This is the headline of an article published Aug. 26 in The New York Times: "Fare Evasion Surges on N.Y.C. Buses, Where 48% of Riders Fail to Pay."

The article begins: "Every weekday in New York City, close to one million bus riders -- roughly one out of every two passengers -- board without paying.

"Fare evasion has led to startling financial losses for the (Metropolitan Transit Authority), the state agency that runs the city transit system. In 2022, the authority lost $315 million because of bus fare evasion and $285 million as a result of subway fare beaters, according to a 2023 report commissioned by the M.T.A."

This report encapsulates the foolishness -- and therefore the destructiveness -- of progressive ideas.

To understand why, let's go back five years.

On April 13, 2019, the Times ran this headline: "1 in 5 Bus Riders in New York City Evades the Fare, Far Worse Than Elsewhere."

In just five years, the percentage of New Yorkers who avoid paying their bus fare -- in other words, steal -- increased from 20% to 50%, a two-and-a-half times increase.

And why might that be? The answer is the same answer that explains virtually every awful development in American cities: moronic progressive ideas and the Democratic Party, the party that governs all our big cities.

As reported in the 2019 article, "Fare evasion was widespread and the reasons varied. Riders did not have exact........

© Townhall