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Scary is more like it.

That makes you the latest one to buy into this charade. Your risk assessment is flawed. How do you get to the City? In absolute certainty, more people will die today in car accidents than could have possibly died from a small car bomb in Times Square. Many more people will be maimed and injured in car accidents today than would have been anywhere near that SUV a few weekends ago. What is the best way to keep the government from reducing expenses? Threaten the most politically powerful group(s) with spending cuts. The hew and cry is predictable. Even the rightist NY Post plays right into it.

Do you ever wonder why your local government proposes salary and staff reductions for police, fire, and teachers when budget crunch time comes? Because they have no intention of cutting those expenses. The pols know that the hew and cry will give them cover to keep paying and raise tax revenues instead. Someone else posted here to cut 27% of everything -- now that would actually be effective. Do you believe for a minute that public entities are efficient in the context of money-cost versus service provided? A real manager would be able to squeeze 27% out of the waste fraud and abuse that is government service.