Chicago parking meters on NPR. A good preview of the world the GOP wants for us.

[Kablooie]

All Things Considered had a short article about people stealing parking meters to protest the high prices.
http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=130811940&m=130815550

The parking meters were privatized and prices shot up as a result.
Parking in the city is now $4.25 an hour. Prices will go up in January and will quadruple by 2013.

This is the world Republicans want for America.
They want all services to be privatized and corporations allowed to gouge customers all they want.
If you can't afford the overpriced service, tough.
If you and your family starve and die as a result, it's your own fault, not the GOP or the rich corporation's.
Get a high paying job, you bum!

Why the hell any sane person would want this for themselves is beyond me.
Must be that a lot of Americans just aren't that sane.

[harun]

1. I think some people just don't put two and two together and see how bad

they are screwing themselves.

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. It the Reagan fee based society.

[HEyHEY]

3. Any public neccesity should never be privatized

From parking meters to garbage collection. If society needs it to function smoothly, it should be public. As soon as you give it to a business, their plan is to make as much money as they can from it. Then quality of service suffers.

In BC, they went and (effectively) privatized the ferry system. Now the boats break down more, they're late ONE OF THEM SANK....etc.

[Kablooie]

14. You'd make a terrible Republican.

[HEyHEY]

20. thanks!

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

36. Ditto in Rio for electricity, the metro, the trains, and other things.

Oh, yes -- ferries too.

Of all privatizations I witnessed in Brazil, the ONLY one it could be argued to have had positive results was telephony.

[HEyHEY]

42. private electricty is ALWAYS a failure

It hasn't worked anywhere.

[Angry Dragon]

4. The meters are owned by a foreign business

[Radical Activist]

5. Except that this was done by a Democrat. Daley.

It's probably one of the reasons why he isn't running for re-election. It's EXTREMELY unpopular. It was done in an anti-democratic manner with no public support.

The theft of these parking meters is a fully justified act of civil disobedience. It's a truer expression of democracy than what Daley did when he put them in. I hope it spreads.

[Name removed]

22. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ClassWarrior]

43. So?

It's still the foundation of the Rape-Publican privatized future.

NGU.

[madfloridian]

6. Last I heard Daley was a Democrat.

Selling off out ports and infrastructure

"Seems Mayor Daley told Obama that if we sold off our public assets we would never ever have to raise taxes.

And America is taking Daley's advice. At this writing Nashville and Pittsburgh are speeding ahead with their own parking meter deals, as is L.A. New York has considered it, and the city of Miami just announced its own plans for a leasing deal. There are now highways, airports, parking garages, toll roads — almost everything you can think of that isn't nailed down and some things that are — for sale, to bidders unknown, around the world."

[Riftaxe]

7. delete

your ignorance has already been pointed out.

[madfloridian]

8. That's a pretty rude statement.

No need for it.

[Riftaxe]

10. Opinions Differ

I believe making up crap out of whole clothe is rude. There are enough actual real things to blame on the GOP without outright demonstrable lies. Calling him on that would be less rude, then pointing out that he might want to familiarize himself with the political makeup of Chicago government so as not to appear ignorant?

[Hassin Bin Sober]

11. You may wan to read the OP again.

The OP doesn't say a Republican did the deed. The OP says this is the future of America under republican control. It's a valid point.

Privatization of the commons is a Republican's wet dream. That's not to say Democrats are immune.

[riderinthestorm]

9. Not so fast....

I'm a Chicago suburbanite. I go to Chicago for various things in my car almost exclusively (1. I carpool so I'm rarely making a solo journey to split costs. 2. The train schedule isn't convenient dammit every time I need to make a trip into the city)

For almost 50 years I've been at the mercy of the big parking lot vendors who charge big bucks for 4 hours + (only $20!!! etc.) You could never find a street parking spot for your errand. Oh no, you had to pay big bucks and park in the big lot.

Since the private meters went up, I have been able to find a spot within 20 feet of my destination on the street EVERY TIME. So my 30 minute trip to the Irish Embassy now costs me $1.25 instead of $20 for the big lot minimum since I just feed the quarters. Or the music lesson for my daughter costs me $1.25 for parking on the street (I wait in the car and do the el-cheapo route by not feeding the meter hourly). This summer I went to the Art Institute on a "Free Thursday" with my family. We parked for 2 hours on the street for $8 and got into the Art Institute for free. In the past, there's no way we could have found a spot on the street. We would have been forced into the Grant Park lot for the minimum of $20!).. etc. etc.

The big city lots were ALWAYS bare minimum $20 to just pull in the lot. Now the new privatized meters allow me more flexibility. Don't get me wrong, the city of CHICAGO should have/could have done this themselves decades ago. But they didn't. The city of Chicago allowed the big metro lots to extort the big bucks out of those of us who actually USE the city streets. Now that people can get in and out for less than a 4 hour slot, there's LOTS more street parking available. It's not necessarily cheaper/hour but its cheaper because you dont have those extortionate "small hour" rates anymore.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

12. I'm glad it's working out for you. The rest of us are fucked.

And the billion dollars will be pissed away in a couple years.

[riderinthestorm]

17. I can't imagine the impact it's had on Chicago residents!

I'm only speaking as someone who drops in a few times/year from the far western suburbs (for decades!). The new meters are friendlier for us who have to get around downtown for a couple of hours.

I guess I imagine that those who live in the city permanently have their own apartment/rental spaces that they use. With the mass transit systems handling the bulk of the transit issues for residents. Do you all actually pay hourly to park on the street/in your condo lot?? My dad lived for a few decades in the city and always had a parking spot allocated with his apartment in his building. Has that changed?

[Tatiana]

24. You do realize that many essential city services are located downtown.

Court, City Hall, vital records, the Thompson Center...

Some people who live in the city have alleyway garages or driveways or attached garages. But many simply park on the street in front of or near their homes (with an appropriate identification sticker).

If I'm going to the theater or art institute or chicago symphony, I will use public transportation. But if I'm briefly availing myself of city services or parking on a city street to take my family out for brunch, the price increases are ridiculous.

I hope the meters continue to be stolen.

[riderinthestorm]

35. I know. I honestly am not defending them

Although they are easier for me for the few times/year I come in from the far west outer rim, I empathize with people who have to deal with them daily. Since they are so much more expensive, I can actually find a spot now, very fast, that's all.

I believe they'll continue to be stolen. Daley fucked up with this contract and honestly, sometimes I wonder if the resulting fury contributed to his decision to leave office. Maybe the kickback he got on it just doesn't seem worth it anymore.

[Hannah Bell]

38. no idea what your point is. chicago residents aren't affected?

they're sure affected by the loss of revenue to the city & the outflow of revenue to a foreign country.

[madrchsod]

13. yup.... those parking lots are a rip off....

good thing the only time i go downtown is once a year to the mart.

[izzybeans]

16. You must circle around for quite some time finding that spot, given that's just off Michigan Ave.

http://maps.google.com/maps?client=safari&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF8&q=irish+embassy+chicago&fb=1&gl=us&hq=irish+embassy&hnear=Chicago,+IL&hl=en&view=map&cid=14774061603953508622&iwloc=A&ved=0CHQQpQY&sa=X&ei=Nk7GTMukGZHmNICS-aYE

For us who actually live here, we've been fucked. Royally.

[riderinthestorm]

18. Nope. Actually since the new meters have gone in, it's been MUCH easier.

We do get into the city a lot more than most- my husband's doctors are at U of C (a twice annual trip). We go in to see the shows at least 2x/year. The Art Institute, Grant Park concerts, the boat race launch to Mackinaw (we have friends who regularly race) etc. etc.

I dunno. Whereas before we'd be stuck heading into the major metro lots which charged us a fortune just to pull in, even if we were staying 30 min, the new meters allow us to find a spot, stay for that short trip, and leave without a big charge. Hell, I've even sat in the car while my husband's been in the hospital for a re-check. If a meter maid comes by, I feed the meter. Otherwise I just wait and we pull out without paying anything since his visits are always short (thank gawd!) Before, everyone would monopolize a city meter. Now they can just pay for that short duration and get out. I never have a problem finding a spot now

[live love laugh]

23. You can park because nobody else can afford to. nt

[Hassin Bin Sober]

25. Hey. So what if some office worker is forced in to one of those ...

.....foreign owned city garages. People from Naperville gotta see their yacht races.

[riderinthestorm]

34. I'm a farmer living much farther west than Naperville, and light years away in terms of lifestyle

Honestly, I have never see the Mackinac race. I've gone down the night before to have a drink with friends who bring their boat down for the race so we see them once/year - we're farmers and I can't tell you the last time I went out on a boat away from my annual trip to sit on one. Maybe 40 years ago when I was a child?

And I'm not defending the meters. It's a Daley scam. I get it. I'm just giving my perspective. They are more expensive so there is more availability. It's just easier now to get a street spot that's all.

[riderinthestorm]

33. Actually, I think that's right. It is more expensive so there's more availability.

I don't go in enough for it to be prohibitive but the new meters are more expensive than the older ones which means there is more availability.

[Radical Activist]

28. Why would there be more street spots available?

Makes no sense. Is it just because everyone is crammed up everyone elses ass since they took out individual meters?

[melm00se]

31. this is how pricing affects availability

make things too cheap people will wipe out your inventory, make it too high and no one buys your inventory.

a nice balance is between the 2: pricing is high enough so that availability is maintained but low enough that it still sells. (This is why pricing products is such a challenge).

To use another analogy:

Snickers bars, standard, run of the mill, snickers bars.

What is the normal price? ($1? I don't eat candy so I can't really say)
How many would the average person buy if they were 5 cents a piece or, conversely, $5 a piece?

In the former case, I am willing to bet that the 1st person to run across the 5 cent bars would probably drill most, if not all, leaving the rest of the potential customers out in the cold. In the latter case, I am sure folks would stroll on by and they would sit until they moldered.

You can pretty much apply this analogy to almost every product available today, tomorrow, next month, next year.

[mopinko]

15. first of all, parking at most of the kiosks (they aren't meters)

just pay stations that give you a ticket to display, are $1-2 dollars an hour on the arterial streets.
the city had no way to increase rates with the old coin op meters. they were at capacity. and no one would have been that happy about the cost of the new systems, if they had had to pay it. plus using credit cards, which most people do, takes a heck of a lot of work and opportunities for graft out of the system.
iirc, laz- the new corporate over lords, are a subsidiary of chase. they lease parking lots and garages in most big cities, including in europe. daley is not the leader there. they have been around.
people making an issue out of this usually don't understand what an investment was required to do this deal. as i said, they aren't meters. they are more like atms than meters. 2 or 3 to the block. want to tote up what laz put into this deal? hint- a freaking lot of money.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

19. Did you read the Rolling Stone article on this subject? Daley fucked us royally.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

29. They are also easier to monkey wrench

Though the city is frowning on that as a defense these days

[live love laugh]

21. I live here and it's atrocious. Chicago is totally pay-to-play now. Citizens are prey. nt

[Hassin Bin Sober]

26. It's been obvious to me since the city openly admitted they want ...

... to hire more code enforcement officers to inspect bars and restaurants. Not because there is some epidemic of ptomaine poisoning - They openly admitted it was to increase fines. That and then the dollar signs spinning through Daley's beady eyes when he saw the revenue generated at one of the test-case traffic red-light cameras on Western Ave.

[mopinko]

40. honestly, i don't care why they put up the cameras.

i think of it as an asshole tax. yes, some good drivers goof sometimes, but the chronic offenders are getting toasted. makes the streets safer and raises money. as long as they don't start monkeying with the settings just to up the take, i want one on every corner.

[mopinko]

41. honestly, i don't care why they put up the cameras.

i think of it as an asshole tax. yes, some good drivers goof sometimes, but the chronic offenders are getting toasted. makes the streets safer and raises money. as long as they don't start monkeying with the settings just to up the take, i want one on every corner.

[Krakowiak]

27. Sounds like Seattle

[jtrockville]

30. Why would anyone expect a different outcome from privatization?

The only thing privatization has ever improved, is profit for the private owners.
There has never been a public benefit.

Am I wrong? If so, please provide an example.

[sofa king]

32. There were entire square blocks of missing meters in DC, for years.

I remember one year they hit every meter near D Street SW, giving savvy museum goers like me free parking for at least a year. Judging from the damage and occasional meter-heads left behind, it would appear that the trick was to hit it hard with an aluminum bat, then rip the head off with the change collector in it, leaving only a pole behind.

I'm sure it's not true, but I heard that the feds spend a good amount of time trying to identify the meter-stealers, on the theory that they might be terrorists scaring up funding. I'm sure someone spent an uncomfortable four to nine years in Guantanamo for it.

[Hannah Bell]

37. chicago democrats did that.

[MilesColtrane]

39. It's pervasive.

Rick Perry and his friends in the state house passed a law that will convert many state highways into toll roads.

Sure our taxes paid to construct them, but why just pay for them once?

It's the subscription model that many businesses want to get into also.

You never really own anything, they own it, you just rent it.