Nation's infrastructure is crumbling

[PeterABnny]

We don't need infrustructure when there are terrorists abroad to fight!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7137552/

I don't know about you, but I'd rather send all my money to Iraq, for a unnecessary, poorly-planned war!

Go Dub-ya - YEEEEEEEEEEEHAWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!

[Patas]

As my alarm clock went off this morning this story was playing. Apparently the grade dropped from a D+ in 2001 to a D. So, what this is saying is that our infrastructure is horrible and has been declining for awhile. Lets sit back and hope that this wakes are government up, so they can start concentrating on the USA and not the USAs international agenda (oil).

[Slar]

Speaking of grades, I enjoyed this bit from Monday's Enquirer:

"The libertarian think tank Cato Institute last week gave Gov. Bob Taft an "F" for his fiscal policies - again - calling his record "disastrous."

In a fiscal report card it hands out every two years, the Washington-based group - which hates tax increases and wants government spending slashed - gave Taft the lowest score of the 42 governors it rated. (Some, like Kentucky's Ernie Fletcher or Indiana's Mitch Daniels, have not been in office long enough to get a grade.)

The group slammed Taft for raising spending and hiking taxes."

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050307/COL06/503070323/-1/all

[b_dubb]

the only determining factor in the course of public policy is not what benefits the public but what prolongs and improves the careers of politicians. as long as that is the impetus for public policy, then we're screwed.

you think there's any chance that we'll start building commuter trains and add bike paths to relieve congestion on the roads or poisons in the air? nah.

packed like lemmings into shiny metal boxes

b

[Orville Wrong]

Damn, we best hire us some civil engineers, and fast! Who gave this grade again?

[seafoamgreen]

Damn, we best hire us some civil engineers, and fast! Who gave this grade again?


yeah, civil engineers are bastards.

with their road repair, and their bridge building, and their hydroelectric dams, thinking they're better than me.

[Orville Wrong]

yeah, civil engineers are bastards.

with their road repair, and their bridge building, and their hydroelectric dams, thinking they're better than me.
And they're so... civil. Who needs that?

Just the same, though, if Goodyear Tire and Rubber came out with an A+ rating for America's roadways, I'd take the source into account.

[seafoamgreen]

And they're so... civil. Who needs that?


I say this out of personal experience, there is nothing civil about a civil engineer.

[postfeminist]

I say this out of personal experience, there is nothing civil about a civil engineer.

you better check YO'SELF
there's lots of engineers roaming around here...




...but mostly they agree that civil engineers are douchebags. :D

[Patas]

I for one am a civil engineer, but not the bridge or structure or road building type. I am the environmental kind. But don't worry no offense taken from any of the previous statements.

[Duemellon]

My great grandfather was a civil engineer! I take umbrage at this CivEng bashing!

[postfeminist]

shut up due :D
i <3 you...

[purple_octopus]

Speaking of grades, I enjoyed this bit from Monday's Enquirer:

"The libertarian think tank Cato Institute last week gave Gov. Bob Taft an "F" for his fiscal policies - again - calling his record "disastrous."
I love the Cato Institute. They're just so right all the time. :)

[BigSugar]

The American Society of BigSugAttorneys has also given America a big fat F for failing to hire enough attorneys named Big Sug to do work. The Society recommends that you bastards spend roughly $300,000 a year for the next 20 years to hire more attorneys named Big Sug to do shit for you. This failure is a clear sign of the coming apocolypse if you don't act fast!

The report said $1.6 trillion should be spent over the next five years to alleviate potential problems with the nation’s infrastructure.

[ThreeDLou]

Do you think that we keep things so crappy just so we have soemthing to bitch about? I swear, many people would cease to exist without the bitch factor.
No one on these boards, though.

[Duemellon]

No one on these boards, though.
Except JSpace & PF. Good lord, they're fuckin iceholes! I'm glad I know how to use invisiTEXT so they'll never see me right this unless someone quotes me & it shows on the dark background of the quote boxJust thought I'd "reveal" the secret!

[ThreeDLou]

Hey! Whoa! Now.

If I meant to say it, it sure as shit wouldn't be invisible.

Due, why you gotta play me like that?

[Handy Smurf]

yeah Due, don't be such an icehole
:D

[Duemellon]

yeah Due, don't be such an icehole
:Dshutta your face! fargin bastage!

[CablinasianRam]

Speaking of grades, I enjoyed this bit from Monday's Enquirer:

"The libertarian think tank Cato Institute last week gave Gov. Bob Taft an "F" for his fiscal policies - again - calling his record "disastrous."

In a fiscal report card it hands out every two years, the Washington-based group - which hates tax increases and wants government spending slashed - gave Taft the lowest score of the 42 governors it rated. (Some, like Kentucky's Ernie Fletcher or Indiana's Mitch Daniels, have not been in office long enough to get a grade.)

The group slammed Taft for raising spending and hiking taxes."

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050307/COL06/503070323/-1/all

I'm just surprised the folks at the Cato Institute could do the math. I'm not a Bob Taft fan, but he deserves a pat on the back for pissing these dimwits off.

[classicgrrl]

I dont know about the Cato Insitute but a drive through Clifton right now might convince folks that this is actually true.

There is no road on McMillan. It's all large metal coverings with handles on the ends. :rolleyes:

[markalot]

I'm just surprised the folks at the Cato Institute could do the math. I'm not a Bob Taft fan, but he deserves a pat on the back for pissing these dimwits off.


Yea, I hate people who want to slash spending and cut taxes. No really, isn't it obvious that the government spends our money wisely? :big ole roll of eyes:

:p

[CablinasianRam]

Yea, I hate people who want to slash spending and cut taxes. No really, isn't it obvious that the government spends our money wisely? :big ole roll of eyes:

:p

They're a right wing/libertarian think tank? You honestly think they're going say anything otherwise? That's like having the Village Voice come out against gay marriage.

[Johnnylama]

The group slammed Taft for raising spending and hiking taxes."

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050307/COL06/503070323/-1/all

Funny how we still managed to fire 3000 teachers last year because of budget cuts. Who's getting this raised spending anyway?

[purple_octopus]

They're a right wing/libertarian think tank? You honestly think they're going say anything otherwise? That's like having the Village Voice come out against gay marriage.

Right wing does not equal libertarian!!!!!!

Libertarian = fiscally conservative, but socially liberal. (In other words, maximize freedom, minimize government involvement in people's personal lives.) Of course they're going to be scrutinizing how efficiently government spends our money. It's one of the things Libertarians do best. (And isn't it endlessly unsuprising what an awful job the government does?)

[Handy Smurf]

i'm a bit of a libertarian myself
i would love to see legalized marijauna (even though i dont smoke anymore) and just tax the shit out of it
only problem is youre creating another industry for the goverment to regulate heavily
big goverment=teh suck

[CablinasianRam]

Right wing does not equal libertarian!!!!!!

Libertarian = fiscally conservative, but socially liberal. (In other words, maximize freedom, minimize government involvement in people's personal lives.) Of course they're going to be scrutinizing how efficiently government spends our money. It's one of the things Libertarians do best. (And isn't it endlessly unsuprising what an awful job the government does?)


I know the difference between the two. However, in the area of the size of government; which is the topic for discussion, they are similar. The Cato Institute isn't exactly full blooded Libertarian, they're more Objectivist and are more radical in the role of government marginalization.

[postfeminist]

the sister of a friend of mine works for cato...she's nuts.

[purple_octopus]

I know the difference between the two. However, in the area of the size of government; which is the topic for discussion, they are similar. The Cato Institute isn't exactly full blooded Libertarian, they're more Objectivist and are more radical in the role of government marginalization.
I've never known Cato to not be full-blooded Libertarian. Yes, Libertarians are radical in their ideas of minmizing the size and scope of government. That's one of the reasons they haven't gotten very far. When you don't have a lot to offer special interest groups, it's hard to raise money. Democrats offer more in the way of social programs, while Republicans usually offer benefits to businesses. Either way, all the Libertarians have to offer is (and I'll quote Cato on this), "individual liberty, limited governmnet, free markets and peace". In our greedy society, where everyone wants something for nothing, it hasn't gotten them very far (unfortunately). As far as I'm concerned, small government is good government, whether we're talking about foreign policy, economic policy, or social issues.

Anyone who wants to know more about what Cato researches can go here (http://www.cato.org/research/).

[BigSugar]

I met Brian "Cato" Kaelin at the Lanes End Stakes at Turfway right after the OJ trial! i got his autograph. i had no idea he started a think tank! :D Are they still looking for the real killer?

[PeterABnny]

i'm a bit of a libertarian myself
i would love to see legalized marijauna (even though i dont smoke anymore) and just tax the shit out of it
only problem is youre creating another industry for the goverment to regulate heavily
big goverment=teh suck


I have to wonder if I'm a little libertarian, too... I'm no fan of big government, either, but oftentimes Unca Sam is all that keeps us the public from getting completely screwed over by Big Business. I mean, look at privatized healthcare. Without starting something that goes off on a tangent, in looking at the state of American healthcare today, tell me again about the benefits of privatized healthcare. Major League Baseball - same story. MLB is bitching about *gasp, gasp* having to actually do something about all those steroid-pumped players, but if not for the government getting involved, does anyone actually trust MLB to clean up its act and regulate itself? You don't see much regulation of the credit industry, and it's probably no coincidence that consumers' rights are increasingly going the way of tail fins on automobiles there. There are more, sure, but you get the point.

I find it insane how Dumbass and those other war-lusting neo-cons can always come up with whatever is needed to continue this crusade of freedom in Iraq, but when it comes to money for social programs and infrastructure repair, no one seems to know where to get it from.