The Road From Reagan to a Populist Revolt Against Privatized Parking Meters

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
by Meg White

It's economic crunch time. Do you know where your parking meters are? How about your airports, parking lots and highways? What about you community's collective sense of outrage?

Here in Chicago, municipal assets -- which once brought in a consistent flow of cash -- are being sold into private hands for a sliver of their long-term worth in order to cover short-term expenses. Thankfully, our outrage is still our own.

The latest in Mayor Richard M. Daley's long line of privatization schemes is parking meters. In December, Chicago nabbed $1.16 billion from a private consortium run almost entirely by Morgan Stanley for a 75-year lease of municipal parking meters. The system itself will be run by LAZ Parking, with the city retaining legal rights such as meter placement and parking ticket revenues.

(Though his role there is unclear, it's worth mentioning that Mayor Daley's nephew William Daley Jr. is a registered lobbyist with Morgan Stanley, a company that netted a lucrative parking lot privatization deal with the City of Chicago soon after William was hired on.)

The largest long-term concession agreement of its kind, the parking meter lease was forced through the Chicago City Council by the strong arm of the Mayor's office with only five dissenting votes out of 50. One of those votes was Ald. Toni Preckwinkle, who represents the 4th Ward.

"Are these things really a good deal? When you sell an asset, or lease an asset for 75, 99 years, whatever -- it's very hard to figure out, especially on the timeframe we've been given -- whether or not this is a good deal for the taxpayers. Not just now, but our children and grandchildren," Preckwinkle said on a local morning news show, noting she had very little time to read and understand the ramifications of such a huge deal in the very short time available prior to voting on it.

Now that LAZ has taken over and made clear its plans to jack up prices to astronomical levels, drivers are suffering "massive sticker shock." Hours when meters are enforced have been expanded, with Sundays now thrown in. Those wishing to park in the Loop for two hours might wish for stronger pipes, since they'll have to lug 28 quarters along with them. And it's only going to get worse: Meter rates will reportedly quadruple by 2013.

Chicago Sun-Times columnist Carol Marin notes that drivers are avoiding meters altogether because the cost is so exorbitant. Marin calls it a "pocketbook protest" and a "quiet rebellion."

But it's not just fiscal dissent sweeping the city. Mild-mannered Chicagoans are going ballistic on meters, jamming them with pennies, covering them with spray paint or removing them entirely. Click here to see pictures of defaced meters on the blog, The Expired Meter.

While you're there, check out the comments at the end of that blog post and you'll see that the issue is also manifesting itself as something of a culture war. Bikers and those who rely on public transit are telling motorists to suck it up and pay for the privilege of driving. Then there's anger coming from suburbanites, parents and others who insist they cannot go without a car. And, while messing up hungry meters may be cathartic, the cost of fixing them (city workers are being paid by LAZ to meet the increased repair needs) will be passed on to citizens, prompting anger from others who are obeying the new parking regime.

As a matter of full disclosure, I live in the city and do not own a car, nor do I live on a street with meters. I'm also not a big fan of suburbs, self-righteous bike messengers or strollers on the subway. But that's beside the point.

This infighting among inhabitants of Chicagoland is obscuring the real issue. Tollway fees and transit fares climb consistently, at nearly the same rate that potholes and train delays increase. In the budget war that has ensued in Springfield since Gov. Rod Blagojevich was impeached, it's become clear that both income and property taxes will likely increase. Chicago has the highest sales tax rate in the country. Though the privatization deal was supposed to plug budget holes, taxpayers aren't getting a break anywhere. Everyone is getting screwed here, and it's not the fault of soccer moms or modern-day Cool Hand Lukes.

What this populist protest against privatization is not, however, is the faux revolt tea parties organized by the likes of Glenn Beck, et al. Chicagoans are frustrated with the regressive, backward, double-taxing that generally comes in the form of fees. Much like the extreme sales tax in the city, the parking meters hit the populace as a flat tax, hurting those who can't afford it more than those who can. Marin's "quiet rebellion" is truly grassroots and diametrically opposed to the conservative Astroturf "uprising" against the president's progressive plan to tax the wealthy.

As I've pointed out before, the reason behind this privatization is a holdover from the massive tax cuts of the 1980s, a product of Reaganomics gone rampant. But due to the current state of affairs, cash-strapped local governments are dealing with the double whammy of under-funded mandates and programs as well as falling income and property tax revenues due to job losses and foreclosures. They need to go somewhere for their cash, and in Chicago's case, that place was private businesses.

But it's not just Chicago. The recession is causing local governments all over the country to utilize increasingly short-sighted, if temporarily creative, ways to raise funds. As this salivating law blogger puts it, "infrastructure finance could be the next big thing for hungry transactional lawyers... Chicago's parking meter privatization could provide a roadmap for other municipalities seeking to raise funds in tough economic times."

So allow one frustrated Chicagoan to give a bit of advice: Hold on to your community's assets as well as your outrage. Both are priceless.

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS

Image courtesy of The Expired Meter.