Seattle Times throws bus drivers, riders under the bus

The Seattle Times' editorial position on the $20 car tab tax for King County Metro transit service is really quite shocking.

Here it is, a vital public infrastructure component, just as vital as water, electricity and sewers, but transit is something the Times has decided ought to be starved ( http://bit.ly/pcYZ8X ). The paper:


1. Acknowledges the Amalgamated Transit Union gave up more in contract concessions than Sheriff's deputies, but then says that still wasn't enough. Sorry, but in exposed, volatile working conditions, Metro drivers earn their money.

2. Seeks justification in a 'report' by right-wing Washington Policy Center as an excuse to cut or change "low productivity" routes. Which means the Times believes you should only have access to transit service when "sustainable" -- completely ignoring the reality of the subsidized formula for transit funding in the US.

3. Cites slow-growing economy as excuse for starving transit. Ignoring that slow-growing is still growing.

The Times' position on the $20 Metro fee is the same trope the right wing trots out for every public program (except defense and corporate welfare) -- cut and starve in the name of 'efficiency.'