This article is just chock full of unfathomable economics.

First off, I can't figure out how they can get ANYBODY to start as an EMT in NYC driving in from NJ at $40K/yr.  That's $20/hr.  Even before a $15 Congestion Fee, how do they afford to drive into Manhattan from NJ?  Minimum round trip mileage is about 50/day, maybe you could squeak by on $5 gas.  However, the article talks about some of the union members living 100 miles away!  That's 200 miles R/T commute! The Toll on the tunnel is $12-15 going in, nothing leaving.  There is no free parking in midtown or on Wall Street.  In the prime neighborhoods, the average fee for daily parking in a garage is $50.  You're talking 3-4 hours of working just to pay for this, and you haven't even factored in the cost of the car, insurance or routine maintenance.

Obviously also, you can't live in Manhattan and work at this salary level.  Average rent is $3600 for a 1 bedroom.  Even out in Brooklyn and Queens it would be hard to find an apt below $2000/mo. Subway fare is $3 each way.  So WTF do any of these workers live without more than half of their already low wages going to housing and commutation?

According to Google, you need an income of $75-100K to live in NY.  Even that I think would be hard to pull off, once you figure in taxes, utilities, communications, insurance etc.

Now on the other end, the $15 Congestion Fee is supposed to raise $1B out of about $15B to finance MTA projects.  This is a drop in that bucket.  The money could easily be raised with a tiny tax on Wall Street banks that have their offices in these neighborhoods.  The real reason isn't to raise money, it's to further discourage driving into the city.  Not a  bad goal, but making it still more unaffordable without another way to get the workers to the jobs just means people will quit.  You'll do better taking a job at min wage near where you live.

Obviously, these workers should be paid more, but for some reason EMTs have never been considered worth as much as Garbagemen, who get paid on a par with Cops and Firemen in NYC.

I can't figure out how NYC keeps running at all.  The economics there are insane.

https://nypost.com/2023/12/24/metro/nyc-ambulance-workers-in-panic-attack-over-15-congestion-toll/

NYC ambulance workers sound sirens over $15 congestion toll: 'It's a slap in the face'

RE