This is a quick post/update to call attention to this piece I published today in the New York Daily News entitled Move over: Replace the MTA and Port Authority with a regional transit agency responsible to NYC.

My piece on how we ended up with disasters like the La Guardia Air Train - and why we need to replace the Robert Moses-era state-controlled institutions like the MTA and Port Authority.

Instead, we need a strong regional institution, accountable to LOCAL leaders and voters, that can effectively plan not only transit but the housing and job creation strategies to make transit viable.

This is part of a broader set of writing I've been doing on rethinking federalism and how we need to have federal support for building stronger regional governments to bypass the idiocracy running many of our state governments.

One notable part of the piece is that I highlight the possibilities of bringing regions together, including those that cross state boundaries. As I propose, instead of insider bargaining between NJ & NY governors, we need a democratic regional institution- ideally elected by voters directly - that includes not just NYC and NY suburbs but also northern New Jersey urban areas. Note that there quite a few other multi-state regional govts around the country, including in the D.C area overseeing aspects of the Metro and associated housing goals, so this is not unprecedented.

In any case, here are a few other pieces I’ve written recently on related issues, which I will be adding to in coming months:

Biden's lifeline for red-state cities- TheWeek.Com
How red states silence urban voters- TheWeek.com
The Case for Blue-State Secession- The Nation
This Supreme Court Case Could Wreck the New Deal Legal Order- The Nation
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Replace the MTA & Port Authority with a…