tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post4441920993269210305..comments2023-10-22T18:25:39.688+08:00Comments on The View from Taiwan: Why Taiwan Nationalism ExistsMichael Turtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-50361623135907443502014-09-22T20:42:41.880+08:002014-09-22T20:42:41.880+08:00Basically yes: much of the rest of England is depe...Basically yes: much of the rest of England is dependent upon London, which is in turn dependent upon State supported hyperfinance.<br /><br />Scottish nationalism may also be partly consequent to the fact that Scotland (and much of the north of England) has lost its industry, and the people are therefore left with no choice but to leave for other shores or stay and shout and scream about the Tories.Mike Faganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08745281285031316740noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-45248716923938928542014-09-22T17:30:59.005+08:002014-09-22T17:30:59.005+08:00No. In New York City a lot of taxes that are techn...No. In New York City a lot of taxes that are technically state-level go to maintaining the subway, and the rest of the state gets shafted and as a result has terrible, or no, public transportation infrastructure. <br /><br />Sometimes the state swipes back. Why was the Tappan Zee bridge built on a very wide stretch of the Hudson, a stretch so long that the bridge itself is unstable and people avoid driving it, certain that there will eventually be a disaster? Why not just a few miles south, where the river narrows considerably?<br /><br />Because the Port Authority, which handles transit in New York City, gets the revenues from all tolls collected south of a certain line in tri-state New York, even though I am pretty sure at least part of that line is outside the New York City limits, and those revenues go towards New York City transit infrastructure.<br /><br />Sick of getting shafted, tri-state New York builds as much as it can outside that line, even when it is inconvenient to do so.<br /><br />I know a lot of NYC people feel that their metro system is important enough to merit this payout, and I agree, it is, but upstate does help pay for it (and upstate is not that poor in every area - no sense making them out to be backwards hicks). <br /><br />On the other hand, upstate NY has a bad tendency to take transportation funding and use it to build more car-only infrastructure, not public transit. So it is arguably less useful upstate because it doesn't improve the lives of anyone who doesn't have/doesn't want/can't afford/isn't allowed to/doesn't know how to/is too old or disabled to drive a car. <br /><br />It's a tough call. Life in Taipei would be so much worse if we didn't have the excellent metro system. We NEED that metro system, we really do. I wasn't here before it existed, but I've heard the horror stories. It's true that we get an unfair percentage of funding, but we can't not have the great system.<br /><br />If Taipei didn't have the MRT system it does, I'm not sure I'd still be living here. My top two reasons for choosing a place to live are good public transit - I will not drive! - and health care. Take one away, and I'm out.Jenna Lynn Codyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04032277820150000198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-4359580012601728882014-09-22T12:59:05.451+08:002014-09-22T12:59:05.451+08:00very interesting, isn't this always the opposi...very interesting, isn't this always the opposite in other countries? meaning London and NYC pay for social services in poorer regions?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com