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abbyinsm's avatar

Excellent analysis. One more thing I would add is that lack of staffing on trains and in stations means that passengers themselves must respond to anti-social behavior. Bus drivers are trained and able to be the authority who is able to intervene when a passenger's behavior is inappropriate or out of control. Train passengers rarely have skills or know acceptable procedures for intervention, nor should they! Hiring staff for trains and stations would also create good public sector jobs for people who otherwise risk homelessness. It is not just unhoused people who behave badly on transit. I'm a 70 year old woman who uses LA Metro. I've never been offered a seat by a healthy young person, and I've experienced many inappropriate behaviors including loud boom boxes that should have been interrupted by a staff member. Staffing up our transit vehicles and stations would solve multiple policy issues, including lifting the new staff members out of poverty.

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Wigan's avatar

Anyways - I guess my question on the proposed solutions is why can't blue cities and states do these things themselves? States like California and New York have enormous tax bases as you point out. And also very Blue governments. And both the wealth and blue votes are concentrated in the same places (the cities). If their desirability drives the homeless problem, through prices, if also offers the potential fiscal solution, through potential tax revenue.

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