Letters to the Editor
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‘Listen to Reagan’
The New York City transit strike offers a strategic opportunity for the state’s flagging Republicans to vividly capture the national imagination [“Listen to Reagan,” Editorial, December 22, 2005].
In replacing the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization strikers in 1981, President Reagan discarded political cliches. His replacement of PATCO strikers heralded a 20-year bull run for the American economy. In New York, an even more dramatic step could reverse the state’s five-decade-long decline.
Some, for example, have suggested that Governor Pataki should sell the subway system to Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart’s bottom-line orientation, superior customer service, consistently low prices, and customer-focused marketing make it the obvious candidate to reform the subways.
Others have argued that since Wal-Mart lacks engineering expertise, the subway system would be best sold to Halliburton. Either strategic choice would mark a major improvement in public service and efficiency over the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Transport Workers Union.
MITCHELL LANGBERT
West Shokan, N.Y.
Mr. Langbert is an associate professor in the Department of Business and Economics at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York.
‘Transit Battle & Civil Rights’
By equating the dishonorable transit strike with the American civil rights movement, Jamal Watson and, more recently, Roger Toussaint, detract from the significance of the many sacrifices made by those brave and truly selfless individuals who fought for civil rights in the 1960s [“Transit Battle Is Tied to Civil Rights,” New York, December 21, 2005].
In attempting to defend the indefensible, Messrs. Watson and Toussaint have turned to what is too often the final refuge of those who argue against reason – namely, the hope that fear of political incorrectness will silence the union’s critics if its actions are portrayed as defending minorities against a prejudiced, immoral government.
ROBERT RENZULLI
Manhattan
‘Get the Buses Running’
Among my more savory thoughts regarding the recent transit strike, I also briefly considered the same tactic as that suggested by the Manhattan Institute’s Nicole Gelinas in “Get the Buses Running” [Opinion, December 22, 2005]: Enlist the aid of non-Transport Workers Union drivers to operate the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s idled buses.
I then considered the cost and manpower that would have been required to protect the “scabs” from possible striker violence, to protect the MTA’s plant and equipment from sabotage, and to manage the entire affair.
Given that the city was “all hands on deck” to maintain order, safety, and basic services, I believe that Mayor Bloomberg’s approach – creating an alternative transit system based on carpools, taxis, vans, corporate buses, and perseverance – was the smarter approach. Thank you very much.
ISAAC BRUMER
Manhattan
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