The D.C. Metro, Gasoline, and Plastic Bags

D.C. Metro

The D.C. Metro has come under fire in the media recently for problems with maintenance and new policies.

Senior Counsel Hans Bader rounds up the latest complaints about the metro system.

“All too often, threats to public safety are simply disregarded by Metro, and problem employees are kept on the job even after they commit safety violations or are responsible for accidents. Metro has been informed that it has ‘dozens of problematic escalator brakes.’ On Oct. 30, a faulty escalator brake at L’Enfant Plaza Station injured six passengers, making the escalator slide downward and dump passengers in a pile at the bottom of the escalator.”

Gasoline

The availability of pure gasoline is declining.

Research Associate Brian McGraw explains why it’s declining and why the decline is a problem.

“As private businesses retrench or cut back hours, governments must carry on, even as tax revenues fall, until they reach a crisis stage at which draconian measures become necessary. Yet even then, government employee unions are wont to push back against any curbs in compensation, as the New York snow cleanup slowdown painfully shows. Thus, elected officials have no option but to face government unions head on.”

Plastic Bags

In the new CEI Podcast, Warren Brookes Fellow Kathryn Ciano discusses the D.C. plastic bag tax.

Listen to the podcast here.