[michiganmoon]

Granholm's Construction Plan leaves me with a question. She is creating jobs in the short term by condensing 10 years worth of repair/maintainence construction on highway, road, bridge and etc into just 3 years.

However, isn't that wasteful? For instance some highways will be repaired 8 years before they truly need it. When they build highways they know that they tend to last for so long...so isn't this just a bit of a waste of money?

For example, hypothetically lets say that they repair a highway for $10,000,000 and it is projected to last 24 years. However, with Granholm's plan, we repair it 8 years early for the same cost and same projected length of lasting 24 years. Meaning that we lost out on $3,333,333 from repairing the road 8 years before they needed it?

Is this correct or am I looking at it wrong. I appreciate what Granholm is trying to do, but this feels like a budget waste.

[Rapunzll]

Michigan used to have some of the best roads around, they are in pretty bad shape now and actually probably late in getting fixed. Still, where is this money going to come from?

http://recallgranholm.net/

[fuzion79]

Michigan not only needs its roads to be repaired, but it needs a subway system and a rail system to connect to the metro areas. An odd state really, bad weather, backward management in virtually every area of government, apathy....etc. Its sad really.

[ChairborneRanger]

In my view, it's nothing more than a quasi-public welfare program and mostly constitutes payback to the unions and road contractors for supporting her reelection.

Reminds me a bit of the Clean Michigan Initiative bonding issue here about 10 years ago. It was billed as being for the "environment" and for environmental clean-up, yet, instead, much of it went for sewer engineering studies, to rebuild state park campgrounds and office buildings, DNR offices and DNR operating expenses and the like.

[michiganmoon]

Originally Posted by fuzion79

Michigan not only needs its roads to be repaired, but it needs a subway system and a rail system to connect to the metro areas. An odd state really, bad weather, backward management in virtually every area of government, apathy....etc. Its sad really.

Well, we are repairing roads before it needs it, certainly some need it now.

Through no fault of Granholm perosnally, in any way whatsoever, a local road had been completely redone...the old road ripped up and replaced with a brand new one. The problem...they forgot that they had plans to replace the sewer system the next year to keep up with expansion in the area...and so that nice new road ripped up after 1 year in existence to put in the new sewer. I am guessing the city manager should have been fired.

[UpperPeninsulaRon]

Originally Posted by michiganmoon

Granholm's Construction Plan leaves me with a question. She is creating jobs in the short term by condensing 10 years worth of repair/maintainence construction on highway, road, bridge and etc into just 3 years.

However, isn't that wasteful? For instance some highways will be repaired 8 years before they truly need it. When they build highways they know that they tend to last for so long...so isn't this just a bit of a waste of money?

For example, hypothetically lets say that they repair a highway for $10,000,000 and it is projected to last 24 years. However, with Granholm's plan, we repair it 8 years early for the same cost and same projected length of lasting 24 years. Meaning that we lost out on $3,333,333 from repairing the road 8 years before they needed it?

Is this correct or am I looking at it wrong. I appreciate what Granholm is trying to do, but this feels like a budget waste.

I must agree with mighiganmoon's assessment of the Governors plan for taxes for road maintenance. Once again, where is the consistent, well thought out plan. Suddenly this is an emergency. Suddenly we must immediately do everything at once! If we do not, people will flee Michigan, jobs will be lost, teachers will have no one to teach, another foreign company will once again buy Chrysler, O woe is me if we do not tax us out of this crisis right now!

Give me a break. As I now sit looking out of my window in the Upper Peninsula with another 8 inches of snow on the ground and the wind gusting to 45 mph, I can only think of our Governor's encouraging words - "In another five years, you will be blown away!".

[Tom in Atlanta]

Granholm plans to do this with a 3 cent hike per year for the next 3 years in the Gas Tax. As if gas is not high enough already. So Granholm has to make it sound good for all us tax payers who actually believe that the money will be used for roads. When we are still driving over the same pot holes in three years, she could care less, it will be someone elses problem. There is also a plan in Lansing to increase our Michigan Income Tax. And people wonder why others are leaving this state in droves. She makes big news when 100 jobs are created. What about the thousands of jobs that have been lost. What about the thousands of homes that have been foreclosed on. Yup raising taxes is the only answer to drive more people and business away from Michigan. It was time for a change when Granholm was reelected. We will be blown away, by the wind because we won't be able to afford to eat.

[Bhaalspawn]

I blame the Republicans for putting forth such an awful candidate. Next time, could we please have a secular candidate who can keep from trying to ram his religious mythology down everyone's throats and who could instead offer a credible economic plan? Could we have a candidate who hails from a mere middle class or lower class background who worked his way up?