Infrastructure shows that government should be abolished. It is a prime example of government failure
During the past decades local governments had huge influxes of revenue from property and income taxes In DC, a city that has only had Dewmit mayors and city councils, we have a new convention center and sports stadium, but government water authority pipes are all lead and recent studies show DC children have permanent brain damage. We have many public schools with only one working restroom and asbestos throughout, though teachers and non-teaching bureaucrats have the highest salaries in the country. It is a clear example of the failure of government and of central planning and of the absence of consumer choice and the profit motive. They built baseball stadiums and convention centers, raised their salaries and expanded their bureaucracies, but did not spend money on basic maintenance of bridges and roads, leading to many deaths A private bridge or road owner would take better care of their assets. They would have to to get customers, loans, or insurance On Fri, Mar 27, 2009 at 5:45 AM, madtim3bat <[email protected]>wrote: > America's infrastructure is falling apart. The Republicans demands that > we cut infrastructure is just insane. We are turning into a third world > nation, and Republicans are complaining that we are not doing it fast > enough. > > We need stimulus, and we have collapsing infrastructure... Am I the only > one who sees an opportunity in these twin disasters? > > ================================================================= > > US Infrastructure Is Deplored > Engineers' appraisal fuels Senate hunt for more funding > Published on Thursday, March 26, 2009 > by Jon Schmitz > http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09085/958457-147.stm > > The nation has gone backward in the last four years from an already sorry > performance in maintaining vital infrastructure, a national engineers group > reported yesterday. > > "America's infrastructure rates a cumulative grade of D," the American > Society of Civil Engineers said, citing delayed maintenance and chronic > underfunding of roads, bridges, transit, dams, aviation and other > infrastructure. > > The organization issued its comprehensive 2009 Report Card for America's > Infrastructure yesterday as a U.S. Senate committee wrestled with ways to > come up with more funding, including Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell's proposal > for a federal capital budget funded by borrowing. > > The organization said surface transportation and aviation systems have > declined since its last report card in 2005, with aviation and public > transit falling from D+ to D and roads from D to D-. > > "Americans spend 4.2 billion hours a year stuck in traffic at a cost to the > economy of $78.2 billion, or $710 per motorist," the report said. "Poor > conditions cost motorists $67 billion a year in repairs and operating > costs." > > The group estimated that $2.2 trillion must be spent in the next five years > to restore the nation's infrastructure to good condition. "Current spending > amounts to only about half of the needed investment," it said. > > The organization's president, D. Wayne Klotz, said spending more money on > infrastructure "is important, but the solution will involve more than just > money. It will take sound technology, wise community planning and involved > citizens willing to partner with the government and private sector to make > real change." > > The report was cited frequently at a hearing yesterday in Washington, D.C., > of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee attended by Mr. > Rendell and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. While the parties > generally agreed on the need for increased infrastructure spending, they > disagreed on how to raise the money. > > Mr. Rendell said current federal funding levels won't allow states to > tackle big new transportation projects. "It's impossible to do anything but > fixing, repairing, maintaining," he said. > > He said the federal governments should, like state and local governments, > adopt a capital budget with borrowing that spreads the cost of projects over > 20 or 30 years "instead of all up front." > > He called for creation of a national infrastructure bank that could > leverage private investment and would choose projects for funding based on > merit, rather than the politics-driven earmarking process now in place. > > "I think the American people will support common-sense infrastructure > investment," Mr. Rendell said. > > He said he supports an increase in the federal gasoline tax, which hasn't > been raised since 1993, but said that was only part of the solution. > > The committee chairwoman, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said she was > "averse" to raising the gasoline tax and cool to the idea of abandoning a > pay-as-you-go system of funding transportation improvements. > > With Congress set this year to fashion a new multiyear transportation > funding bill, Mr. LaHood said "there's a very strong commitment from > President [Barack] Obama to put everything on the table, see what ideas > stick, what makes sense." > > But on a federal gas tax increase, he said: "That's off the table right > now" because of "hard economic times." > > Ms. Boxer noted that the federal stimulus legislation provided $48 billion > for transportation improvements, including $27.5 billion for highways, that > she said would improve infrastructure and create jobs. > > The bill "was a good start, but it is not enough. We must have continued > investment to maintain these jobs, and to make additional, needed > improvements to our transportation infrastructure," she said. > > "It is important to note that the $27.5 billion for highways in [the] > stimulus is in no way a substitute for the hundreds of billions needed to > address our nation's infrastructure crisis," said Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla. > > "Transportation and infrastructure are not all that complicated," said Sen. > Bernard Sanders of Vermont, an independent. > > "The bottom line is ... if you allow your infrastructure to deteriorate > year after year after year, you don't put funding into it, you know what? > It's going to get worse. And that is precisely what we have done as a > nation. > > "The irony is it costs more to rebuild crumbling infrastructure than to > simply maintain it. We have been really dumb and we have wasted enormous > sums of money. > > "We are going to have a great debate on how we raise the money, but we must > raise that money." > > __._,_.___ > Messages in this topic > <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ThePoliticalSpinroom/message/430760;_ylc=X3oDMTM4Mmo4M3RxBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzU2NTc5OTQEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1Njc2OTY0BG1zZ0lkAzQzMDc2MARzZWMDZnRyBHNsawN2dHBjBHN0aW1lAzEyMzgxNDcxMDMEdHBjSWQDNDMwNzYw>( > 1) Reply (via web post) > <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ThePoliticalSpinroom/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJydmJkbTQ2BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzU2NTc5OTQEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1Njc2OTY0BG1zZ0lkAzQzMDc2MARzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNycGx5BHN0aW1lAzEyMzgxNDcxMDM-?act=reply&messageNum=430760>| > Start > a new topic > <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ThePoliticalSpinroom/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJlc3V1NzNkBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzU2NTc5OTQEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1Njc2OTY0BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA250cGMEc3RpbWUDMTIzODE0NzEwMw--> > > Messages<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ThePoliticalSpinroom/messages;_ylc=X3oDMTJlanZxNDBxBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzU2NTc5OTQEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1Njc2OTY0BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA21zZ3MEc3RpbWUDMTIzODE0NzEwMw-->| > Files<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ThePoliticalSpinroom/files;_ylc=X3oDMTJmYTJuaGQzBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzU2NTc5OTQEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1Njc2OTY0BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA2ZpbGVzBHN0aW1lAzEyMzgxNDcxMDM->| > Photos<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ThePoliticalSpinroom/photos;_ylc=X3oDMTJlY3VmYzA2BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzU2NTc5OTQEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1Njc2OTY0BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA3Bob3QEc3RpbWUDMTIzODE0NzEwMw-->| > Links<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ThePoliticalSpinroom/links;_ylc=X3oDMTJmZGk3bXJ2BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzU2NTc5OTQEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1Njc2OTY0BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA2xpbmtzBHN0aW1lAzEyMzgxNDcxMDM->| > Polls<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ThePoliticalSpinroom/polls;_ylc=X3oDMTJmYzhjOXI3BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzU2NTc5OTQEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1Njc2OTY0BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA3BvbGxzBHN0aW1lAzEyMzgxNDcxMDM->| > Calendar<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ThePoliticalSpinroom/calendar;_ylc=X3oDMTJkZ2dyZmt2BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzU2NTc5OTQEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1Njc2OTY0BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA2NhbARzdGltZQMxMjM4MTQ3MTAz> > MARKETPLACE > ------------------------------ > From kitchen basics to easy recipes - join the Group from Kraft Foods > <http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=14kalo0uc/M=493064.12016295.13271503.10835568/D=groups/S=1705676964:MKP1/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1238154304/L=/B=XVUijUPDhFM-/J=1238147104133821/K=8YH1SCV2kfM8zI_noS3ZGA/A=5530388/R=0/SIG=11nuutlas/*http://explore.yahoo.com/groups/kraftmealsmadesimple/> > ------------------------------ > What's your IQ score? 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