Spitzer's Ratings Continue Dropping; Fare Hike Wont Help

This shouldn't be surprising to anyone paying attention to New York Governor Eliot "Whiplash" Spitzer over the past few months as the Democrat continues to sputter and watch his ratings plummet. A new Siena College poll finds 51% view Spitzer unfavorably and 70% are not satisifed with his job performance.

The telephone poll was conducted Dec. 3-6 with 625 registered New York State voters. The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The poll found that 36 percent of voters viewed the governor favorably, and 51 percent unfavorably, compared with respective margins of 41 percent to 46 percent in November and 64 percent to 22 percent in June. Most New York City voters still view the governor favorably, while upstate voters overwhelmingly do not, the poll found.
Siena reported that 27 percent of voters gave Mr. Spitzer’s job performance a positive rating and 70 percent a negative rating (down from 33 percent to 64 percent in November and 55 percent to 37 percent in June).

Spitzer was elected in a landslide, so the massive drops within just the past year are quite telling.

It wasn't long ago that Whiplash Spitzer said that he opposed an increase in the MTA base fare, but the MTA is now expected to increase fares on everything else. How many people actually pay the base fare? Few. So, all those who cheered that move will be wondering where all the good times went as the MTA looks to hit up the Metrocard monthly users and everyone who uses discounted Metrocards.

Those who buy regular pay-per-ride MetroCards would also see a price increase; the bonus on pay-per-ride MetroCards would fall to 15 percent, from 20 percent, but the amount of money needed to qualify for the bonus will also drop, to $7, from $10. The base subway and bus fare would remain at $2, as Gov. Eliot Spitzer had promised.

Spitzer all but engaged in a bait and switch with commuters - precisely because he knew so few people paid the full fare. By stating that the MTA would go after the base fare, he targeted the far more lucrative commuters. Most people use a discounted or monthly pass, so this will affect far more people than had Spitzer sought to increase the base fare while maintaining the discounts. It's yet another measure to discourage mass transit usage.

Using mass transit means that you're doing your part to reduce congestion in New York City and yet, fare hikes may lead people to either seek jobs elsewhere, or some people will seek to drive to their jobs rather than pay more for lousy service.

UPDATE:
This article provides a better breakdown of fare and toll hikes, providing specific dollar increases as opposed to strictly providing percentage increases.