Who needs 44,000 new jobs anyways?
Who needs updated infrastructure and robust transit capacity, for a very mobile citizenry?
Certainly not Chris Christie -- afterall he has state-funded limo-service and personal helicopters at his disposal, whenever he needs them.
If only the NJ-NY commuters were so privileged ... as the Governor always looking out for them ... and their quality quiet-time, stuck in traffic more and more each day.
Christie’s other traffic jam
by Ned Resnikoff, msnbc.com -- 01/26/14 (Updated 01/27/14 02:33 PM)
[...]
Yet Gov. Christie abruptly scrapped the [ARC] project during his first year in office. In doing so, he willingly gave up $3 billion in promised federal assistance, infuriated a local senator, and provoked the federal Department of Transportation to demand some of its money back. More importantly, critics say Christie may have stunted his state’s economic development in such a way that it could take decades to recover.
[...]
So why did Christie kill the new tunnel? Ostensibly, he was worried about cost overruns; but an independent inquiry by Congress’ investigative arm found no evidence of the massive price inflation which Christie predicted. To many of the governor’s critics, the death of the ARC tunnel looks more like a political ploy, crafted to boost his reputation and pocket billions of dollars in construction funds at the expense of New Jersey’s transit system and economic well-being.
The two men who allegedly led this effort at the Port Authority are David Wildstein and Bill Baroni -- both of whom have subsequently been caught up in the Bridgegate scandal.
[...]
Christie stood firm, insisting that the “long-term fiscal health” of New Jersey was at stake. While critics were more than a little skeptical, it wasn’t until 2012 that independent investigators released a comprehensive fact-check of that claim. In April of that year, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) released the findings of a thirteen month investigation into the ARC tunnel cancellation. Their conclusion: As of October 2010, estimates for how much the ARC project would cost ranged from $9.78 to, at most, $12.43 billion. And whereas Christie had said that the state of New Jersey would be on the hook for 70% of the total cost, the GAO found that the real number was closer to 14%.
[...]
Nevermind that the overly-frugal Christie wasted nearly $300 million of Federal Taxpayers money.
Nor that he fudged the numbers, with a quick-hit report, thrown together by his wrecking crew of Baroni and Wildstein -- to abruptly kill this citizen-supported "public works" project -- 5 years in the making.
What matters most in the Christie governing philosophy, is where the money is coming from, and which lawyers are getting their fair share of it -- say the firm of Patton Boggs who took the Dept of Transportation to the New Jersey woodshed -- for measly tax-payer fee of a cool Million.
No worries though New Jerseyans, Chris Christie has got your Port Authority commuter-fees back -- you see he's working an angle to stick Insurers with that $95 Million finders-fee, payable to the Feds ...
N.J., feds settle bill for canceled ARC tunnel for $95M
by Mike Frassinelli/The Star-Ledger, nj.com/news -- Sept 30, 2011
[...]
New Jersey and the federal government yesterday [Sept 29, 2011] settled the [$271 milllion] tab for $95 million, ending a yearlong saga that unfolded after Gov. Chris Christie terminated the $9.8 billion Hudson River tunnel -- America’s largest public works project.
"The 5-year payment schedule on a $95 million settlement -- which contains not one additional dollar of New Jersey taxpayer money -- would be offset by more than $100 million in insurance premium refunds," the governor said.
"This represents a fraction of the federal government’s initial claim and won’t cost New Jerseyans any additional money, which would otherwise go to infrastructure improvements," he continued. "I want to thank U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and his staff for their good-faith efforts in working with us and putting the interest of New Jersey taxpayers ahead of politics."
[...]
"Every commuter stuck in the tunnel or delayed on their way to and from work knows how important this project was to our economy and quality of life," said Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), who chairs the Assembly Transportation Committee. "The governor can brag all he wants, but there is no getting around the fact that New Jersey lost when the governor canceled the tunnel."
[...]
No worries though New Jerseyans,
the Chris Christie gang down at the Port Authority know, that if you can afford $8 to commute by tunnel, well you can easily afford nearly TWICE THAT --
Eh, what's the problem?
Because New Jersey -- the Christie Port Authority has your commuter-back:
Embattled NY/NJ Port Authority still fighting toll hike lawsuit
NJ Spotlight, newsworks.org -- Jan 6, 2014
[...]
For two years, the Port Authority has been battling to block the release of documents showing its internal deliberations leading up to its controversial September 2011 decision -- jammed through after just one day of hearings -- to raise tolls on the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels; George Washington, Bayonne and Goethals bridges; and the Outerbridge Crossing from $8 to $15 by 2015 (rate sched).
[...]
Christie diverted $1.8 billion of the $3 billion the Port Authority originally set aside for the ARC Tunnel to provide some of the matching funds he needed to underwrite a five-year $8 billion Transportation Trust Fund plan without raising gas taxes in 2011.
But it is unclear where the other $1.2 billion originally set aside for the tunnel will be going, Robins said, and it is unclear that the Port Authority will have the resources to serve as a matching-fund piggybank again in 2016 when the Transportation Trust Fund again comes up for renewal. Compounding the Port Authority's fiscal headache in the short term is the fact that toll revenue from its bridges and tunnels has failed to meet expectations in the wake of the toll hikes, Robins said.
[...]
Who's looking out for you New Jersey?
From about 4000 feet up, in his tax-funded conveyance, cruising along with one exceptionally Traffic-free view ...
Just ask yourself that, and remember the "Christie Copter" the next time you're stuck in a grid-locked traffic AGAIN, in one of too few tunnels, soon to cost you only 3 sawbucks a pop. All courtesy of the New Jersey Port Authority's shadowy bidding ...