income on where you work, while many states tax you on where you live. Thus telecommuting to the big crapple can get fscking expensive!

http://www.bottomlinesecrets.com/print.html?article_id=31628

@Shootin' Buddy, RE:down with toll roads

We're down with toll roads, but not tolls managed by the state. I should also do a post about EZ-Pass on my blog sometime. In short, the state forces me to pay extra so they can hire less toll-takers, they want the money up front, they don't pay interest, and they share my usage data with the pigs without a warrant.

Bram said...

Zendo Deb - That is what keep New Jersey going! We are slightly less hostile to business and our real estate is more affordable. Yea for us!

We get a steady stream of people leaving New York (state and city) to replace the ones making the full escape further soth or west.

Lergnom said...

I rode as a passenger on the Belt Parkway in 1965. To this day I never drive into NYC, and only drive through it whenever unavoidable, and then using a GPS with shortest/fastest routes selected. When I drive to, I park at Port Authority and take cabs, but the train I consider an elegant experience from a more civilized age. First class Acela is the way to go, if you want to pay as much a flying.

Stay safe

John A said...

If you are willing to go to the IKEA in Brooklyn, hop a water taxi to Wall Street for as little as $5 -

http://www.nywatertaxi.com/Rides/ikea/

Joseph said...

You have compared Chicago to Mordor. New York, of course, can outdo that.

Ed Foster said...

I'm with Staghounds on this one. Visiting Sodom and Gomorrah on the Hudson is really fun 1 to 3 times a year, and escaping it for Connecticut seems all the sweeter after I'm broke and worn out from partying.

One observation that matches with Tam's thoughts however. I-95 into New York is free, but heavily tolled on the way out. Kinda like marriage. And why does divorce cost so much? Because it's worth it.

Seriously, I was born there and I wouldn't give a damn if the place burned to the ground tomorrow. I have lots of my mother's family there, but they're all very tough Irish cops who could shoot their way out if it all went into the pot.

But for sheer, concentrated (expensive) fun, it's a wild weekend, and until it does turn fully into a Carpenter flick, why not?

Ian Argent said...

The tolls on bridges into Noo Yawk are deliberately punitive - they want you to come in, but are not so hip to your automotive appliance. Observe the cost of a train or bus ticket.