Policy Wonk
The cashless tolling ‘Catch-22’
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Cashless tolling should save money for taxpayers over time and reduce traffic congestion on more heavily-traveled roads and bridges. But you need to play by the rules or risk owing big fines.
Policy Wonk
Rent-to-own shopping: The nightmare after Christmas
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Yes, rent-to-own retailers are selling to a high-risk consumer. But let’s be clear: These are predatory businesses.
Policy Wonk
Is Rochester ready for e-scooters?
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Convenient, efficient and fun to ride, e-scooters are probably in our future. But adding them to the Rochester roadway could compound the transportation problem.
Policy Wonk
The Black Friday climate report: Should Rochester care?
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There has never been a complex problem like climate change. Why should this this matter to Rochester?
Policy Wonk
Opportunity Zones: Will this time be different?
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The history of place-based economic development is not particularly encouraging. When tax incentives are employed, they can be poorly targeted, reducing the tax liability of the prosperous while conferring little benefit on people in need.
Policy Wonk
Rochester schools: If all are empowered, none are empowered
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If there is a single barrier to district improvement, it is the diffusion of power. Well-intentioned empowerment of students, parents and teachers leaves little power for school leaders.
Government & Politics
Don’t blame the Electoral College
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The “winner take all” system for guiding the votes of a state’s electors is responsible for most of difference between the national popular vote and the Electoral College result. The blame, however, rests with the states, not the Constitution.
Policy Wonk
Health care in wonderland: single payer for New York
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It will take a lot of faith to support the New York State Health Act, a proposal to establish a single-payer system in New York. Can a single-payer plan achieve universal coverage? What would be required to implement the plan? And, if implemented, can it save money or, at least, break even?
Policy Wonk
Where you stand depends on where you sit
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A New York State Legislature wholly controlled by downstate interests won’t stop sending education aid Upstate or close the state parks. But the “where you stand depends on where you sit” aphorism holds a lot of truth.
Policy Wonk
Autonomous vehicles: The revolution is upon us
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All of punditry has been caught off-guard by the neck-snapping acceleration of autonomous vehicle adoption. The level of investment in AVs across a number of firms is very significant. The question is no longer “if autonomous vehicles?” but “when?”