Perhaps if the City of Chicago used the departure tax (formerly called MPEA tax = Mayor's Personal Enrichment Assessment)for drivers' benefits and the so-called "ground tax" for drivers' benefits instead for its rich, mob friends and family members, Piano Red and evey fulltime career taxicab driver would be much better off.
But they keep the millions we pump into the City treasury for themselves.
If you face the truth -- put the blame where it belongs -- you can begin to improve things for everyone.
Blame the Mayor for Red's condition. Blame the City Council for our conditions -- sweat shops on wheels.
And when we become diabled we get to go somewhere we can wait to die.
The way the city runs the cab industry makes the Mayor, the Commissioner and the City Council just as responsible for Red's current condition as the guy who shot him.
Idea on getting health, dental, eyecare, life and disablity insurance:
Drivers pay a $3/per day a City "ground tax" through their leases. Owners who operate their taxicab pay the same $3/day.
Drivers also pay an airport departure tax, a $1 per airport trip sold in $2 stamps.
That's $3 to $5 per shift per driver. THat's $15,000 to $25,000 per day. That's $5,467,000 to $9,125,00 per year.
Do you think there are any insurance companies out there that would want to provide a great group health/dental/eyecare plan for the drivers for an annual premium of up to nine million or more per year?
Now, how do we get the City's filthy, robbing, cheating, stealing hands off this money that drivers collect and put to use so that benefits the drivers and their families?
