It's difficult to make sense of Columbia City Council's recent decision to acquire six aged and ailing trolleys from the Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority even as this community braces for a proposed 40 percent cut in bus service.
How is it that resurrecting a trolley system that has failed multiple times - once under the guidance of the city and again under the direction of the transit authority - has become a priority at such a pivotal moment in the life of the bus system? The trolleys were put to rest because they simply couldn't be run efficiently and were too much of a drain on public coffers.
While the city will receive the trolleys at no cost from the transit authority, it's going to cost a projected $30,000 to $40,000 to get them ready for the road - if not more. In a memo to city manager Steve Gantt, general services director David Knoche wrote: "As a reminder, there are six trolleys, none have run in the last year, four have not run in the last several years and were used to rob parts off of for the last two that were running."
So, although the city takes over the trolleys at no cost, it remains to be seen exactly what it's going to cost to get and keep them on the road.
The success of this endeavor is questionable enough considering the past failures and the condition of the trolleys. But the bigger concern is the city's insistence on developing a separate plan to run, fund and manage the trolleys outside of the overall transit system. Using local tax dollars to put the trolleys back on the road should be out of the question, especially considering the state of the bus system - and all the other unmet service needs in these lean times.
Mayor Steve Benjamin said in an email that the city will seek grant funding to help put the trolleys back in service. It's unclear exactly how a newly configured trolley system would work. Mr. Benjamin said the hope is to develop a downtown circular trolley service that would not only serve tourists but also help planned "park and ride" efforts. He said it's important to develop various devices aimed at getting people out of their cars. An effective trolley service, he said, would "help with parking, traffic, air quality and the growth of the regional transit system."
He also noted that citizens already have paid for the trolleys and that, in an effort to return them to use effectively, "it was important to me to have them under our control again until a meaningful, big picture, fiscally conservative plan could be developed for them."
If the trolley system is going to have a reasonable chance of success, it must work hand-in-hand with a viable bus system, which would bring people into town who would use the trolleys. It's odd that the city is concentrating on the trolleys when the overall transit system is in danger of falling apart. Although Columbia and Lexington and Richland counties are providing funding for the bus system, the total allocation falls short of what it takes to keep the system operating at its current inadequate level, let alone supporting the kind of service this community actually needs.
The transit authority is considering potentially debilitating cuts to bus service as a result of a $3 million funding gap. ...
The direction and future of the bus system are in limbo. The system hasn't had an executive director in months, the current board is on its way out, and it is hurting for money. The most immediate response on the part of local officials should be to spend more time and effort - and money - saving the bus system, not trying to salvage a defunct trolley system.
2011年10月24日星期一
2011年5月18日星期三
Dobbs Argues E-Verify Should Be Mandatory Because "It Works"
Dobbs: Obama Refuses To Make E-Verify Mandatory Because "It Works." Hosting Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) to talk immigration on his Fox Business show, Dobbs claimed that the E-Verify program is 99 percent effective. He then added: "[T]hat's precisely why your friends and colleagues in Congress and over at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue -- the president himself, and the previous president, in all fairness -- refused to make E-Verify mandatory for the very simple reason it works." From the segment:
DOBBS: I think that most Democrats would agree with most Republicans that you -- if you're going to control illegal immigration -- that is, end it -- you have to stop the illegal employer from employing illegally illegal immigrants. It's pretty straightforward, isn't it?
SMITH: Exactly. We have a wonderful program called E-Verify, and employers can check their employees. In fact, over 200,000 have signed up for this program. There are 1,300 more signing up every week, and we need to encourage employers, businesses to use this E-Verify program, and keep those jobs for American workers and legal immigrants as well.
DOBBS: Mr. Chairman, there are going to be a lot of people listening to you and saying, "What do you mean, we need to encourage? Isn't it the law?" And of course --
SMITH: It is not.
DOBBS: -- it's not the law.
SMITH: It is not mandatory, this E-Verify program. I think we need to expand it. We need to make it mandatory for a large number of individuals. But it works. It's 99 percent effective.
DOBBS: Ninety-nine percent effective, and that's precisely why your friends and colleagues in Congress and over at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue -- the president himself, and the previous president, in all fairness -- refused to make E-Verify mandatory for the very simple reason it works.
SMITH: It does work and it protects those jobs for American workers and legal immigrants. [Fox Business, Lou Dobbs Tonight, 5/11/11]
E-Verify Does Not Adequately Screen Unauthorized Workers
DHS Study Found That E-Verify Wrongly Cleared 54 Percent Of Unauthorized Workers. In a January 2010 report commissioned by the Department of Homeland Security, research firm Westat analyzed data from September 2007 to June 2008 and found that "primarily due to identity fraud, approximately half (54 percent with a plausible range of 37 to 64 percent) of unauthorized workers run through E-Verify receive an inaccurate finding of being work authorized." From the study:
Westat estimates that overall, E-Verify queries result in an accurate response 96 percent of the time and an inaccurate response 4.1 percent of the time. But only 6.2 percent of all E-Verify queries relate to unauthorized workers. Westat estimates that, primarily due to identity fraud, approximately half (54 percent with a plausible range of 37 to 64 percent) of unauthorized workers run through E-Verify receive an inaccurate finding of being work authorized. As a result, the 54 percent statistic relates only to the 6.2 percent figure ... means that of all E-Verify queries, only approximately 3.3 percent are for unauthorized workers that were incorrectly found work authorized. [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 1/28/10, emphasis added]
E-Verify Has Limited System In Place To Correct Errors, Leaving Workers With Significant Costs For Corrections
DHS Study: "20 To 40 Percent" Of Workers Who Are Flagged As Ineligible "Are Not Informed" Of The Error. According to Westat, "Sixty to 80 percent of authorized workers are informed by their employer of a TNC. (In other words, 20 to 40 percent are not informed of the TNC and receive FNCs.)" Westat further reported:
However, there is good reason to believe that employers underreport noncompliance with E-Verify notification procedures. Among the 82 employers with two or more workers receiving TNCs, 37 had one or more employees who reported that they did not receive an explanation. This may be an overestimate of noncompliance because workers may not recall having the notice explained.
Among the 108 onsite study employers for which the evaluation team reviewed employment verification files of workers receiving TNCs, over half were missing copies of TNC notices for a majority of the workers for whom cases had been submitted to E-Verify. In some of these cases, it is likely that the employer provided the worker with the notice but did not correctly file it, as specified in E-Verify procedures.
DOBBS: I think that most Democrats would agree with most Republicans that you -- if you're going to control illegal immigration -- that is, end it -- you have to stop the illegal employer from employing illegally illegal immigrants. It's pretty straightforward, isn't it?
SMITH: Exactly. We have a wonderful program called E-Verify, and employers can check their employees. In fact, over 200,000 have signed up for this program. There are 1,300 more signing up every week, and we need to encourage employers, businesses to use this E-Verify program, and keep those jobs for American workers and legal immigrants as well.
DOBBS: Mr. Chairman, there are going to be a lot of people listening to you and saying, "What do you mean, we need to encourage? Isn't it the law?" And of course --
SMITH: It is not.
DOBBS: -- it's not the law.
SMITH: It is not mandatory, this E-Verify program. I think we need to expand it. We need to make it mandatory for a large number of individuals. But it works. It's 99 percent effective.
DOBBS: Ninety-nine percent effective, and that's precisely why your friends and colleagues in Congress and over at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue -- the president himself, and the previous president, in all fairness -- refused to make E-Verify mandatory for the very simple reason it works.
SMITH: It does work and it protects those jobs for American workers and legal immigrants. [Fox Business, Lou Dobbs Tonight, 5/11/11]
E-Verify Does Not Adequately Screen Unauthorized Workers
DHS Study Found That E-Verify Wrongly Cleared 54 Percent Of Unauthorized Workers. In a January 2010 report commissioned by the Department of Homeland Security, research firm Westat analyzed data from September 2007 to June 2008 and found that "primarily due to identity fraud, approximately half (54 percent with a plausible range of 37 to 64 percent) of unauthorized workers run through E-Verify receive an inaccurate finding of being work authorized." From the study:
Westat estimates that overall, E-Verify queries result in an accurate response 96 percent of the time and an inaccurate response 4.1 percent of the time. But only 6.2 percent of all E-Verify queries relate to unauthorized workers. Westat estimates that, primarily due to identity fraud, approximately half (54 percent with a plausible range of 37 to 64 percent) of unauthorized workers run through E-Verify receive an inaccurate finding of being work authorized. As a result, the 54 percent statistic relates only to the 6.2 percent figure ... means that of all E-Verify queries, only approximately 3.3 percent are for unauthorized workers that were incorrectly found work authorized. [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 1/28/10, emphasis added]
E-Verify Has Limited System In Place To Correct Errors, Leaving Workers With Significant Costs For Corrections
DHS Study: "20 To 40 Percent" Of Workers Who Are Flagged As Ineligible "Are Not Informed" Of The Error. According to Westat, "Sixty to 80 percent of authorized workers are informed by their employer of a TNC. (In other words, 20 to 40 percent are not informed of the TNC and receive FNCs.)" Westat further reported:
However, there is good reason to believe that employers underreport noncompliance with E-Verify notification procedures. Among the 82 employers with two or more workers receiving TNCs, 37 had one or more employees who reported that they did not receive an explanation. This may be an overestimate of noncompliance because workers may not recall having the notice explained.
Among the 108 onsite study employers for which the evaluation team reviewed employment verification files of workers receiving TNCs, over half were missing copies of TNC notices for a majority of the workers for whom cases had been submitted to E-Verify. In some of these cases, it is likely that the employer provided the worker with the notice but did not correctly file it, as specified in E-Verify procedures.
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