Mark your calendars: The price of a single bus or subway ride in New York City goes up by a quarter on June 28 to $2.25.

Fares for the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad will increase by about 10 percent on June 17. I’m shocked already how much it costs to travel to CT via the New Haven line.  Ugggh.  And tolls on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority bridges and tunnels will rise on July 12.

The MTA board authorized the fare and toll hikes Monday after the state Legislature passed a rescue package last week that included higher fees and a payroll tax for employers in New York City and seven surrounding counties.

This particularly hits home for the unemployed.  We finally get an extra $25 a week and just like that it starts to erode from our pockets via the subway rise.  Tax the hell out of the cabs for all we care - we’re not using them anyway.  Those are for the employed.  But the subway? That hurts.

-By Garrett Dale, Founding Member and Social Media Expert