New York’s “Congestion Price Plan” – Not to be outdone by California in the race to virtue signal, New York’s governor Kathy Hochul announced the rollout of the state’s new “Congestion Price Plan” which will charge a daily toll on vehicles entering or remaining in the central business district of New York City.
In a press conference last month, Hochul stated:
“We are going to be the very first state in the nation, the very first city in America to have a congestion pricing plan. We are setting the standard right here in real time for how we can achieve cleaner air, safer streets, and better transit.”
Hochul claimed that millions of New Yorkers will lead “happier, safer, less stressful lives.”
I guess that would depend on what kind of New Yorker you are.
Cost Benefit Analysis
If you are a white-collar commuter driving in from the burbs of Connecticut or New Jersey, perhaps you will be motivated to take public transportation rather than hop in your Range Rover because of the additional charge to idle in traffic below 60th Street.
But if you are that person, the new toll likely won’t faze you.
It is doubtful you will forgo the comfort, not to mention the safety, or your own vehicle for a subway that has riders defecating in it or worse, assaulting passengers, to save a few measly bucks.
Like most progressive policies, this one hurts those who politicians on the left purport to support the most – or at least used to: the everyday American blue-collar worker. The cab or truck driver or contractor who has no choice but to drive into the city.
It’s questionable how much the new policy would even help the environment. The department’s Federal Highway Administration said the planned change will have no significant environmental impact and that a more comprehensive environmental analysis was unnecessary.
As usual, ideals trump people with environmental policy that fails to do a proper cost benefit analysis and an honest assessment of the costs of saving a few CO2 molecules.
New York’s Real Problems
Once again, like many blue states, California’s east coast equivalent seems to have its priorities misplaced.
Enter “what are New York city’s biggest problems?” into your browser and you’ll receive a litany of articles and posts about environmental issues.
Never mind the illegal immigrants that have to be bussed from New York City – which, by the way, Mayor Eric Adams has declared a sanctuary jurisdiction – to outer rural towns. Forget about the horrific behavior that is a daily occurrence on Manhattan subways. Please ignore the astronomical cost of living that is making the city almost unlivable.
According to a recent report from the United Way, 50% of working age New Yorkers are struggling to cover their basic needs.
There are just too many CO2 molecules floating around in New York’s air to tolerate.
The Truth of Carbon Output
The truth is, a zero-carbon world by 2035 as “zero chance of happening,” says Mark Mills, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Mills is also a physicist, engineer, and regular dispeller of environmental myths.
“The world has spent more than five trillion dollars – probably closer to 10 trillion – over the last two decades to avoid using hydrocarbons: oil, natural gas, and coal. And that’s resulted in a two-percentage point reduction in the share of world energy coming from hydrocarbons, and solar and wind today combined about three percent of world energy.”
Translation: the exorbitant cost of attempts to transition from fossil fuels barely moves the needle, just like Hochul’s plan.
Even Democrats are crying foul. Senator Bob Menendez and representatives Josh Gottheimer and Bill Pascrell from New Jersey blasted the decision saying the plan was “nothing more than a cash grab to fund” the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Citizens should be cognizant about how their daily activity affects the environment and continue to be good stewards of the land on which we live. However, such concerns shouldn’t preclude honest discussions about the true costs of environmental policy. Doing so replaces rational thinking with the loudest, most alarming calls for action that results in absurd policies such as Hochul’s.
If she keeps this up, Kathy Hochul will be running neck and neck with her counterpart in California, Gavin Newsom, in a race to destroy their states.
Jennifer Galardi is the politics and culture editor for 19FortyFive.com as well as opinion writer. She has a Master’s in Public Policy from Pepperdine University and produces and hosts the podcast Connection with conversations that address health, culture, politics, and policy. In a previous life, she wrote for publications in the health, fitness, and nutrition space. In addition, her pieces have been published in the Epoch Times and Pepperdine Policy Review. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
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