Truck and Barter

New York Times Roundup

The New York Times is a sophisticated paper, at its best when it avoids politics altogether. Three recent articles demonstrate some great reporting:

I. Although the federal government subsidizes paved roads to no end, it is still not enough for Greyhound to make a profit taking you there.

Ritzville is one of 269 stops in 17 states throughout the West and Midwest that Greyhound dropped over the summer. In Washington State, 21 Greyhound stops were cut; in Minnesota, 59; in North Dakota, 11, including the capital, Bismarck.

Six senators and a number of other officials in the affected states have asked Greyhound to reconsider. The company has responded that it cannot continue to make the unprofitable rural runs....

With that in mind the federal government already offers a subsidy program to promote rural intercity bus service. But in a letter sent in July to the senators who asked that he reconsider the cuts, Greyhound's president, Stephen E. Gorman, said the program was not enough to compensate for the company's losses.

Though some smaller bus companies are sprouting up, they're also likely to be feeding at the trough.

II. I'm writing this post on my Acer Aspire 2012WLMi laptop; Acer is once again trying to conquer the U.S.--and China:

Last week, Acer named as its president Gianfranco Lanci, an Italian who led its operations in Europe and the United States. The current president, J. T. Wang, will become the chairman and chief executive. The management shuffle was caused by the retirement of Stan Shih, the company's founder.

The promotion of a Westerner to the No. 2 post is an unusual move for a Taiwanese company. But Acer may need Mr. Lanci's understanding of cross-cultural issues....

The company has signed deals with Carrefour, Europe's largest retailer, and Best Buy, the largest electronics chain in the United States, as well as with prominent distributors like Ingram Micro and Tech Data.

I love competition.

III. Also note that inflation has caught up with New York's mansion tax:

The Gramercy Park co-op purchased by the young eye surgeon just three weeks ago has two spacious bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms and a large terrace with unobstructed views of the Empire State Building. It's quite nice by Manhattan standards, but few would confuse it for a mansion....

Yet New York State seems to think the co-op is a mansion, at least for tax purposes. Because the 1,850-square-foot apartment sold for $1,065,000, he was required to pay a "mansion tax" of $10,650, or 1 percent of the purchase price, as part of his closing costs. All buyers of one-, two- or three-family homes in New York that sell for $1 million or more are subject to this levy. New Jersey began imposing a similar fee on Aug. 1.

Posted at September 6, 2004 05:47 PM

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