Here is his latest quote from an NYT article on the recent decision to begin installing turnstiles on the LA subway:
“Unfortunately, as L.A. gets to be more urban, it has these breakdowns of trust that happen in big cities,” said Joel Kotkin, a Los Angeles resident and author of “The City: A Global History.” “It’s the flip side of all the good things.”
Sure buddy. Because relying on random ticket inspections is a sign that you blindly trust your patrons to pay. Because LA used to be a really small city before they built the subway, you know, in the 1980's.
I'm sure old Joel fondly remembers the county fair where you could just walk on the rides without showing your ticket. Or maybe he's talking about the toll booths on his favorite freeways that just ask for donations? No no no... I've got it, back before the subway made L.A. all "urban", Joey would just stroll down the interstate to his favorite local bar, walk behind the counter and pour himself a double, then slap a fiver on the counter on his way out. Those were the good old days, I can't wait for all these morons to start dying.
Consider the source: the NYT loves to run stories about sunny California cities crossing over to the dark side that wisened New Yorkers know so so well. Regardless, Mr. Randal C. Archibald, author of the story, should reconsider his sources, and not allow this WSJ hack another soap box.
