New York City and New Jersey have been engaged in tax battles for decades. It’s always the same basic cause. The city wants to get more tax dollars from people who live in New Jersey but commute to the city to work. And people in New Jersey who are already taxed to a mind numbing extent do whatever they can to avoid the extra bite.
The latest such bite takes the form of ticketing. Not curbside parking or speeding ticketing this time around, but tickets issued to motorists attempting to leave New York during the 5 p.m. rush hour through the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels.
Both these exits from The City That Decency Forgot have only two lanes during these periods. Three or four lanes converge down into these two, however, and it is exceptionally difficult for a car not to at least partially cross over the lane dividing lines during these big crush times. The effort would be much easier if there were a lot of cops on hand to direct traffic. Instead, there are scurrying meter maids pulling cars over to give out $115 “parking tickets” for those who don’t manage the feat. According to reports I’ve heard from a number of sources, attempting to explain away these fines to the city’s parking authorities is about as easy as getting a meter maid to smile.
This is yet another example of a local government tax disguised as a safety measure. The number of such taxes is growing daily. It’s a phenomenon that often comes across as funny and a bit kinky. For a lot of working people, though, these kinky little jokes are lowering their standard of living in significant ways.