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Rich States Uncover Tax Windfall, Undercutting Push for Aid
Bloomberg 12/16/2020
(Bloomberg) It was a shocking, and seemingly improbable, figure.
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Eight months into the pandemic and the brutal economic collapse it triggered California’s budget watchdog said the state was poised to pocket a windfall of some $26 billion. Just as New York and Connecticut had revealed weeks earlier, tax revenue was coming in at a clip no one expected, thanks in part to the booming stock market.
And so it has largely played out across the country this year, albeit to a smaller extent in many of the less well-to-do states. The fiscal apocalypse expected to blow massive holes in state budgets hasn’t come at least not yet.
Agencies typically seek to maximize fixed-lease payments through a “minimum annual guarantee” for these long-term, competitively bid contracts. While intended to reduce risk, this approach showed its limits this year. As transit ridership dropped precipitously during the spring, firms quickly renegotiated agreements nationally to remove fixed payments. A better approach is to pre-negotiate any relief under varying ridership scenarios, both negative and positive. Accurate, real-time data sources allow fair allocation of risk and reward, even in times of crisis, enabling cities to keep more of every dollar their assets generate.
Prioritize customer experience. Revenue need not be the only goal of a public-private partnership, especially as agencies seek new ways to provide safe, reliable and enjoyable transportation. As 5G wireless becomes commonplace, robust digital infrastructure will be a baseline expectation. New physical structures can also provide ancillary services, such
Dec. 15, 2020 6:00 am ET
Transit officials in New York are teaming up with the Department of Homeland Security and Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study how to reduce the spread of the new coronavirus on buses and trains.
If and how much the virus spreads on mass transit is a stubborn question. Ridership is down in cities around the world largely due to people working from home and businesses closing, but also because of fear of contracting the virus.
Studies and reports this year have drawn conflicting conclusions about the extent to which the virus spreads on mass transit. Some of the studies have been conducted by economists and transit specialists who don’t have expertise in the spread of viruses and other pathogens.