If you are 65 or older, you get to ride the NYC subways for half price.
I ask why? Don't old people get free money from the government in the form of Social Security, as well as other goodies like Medicare? Old people probably have more money most younger New Yorkers. They should pay their full fare just like everybody else!
In addition to the money they don't pay, the reduced fare program also costs the MTA additional money in administrative overhead. And surely some people will try to cheat the system by pretending to be 65 when they aren't.
Everyone should pay full price for the subways, with no exceptions.
UPDATE
I wrote a followup post responding to comments.
It's market segmentation. Some people won't ride the subway at full price but will ride it at half price. You want to find a way to let some people ride at half price (getting business you weren't getting before) but not lose any of your full price business (or not lose a lot of it.) That's why kid's tickets are cheaper for shows, etc. Same principle here. Is it age discrimination? You betcha. Is it social tradition to "honor" the elderly? Maybe. Was it less of an issue when most people died before 65? Almost assuredly.
Posted by: Karen | March 16, 2005 at 05:53 PM
Free money? Dude I've been paying SS tax for 30 years, so when I start collecting social security in a few years, I would hardly call it free money.
Just to correct the record.
Posted by: AshCanMan | March 16, 2005 at 08:38 PM
Most of those people are not riding during the peek hours, perhaps it's a throwback to the "one price fits all" token days.
NYC wants to keep those seniors in the state anyway, they pay income taxes on those pensions, IRA withdraws, and SS. The last thing they want is for everyone to move to Florida when they retire.
Posted by: xx y | March 16, 2005 at 10:48 PM
"If you are 65 or older, you get to ride the NYC subways for half price.
I ask why?"
Because old people vote.
Posted by: T'K Chong | March 30, 2005 at 12:35 PM
Well, old people vote. Most of them paid into social security. Furthermore, some of them are dirt poor and it would be nearly impossible for many of them to remedy this whereas young people who are poor can usually fix this depending on where they live. Some places have really low employment rates I know. People with criminal records have a really tough time finding jobs, etc., etc. I know that many cities have free or nearly free public transportation for people on welfare-to-work programs. Personally, if my retired 80 year old grandfather and working 76 year old grandmother lived in New York, I'd hope they would get discounted subway passes since they have a hard time making ends meet. Since I feel they deserve it, I have no right to deny this to other elderly people.
I'd like to stress that they vote no matter what. If young people were less apathetic, the society would be tilted to favor them for better or for worse.
Posted by: this is silly | May 08, 2005 at 07:09 PM
A thought: Older people are far more likely than the general population to be involved in serious pedestrian accidents (especially in urban areas) and car accidents (http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2459/is_n4_v24/ai_17450261/pg_6). If more older people took public transportation, it would reduce the number of such accidents. *Perhaps* the lost fees from the discount are more than made up by the reduction in healthcare and other costs.
Posted by: | January 05, 2006 at 06:59 PM
Shut your bitch-ass up, KissMyIrishAss (before I rape your ass and kill you)!!! I'm typically a nice guy, but too many people are using racial slurs and making racist statements here so I'm doing the same. Fucking nasty-looking, pigment-deficient, maggot-dicked cracker-albino boys! If Genghis Khan's Mongol Chinese Army didn't spare you all maggot-dicked (smaller than tiny) white boys during their atrocious European massacre and invasion, there would be none of you white boys (not men) left!!! Maggot-dicked white boys have been conquered (and their women rounded up and raped) to a greater extent by the Mongol armies of Genghis Khan and Attilah the Hun than no-dicked white boys actually conquered any other race. Don't believe me? Do a Google search of "White History" and read up your history boys.
As for tiny-dicked niggers, no women in this world WANT YOUR filthy STD-infested dicks except horribly nasty and ugly nigger bitches. Last week I saw a nigger bitch so ugly I almost fucking sued her ass in court!!! NO LIES!!! Goddamn father-fucking nigger bitches (they can't get no other man than their poor fathers) are the ugliest bitches under the Sun, probably kicked out of HELL by Satan himself because they're so fucking ugly. I'm trying to buy a machine gun so I can kill them ALL!!!
As for the Mongoloid people of Asia, they are the embodiment of perfection and deity. Bow to me you poor cracker-albino maggot-dicked white boys like how you did to Genghis Khan and Attilah the Hun and I may spare your dick (if I can find the fucker!).
P.S. if you want to know what I look like click on my name to see my pic. Print my pic and BOW and WORSHIP it.
Posted by: Duk, the Killer of Tiny-dicked Cracker-Albino White and Nigger dudes. | March 21, 2006 at 06:43 PM
Shut your bitch-ass up, KissMyIrishAss (before I rape your ass and kill you)!!! I'm typically a nice guy, but too many people are using racial slurs and making racist statements here so I'm doing the same. Fucking nasty-looking, pigment-deficient, maggot-dicked cracker-albino boys! If Genghis Khan's Mongol Chinese Army didn't spare you all maggot-dicked (smaller than tiny) white boys during their atrocious European massacre and invasion, there would be none of you white boys (not men) left!!! Maggot-dicked white boys have been conquered (and their women rounded up and raped) to a greater extent by the Mongol armies of Genghis Khan and Attilah the Hun than no-dicked white boys actually conquered any other race. Don't believe me? Do a Google search of "White History" and read up your history boys.
As for tiny-dicked niggers, no women in this world WANT YOUR filthy STD-infested dicks except horribly nasty and ugly nigger bitches. Last week I saw a nigger bitch so ugly I almost fucking sued her ass in court!!! NO LIES!!! Goddamn father-fucking nigger bitches (they can't get no other man than their poor fathers) are the ugliest bitches under the Sun, probably kicked out of HELL by Satan himself because they're so fucking ugly. I'm trying to buy a machine gun so I can kill them ALL!!!
As for the Mongoloid people of Asia, they are the embodiment of perfection and deity. Bow to me you poor cracker-albino maggot-dicked white boys like how you did to Genghis Khan and Attilah the Hun and I may spare your dick (if I can find the fucker!).
P.S. if you want to know what I look like click on my name to see my pic. Print my pic and BOW and WORSHIP it.
Posted by: Duk, the Killer of Tiny-dicked Cracker-Albino White and Nigger dudes. | March 21, 2006 at 06:43 PM
Shut your bitch-ass up, KissMyIrishAss (before I rape your ass and kill you)!!! I'm typically a nice guy, but too many people are using racial slurs and making racist statements here so I'm doing the same. Fucking nasty-looking, pigment-deficient, maggot-dicked cracker-albino boys! If Genghis Khan's Mongol Chinese Army didn't spare you all maggot-dicked (smaller than tiny) white boys during their atrocious European massacre and invasion, there would be none of you white boys (not men) left!!! Maggot-dicked white boys have been conquered (and their women rounded up and raped) to a greater extent by the Mongol armies of Genghis Khan and Attilah the Hun than no-dicked white boys actually conquered any other race. Don't believe me? Do a Google search of "White History" and read up your history boys.
As for tiny-dicked niggers, no women in this world WANT YOUR filthy STD-infested dicks except horribly nasty and ugly nigger bitches. Last week I saw a nigger bitch so ugly I almost fucking sued her ass in court!!! NO LIES!!! Goddamn father-fucking nigger bitches (they can't get no other man than their poor fathers) are the ugliest bitches under the Sun, probably kicked out of HELL by Satan himself because they're so fucking ugly. I'm trying to buy a machine gun so I can kill them ALL!!!
As for the Mongoloid people of Asia, they are the embodiment of perfection and deity. Bow to me you poor cracker-albino maggot-dicked white boys like how you did to Genghis Khan and Attilah the Hun and I may spare your dick (if I can find the fucker!).
P.S. if you want to know what I look like click on my name to see my pic. Print my pic and BOW and WORSHIP it.
Posted by: Duk, the Killer of Tiny-dicked Cracker-Albino White and Nigger dudes. | March 21, 2006 at 06:43 PM
HAIL THE MONSTER-COCKED ASIAN MAN, GOD OF THIS EARTH AND DEITY OF THIS UNIVERSE AND SAVAGE RAPER, MOLESTER, AND KILLER OF CRACKER-ALBINO WHITE AND NIGGER BOYS!!!
ALL HAIL!!!
HAIL!
HAIL!
OBSERVE THE MONSTER-COCKED ASIAN GOD EYE-FUCKING SOME CRACKER-ALBINO WHITE AND NIGGER BOYS (THERE ARE NO MEN BECAUSE ALL THE MALES HAVE MAGGOT-SIZED DICKS) TO THEIR MISERABLE DEATH.
ALL HAIL!!!
HAIL!
HAIL!
NOW OBSERVE THE ASIAN GOD GRIMACING AS HE ROASTS AND DEVOURS THESE DISGUSTING CRACKER-ALBINO AND NIGGER BOYS.
ALL HAIL!!!
HAIL!
HAIL!
AND OH MY GOD! THERE ARE NO MORE ALBINO AND NIGGER BOYS!
ALL HAIL!!!
HAIL!
HAIL!
NOW IT'S TIME FOR THE ASIAN GOD TO BRUTALLY RAPE ALL THE WOMEN; HEAR THEM SCREAM IN AGONY AS THEIR VAGINAS ARE RIPPED APART AND THEIR UTERUSES BLOWN APART!
ALL HAIL!!!
HAIL!
HAIL!
NOW LISTEN CAREFULLY? YOU HEAR THAT? THE CRACKER-ALBINO BITCHES ARE LAMENTING THAT THEIR WEAK, MAGGOT-DICKED CRACKER-ALBINO BOYS WERE NOT ABLE TO PROTECT THEM FROM THE MONSTER-COCKED ASIAN GOD.
ALL HAIL THE ASIAN GOD!!!
HAIL!
HAIL!
HAIL!
Posted by: Duk, the Killer of Tiny-dicked Cracker-Albino White and Nigger dudes. | March 21, 2006 at 07:57 PM