Echelon Seaport | 133-135 Seaport Blvd | Seaport

Where will all the dog owners take their dogs to do their business? Serious question as I recall hearing that some neighborhoods get overrun by doggy doo on the streets or on green spaces where they’re not supposed to be.
 
JohnAKeith said:
Let's hope we have a shallow recession or there's gonna be blood in the streets.
Click to expand...

One of the questions I keep asking out loud to anybody who will listen is if the mbta is broke now, if many states are in the red now, if the debt is rising...etc and were in a time of unprecedented growth/economic gain, then when on earth do we think these entities will not be broke? When were in a downturn? If the mbta cant fund red-blue now, during the strongest economy... ever, then when the hell do we expect them to do it??? During the next recession? Does nobody see the problem here? Is all of this growth just ran up on the credit card... wtf is going on here. Seriously right now, today, we should have red-blue, nsrl, or blue-lynn going. If not now then when? Seriously when? I hope Im wrong but all of this boom feels like a mega bubble. I hope a shallow recession is all that we have to worry about. How is the debt growing during the biggest boom...ever. Then when do we expect it to go down? Ah nevermind...
 
The MBTA is trying to spend nearly $1 billion/year on maintenence projects, and I have a feeling that's actually going to rise soon. They also have several billion dollars worth of capital projects being undertaken now or soon with funding. These are the improvements they need first, the one's you can't see but will make the system run 10x better and 10x more efficient. Hell, if you look at the MBTA Twitter or me and FK4's discussion on the Red Line and how embarrassingly terrible it is after the derailment, it is clear we need to fix the foundation before adding on to it.
 
stick n move said:
One of the questions I keep asking out loud to anybody who will listen is if the mbta is broke now, if many states are in the red now, if the debt is rising...etc and were in a time of unprecedented growth/economic gain, then when on earth do we think these entities will not be broke? When were in a downturn? If the mbta cant fund red-blue now, during the strongest economy... ever, then when the hell do we expect them to do it??? During the next recession? Does nobody see the problem here? Is all of this growth just ran up on the credit card... wtf is going on here. Seriously right now, today, we should have red-blue, nsrl, or blue-lynn going. If not now then when? Seriously when? I hope Im wrong but all of this boom feels like a mega bubble. I hope a shallow recession is all that we have to worry about. How is the debt growing during the biggest boom...ever. Then when do we expect it to go down? Ah nevermind...
Click to expand...

Public transportation for the most part is a disaster in all of the US. Few countries have figured it out and actually churn a profit such as Hong Kong and Japan. I would not say that public transit woes are a strong economic indicator. States that actually have figured out how to balance a budget such as Texas and Florida still lose money on each fare. Privatization has proved difficult as the public will not stand for increased fares for better service and quality.
 
jl326 said:
Where will all the dog owners take their dogs to do their business? Serious question as I recall hearing that some neighborhoods get overrun by doggy doo on the streets or on green spaces where they’re not supposed to be.
Click to expand...

Not to worry, there is a dog walk at the Amenity Level Terrace. Hopefully the doggies will get out on longer walks and the pooper scoopers will be right behind them.
 
stick n move said:
One of the questions I keep asking out loud to anybody who will listen is if the mbta is broke now, if many states are in the red now, if the debt is rising...etc and were in a time of unprecedented growth/economic gain, then when on earth do we think these entities will not be broke? When were in a downturn? If the mbta cant fund red-blue now, during the strongest economy... ever, then when the hell do we expect them to do it??? During the next recession? Does nobody see the problem here? Is all of this growth just ran up on the credit card... wtf is going on here. Seriously right now, today, we should have red-blue, nsrl, or blue-lynn going. If not now then when? Seriously when? I hope Im wrong but all of this boom feels like a mega bubble. I hope a shallow recession is all that we have to worry about. How is the debt growing during the biggest boom...ever. Then when do we expect it to go down? Ah nevermind...
Click to expand...

The answer is that the economy is in fact not great. It's great for some sectors, some people, but overall, it is functioning to serve a very small and elite minority. Public transit doesn't factor into that minority's needs, so there is no money allocated to it. Welcome to 1780s France.
 
jl326 said:
Where will all the dog owners take their dogs to do their business? Serious question as I recall hearing that some neighborhoods get overrun by doggy doo on the streets or on green spaces where they’re not supposed to be.
Click to expand...

locomotive said:
Not to worry, there is a dog walk at the Amenity Level Terrace. Hopefully the doggies will get out on longer walks and the pooper scoopers will be right behind them.
Click to expand...

Yeah, several of the newer buildings have included pet relief areas in their outdoor spaces. I recently toured Hub50 House (Hub on Causeway), and they have 1 of 3 outdoor terraces designed for that exact reason. Pretty elegant solution, IMHO.
 
HenryAlan said:
The answer is that the economy is in fact not great. It's great for some sectors, some people, but overall, it is functioning to serve a very small and elite minority. Public transit doesn't factor into that minority's needs, so there is no money allocated to it. Welcome to 1780s France.
Click to expand...

Henry -- your comment is not at all consistent with the official statistics on the economy

The lack of funding for the T and Transit in general has only to due with the will of the people and right now they are kind of fed up with spending on public things -- possibly because of the lack of ROI [in the functional sense for most public spending]

On the other hand the Public-private partnerships with respect to Transit are growing and seemingly working out quite well @ Assembly and New Balance
 
whighlander said:
Henry -- your comment is not at all consistent with the official statistics on the economy

The lack of funding for the T and Transit in general has only to due with the will of the people and right now they are kind of fed up with spending on public things -- possibly because of the lack of ROI [in the functional sense for most public spending]

On the other hand the Public-private partnerships with respect to Transit are growing and seemingly working out quite well @ Assembly and New Balance
Click to expand...

That's actually exactly what I said. Our priorities for what is done with the wealth created by this economy is not for things like public transit. Instead it is going to the wallets of the yacht buying class.
 
stick n move said:
One of the questions I keep asking out loud to anybody who will listen is if the mbta is broke now, if many states are in the red now, if the debt is rising...etc and were in a time of unprecedented growth/economic gain, then when on earth do we think these entities will not be broke? When were in a downturn? If the mbta cant fund red-blue now, during the strongest economy... ever, then when the hell do we expect them to do it??? During the next recession? Does nobody see the problem here? Is all of this growth just ran up on the credit card... wtf is going on here. Seriously right now, today, we should have red-blue, nsrl, or blue-lynn going. If not now then when? Seriously when? I hope Im wrong but all of this boom feels like a mega bubble. I hope a shallow recession is all that we have to worry about. How is the debt growing during the biggest boom...ever. Then when do we expect it to go down? Ah nevermind...
Click to expand...

Basic fiscal policy, which we all learned in Econ 101, is to collect extra tax revenue when the economy is growing (effectively putting the brakes on growth, just a little) and spend more during recessions (bolstering a weak economy through public spending). It evens out the wild fluctuations and ideally leads to stable, slow, and sustained growth.

So, that basic strategy says that we should be raising taxes (slightly) now, and getting a lot of public works projects designed and shovel ready. When the economy takes a turn for the worse, we would launch Red-Blue or NSRL or whatever to employ the unemployed and spend the surplus revenue collected during the good times. That is also a good time to cut taxes back a bit, giving people and businesses little extra cash to spend.

Now, none of that means we have to have an actual budget surplus during the good times. There is a lot of sound economic reasoning that the US can run deficits (within some specified limits) indefinitely. The key is the relative change in taxation and public spending. That means raising taxes when the economy is doing well, but unfortunately our federal government saw fit to do the exact opposite of what every economist on earth would recommend.

The same reasoning suggests that the recent MBTA fare hike came at the right time. You have to do a fare hike sometime. The best time is during a boom with low unemployment and rising wages. Of course they won't cut fares in the bad times, but at least they can stay static and let inflation erode the relative value over time.
 
HenryAlan said:
The answer is that the economy is in fact not great. It's great for some sectors, some people, but overall, it is functioning to serve a very small and elite minority. Public transit doesn't factor into that minority's needs, so there is no money allocated to it. Welcome to 1780s France.
Click to expand...

I think its not quite as bad as you say. I see things picking up for everyone these days. Unemployment is low. Wages are rising. I can hardly hire anyone because everyone else is hiring too. Granted I'm not in a blue collar industry, but its hardly just an elite minority who is doing well right now.
 
HenryAlan said:
That's actually exactly what I said. Our priorities for what is done with the wealth created by this economy is not for things like public transit. Instead it is going to the wallets of the yacht buying class.
Click to expand...

Henry -- you missed my point

Take advantage of the private wealth that has been created / accumulated to accomplish public benefit

Just as private wealth created the BSO, Symphony Hall, MFA, great U's in the "Golden Age" -- well now private wealth should be tapped for public benefit in the "Platinum / Si,icon Age"

for example both Harvard and jeff and the former Mrs Bezos have resources of the scale of countries

If New Balance's money fostered the development of the CR station -- well:
Harvard, MIT, Novartis, Phillips, Biogen, Sanofi, Takeda, Google, Apple, Boeing, Facebook

to name a few of the muilti-multi B$ organizations who have a vested interest in a reliable connection from Alston to North Station Area via Kendall and possibly Union Square
 
fattony said:
I think its not quite as bad as you say. I see things picking up for everyone these days. Unemployment is low. Wages are rising. I can hardly hire anyone because everyone else is hiring too. Granted I'm not in a blue collar industry, but its hardly just an elite minority who is doing well right now.
Click to expand...

Yes, I am guilty of some hyperbole. But as you well articulated in your previous post, we did the exact opposite in terms of tax policy from what should have happened. And what comes from that? Greater benefit at the high end and an over heated economy (hence our inability to hire). But only looking at things like employment numbers or the stock market or average wages obscures a lot of what is happening in the lower two or maybe even three income quintiles, where people are working but unable to afford to live near their jobs, unable to cover emergency expenses, or one ambulance ride away from financial disaster. Certainly not as chaotic and dysfunctional as late stage Bourbon France, but nevertheless, we have an extremely uneven distribution of economic spoils.
 
We are also supposed to cut government spending in an expansionary economy but that NEVER happens.
 
HenryAlan said:
Yes, I am guilty of some hyperbole. But as you well articulated in your previous post, we did the exact opposite in terms of tax policy from what should have happened. And what comes from that? Greater benefit at the high end and an over heated economy (hence our inability to hire). But only looking at things like employment numbers or the stock market or average wages obscures a lot of what is happening in the lower two or maybe even three income quintiles, where people are working but unable to afford to live near their jobs, unable to cover emergency expenses, or one ambulance ride away from financial disaster. Certainly not as chaotic and dysfunctional as late stage Bourbon France, but nevertheless, we have an extremely uneven distribution of economic spoils.
Click to expand...

The majority of Americans actually approve of the economy right despite all the political BS and noise. The fact is, we are better off now than we were 5 or 6 years ago. This gloomy outlook is certainly not how businesses I work with on a daily basis see the economy nor do I. Most businesses I work with are hiring more than they ever have and have the ability to put some away for a rainy day fund.
 
whighlander said:
Henry -- your comment is not at all consistent with the official statistics on the economy

The lack of funding for the T and Transit in general has only to due with the will of the people and right now they are kind of fed up with spending on public things -- possibly because of the lack of ROI [in the functional sense for most public spending]

On the other hand the Public-private partnerships with respect to Transit are growing and seemingly working out quite well @ Assembly and New Balance
Click to expand...

HenryAlan said:
That's actually exactly what I said. Our priorities for what is done with the wealth created by this economy is not for things like public transit. Instead it is going to the wallets of the yacht buying class.
Click to expand...

I think part of it is that people are fed up with the lack of ROI and the waste (or perceived waste) in MBTA spending (pensions, mismanagement, corruption, etc.). Plenty of us already feel fleeced enough through taxes as it is.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top