Dickhead 1: Look at these reports on our state�s economy.
Dickhead 2: Wow. Talk about bleak.
Dickhead 1: Yes. Businesses leaving our state in droves. Young people packing up and moving ANYWHERE that isn�t New York. Dwindling tax bases. Gas is the highest it�s ever been. It�s not pretty.
Dickhead 3: OUR salaries could be in jeopardy here!
Dickhead 1: No, that won�t happen. No matter what we do wrong, we will ALWAYS be paid first. That�s the way the system works.
Dickhead 2: So what can we do about it? Can we raise taxes again? The poor stupid saps who live in this state seem to be holding on to too much of their money. Don�t WE deserve more of it? After all, some of them still have enough money left over to be able to afford to pay attention.
Dickhead 1: When WAS the last time we raised taxes, anyway? Aren�t we due?
Dickhead 2: We just raised them. What are we going to do?
Dickhead 3: Dickhead 4, what do you think?
Dickhead 4: Hmmm.
They sit in silence for a few minutes while Dickhead 4 slowly puffs on an imported European cigarette.
Dickhead 2: Well�?
Dickhead 4: The Thruway. Millions of people use it every day, right? Raise the tolls.
Stunned silence.
Dickhead 3: Weren�t those tolls supposed to be abolished a few years ago, when the original loan for building the Thruway was paid off?
Dickhead 1: So what? The people of this state EXPECT us to lie to them, and then turn around and fuck �em in the ass.
Dickhead 2: It IS what we do.
Dickhead 3: I guess you�re right.
Dickhead 1: It�s settled then. In the midst of the highest gasoline prices ever, when many New Yorkers can barely afford to eat, we�ll make it even more costly for them to even get to work.
Dickhead 2: It�s a good plan. Now who�s gonna present it to the Supreme Dickhead?
Now, I�m sure many of you think the preceding conversation didn�t actually take place. And you may be right. But I will bet your life that something VERY similar did, in fact take place for these idiots to even consider doing this to us New Yorkers. And yes, the tolls WERE supposed to go away when the Thruway was paid for. That�s the ONLY reason the tolls were there in the first place. It was never supposed to be free money for the state to collect and do with as they saw fit. Which usually means lining their own fucking pockets.
Due to ever increasing taxes, and a complete and total inability to actually fulfill any promises to the public, the government of New York has been steadily driving people out of the state for years now. Businesses were the first to go, since they were the first to get hit with increased taxes. I remember a few years ago I was doing bookkeeping for a company, and we received a letter from the state. It said that to cover the cost of all the companies that went out of business because they were unable to pay their exorbitant taxes, the people who were still in business would have to pay more. Y�know, to try and cover the difference. What kind of bullshit is that? Getting penalized for NOT fucking up? We had managed to pay our taxes, so it should be no problem for us to pay someone else�s too, right? Yeah, it�s a fucking mystery why companies are relocating.
Then of course, there�s the price of gas. Mobil reported a profit of 28 BILLION dollars for last year. TWENTY-EIGHT FUCKING BILLION DOLLARS! So why the fuck am I paying almost $2.50 for a goddamn gallon of gas? GREED! Where does that 28 billion go? I mean, if it�s profit that means it�s AFTER the company�s expenses, right? Here�s a wild fucking idea; cut the goddamn, motherfucking cost of gas at the pumps, okay? Thanks a bunch, asshat.
But that�s beside the point. The fact is, due to the ever-increasing greed of the oil companies, and the ever-decreasing intelligence of this country�s fearless leader, we all have to take out loans to fill the tank. Well, there is another party who can share in the blame, and that�s the cock-stains who drive SUVs. And I don�t feel sorry for some nimrod who bought a truck bigger than my fucking house who�s whining now that it costs him more than his mortgage payment just to drive to work every day. There was NO REASON for 99% of the chowderheads who bought these gargantuan monstrosities to do so, and they have absolutely no right to complain. And if I here the complaining from these needle-dicked pusbags, I will be forced to bash them over the head with a fucking shovel.
But again I seem to be getting sidetracked from the main point. That being that we are in the middle of what can only be called a gas crisis. Paying more at the pumps than we have before, with fewer �mileage cars� being made by the car manufacturers. And in the midst of this, the Thruway Authority wants to raise the fucking tolls. Pure genius!
The next thing I wonder is where will they get the money to pay for all the overtime the ambulance crews are going to be putting in on the multitude of accidents that will occur when the traffic on all of the smaller roads quadruples because people don�t want to pay the higher tolls? And who�s going to pay to repair THOSE roads when they suddenly see more traffic than they were designed for? Did they think of any of this shit? I seriously doubt it.
Going back to taxes, where is the government going to get its money when they drive even MORE companies out of New York? Since this hike in tolls will hit the commercial traffic even harder than the rest of us, what will they do when these people leave? Companies that do a lot of shipping out of state are going to get killed by this. Some of these companies will end up paying about $20,000 - $50,000 A MONTH more to ship their product with the new tolls. That will all have to be passed on to the consumer. The same consumer that ALSO now has to pay more to use this road to get to work, or to BUY these products. They won�t be able to afford them, and the company will either have to downsize, or close, or relocate to another state. One that doesn�t hate businesses. And all of these things mean a smaller tax base for the state. Doesn�t it just make you tingle all over to watch these sacks of stupid do their thing?
The Thruway Authority points out that there are people who support this hike in tolls. Yeah, like the State Associated General Contractors. They represent the highway construction companies in New York State. They think the raise isn�t steep enough. Like they aren�t biased about it. Guys making $35 an hour to wave a fucking flag and they want more. They want the tolls even higher so they can bank more coin. Why should THEY care, right? With their ridiculous salaries they can afford it. For chrissakes they are paying 2.1 MILLION dollars to paint a handful of bridges. I�ll do it for ten grand apiece, plus paint. That or just fill my tank, whichever is higher this week.
The point is�there is no point. Everyone already knows that this state is in financial trouble, and the current leadership doesn�t have a single fucking clue how to fix it. So instead they continue to charge us more and more for the �privilege� of living here. And the more people leave, the more the rest of us pay. The only thing I can say is the last one to leave better turn out the lights, cuz we can�t afford to pay the fucking bill.