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> sheer number of disingenuous objections

This is unfair. Nobody wants to pay more for anything. And many of the objections resulted in policy adjustments that made the programme better.





Which objections lead to better policy?

> Which objections lead to better policy?

The MTA "changed its flawed initial proposal to offer the [disability] exemption only to drivers or vehicles owners with state-issued disability plates" [1].

[1] https://www.nylpi.org/resource/letter-to-mta-regarding-conge...


Which objections were proven wrong?

The objection that pricing will damage local retail, in aggregate retail has thrived from pricing.

https://bettercities.substack.com/p/congestion-pricing-is-a-...


Not surprised. In general, retail works way better when shoppers are on foot.

When you have everyone in cars, it's more convenient to go to one big store and buy everything in one place, than to go to three small ones to buy three different things. Shopping malls tried to bridge this gap for suburban retail, but the ultimate rules exploit was Wal-Mart: just build a giant box with a parking lot and sell absolutely everything in it.

The problem with one-stop shopping is the same problem as centralized app stores[0]: it creates a single buyer that can dictate to the entire market the terms of the sale. There's only room for 1 or 2 big-box department stores per market. General retail is owned by Target and Wal-Mart. Electronics is owned by Best Buy. Office supplies are owned by Staples and OfficeMax. Crafts and sewing supplies are owned by Michael's[1]. Pet supplies are owned by Petco[2] and Petsmart. Construction supplies? Home Depot and Lowe's. Each one of these are businesses that were built for maximum scale - to suck up all the demand in a market, region, or country for a thing and then mete it out to whatever supplier offers the best terms.

[0] The fact that arguments for the iOS App Store monopoly are the same as arguments for car-centric suburbs should not be lost on you.

[1] RIP Jo-Ann's

[2] Fuck Petco, all my homies hate Petco. Adopt, don't shop.


Retail where? Inside the congestion zone? What about outside it?

I don't know, but specifically many people objected that the tax would hurt retail inside and they were wrong.

If you are objecting to a policy because it will make that area better and as a result, hurt businesses elsewhere, you need to rethink your choices.

I didn’t say every objection was disingenuous, just that there was an incredible number of objections that were.

I'm sure you're being honest about your intent, but a glancing read of your previous comment sounded categorical, to my ear at least, "And they've all been proven false."

It’s hard from reading what is written how it is intended. Written communication is hard since it doesn’t encapsulate tone, emphasis, and other cues. I read “all” in this case to mean: “most of the commonly espoused objections”.

All of the disingenuous objections. The intent of the OP is very clear, imo.



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