Infrastructure is hurting Pittsburgh (Republic: gated, wages, price)

[pman]

Originally Posted by Blackbeauty212

...

No to mention, just how long did Gov. DoNothing wait before he decided the states transportation problem was important enough to address, around the same time he decided he needs a "Win" politically to run on for reelection? Pennsylvania's Transportation problems were brewing long before either Obama or DoNothing took office, so its not something that happened overnight.

and then urban democrats decided that not allowing corbett a win was more important than funding infrastructure. it cuts both ways, with the exception of VA, both political parties have shown a inability to govern effectively.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

I don't like the term "obstruct" as it is divisive and implies malevolent intent.

The House has now held 40 votes to repeal the ACA. Obstruct is a pretty good word for what is happening.

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by Moby Hick

The House has now held 40 votes to repeal the ACA. Obstruct is a pretty good word for what is happening.

Obstruct on whose part?

Some would say that the Democrats and President Obama are obstructing the way to ACA repeal- else 40 votes wouldn't have been necessary.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

Some would say that the Democrats and President Obama are obstructing the way to ACA repeal- else 40 votes wouldn't have been necessary.

Those 40 votes weren't necessary. They are in fact complete pointless except as campaign fodder. The Senate hasn't held even a single vote since Obama won and the House can't do anything by itself.

[pman]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

Actually, the number of railroads has really dropped off since I was a kid. Maybe its time for a "Trails to Rails" program if that is going to be a reality.

The other possibility is to make better use of the rivers for moving freight, a lot less industrial traffic out on Pittsburgh waterfront that there was in the past.

actually, inland shipping is the most havily subsidized form of transportation. It isn't inherently bad I suppose, but unlike the railroads that actually benefit from government inaction (although railroads receive government funding, they largely fund improvements on their own and don't engage in endless political wrangling over what projects to fund) the inland shipping system is reliant on congressional action. I'm not an expert but as I understand it, it's been poorly funded for years and the funding they have had has gone to dubious projects.

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by Moby Hick

Those 40 votes weren't necessary. They are in fact complete pointless except as campaign fodder. The Senate hasn't held even a single vote since Obama won and the House can't do anything by itself.

The 40 votes might be a waste of time, but wasting time isn't "obstruction".

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

The 40 votes might be a waste of time, but wasting time isn't "obstruction".

Doing something pointless when you can't pass something necessary, like a transportation bill, is pretty much the definition of obstruction. And that's exactly what happened last week. (Which bring us back to infrastructure. Hooray.)

[Blackbeauty212]

Originally Posted by pman

and then urban democrats decided that not allowing corbett a win was more important than funding infrastructure. it cuts both ways, with the exception of VA, both political parties have shown a inability to govern effectively.

Still Gov DoNothing had AMPLE opportunity to get out in front of this, and he chose to place it on the back burner until he needed it politically and now its too late, why should the Dems give him a "Win" when's he's done nothing but thumb is nose at this issue up until it became critical. Sorry I have no sympathy for DoNothing, he brought this on himself.

The Republican Congress, John Boehner, Mitch McConnell....Have said themselves, out of their own mouths, they were sent to Washington to Obstruct this President, they will be judged based on legislation they can Repeal not Pass. They are doing just that, yet no-one see the need to hold them accountable for the Country's mess, its all at the hands of the mighty O.... GMAFBreak.

Now you have members of Congress talking that "Shut down the Government" BS again in order to kill the Affordable Care Act. UGH!

[Lobick]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

The Stimulus was passed, and that was supposed to cure the infrastructure problem...

I'm reasonably sure that you're ascribing motivations and promises to the Stimulus in hindsight that were not promised in real time.

[mdavis6890]

The answer to problems like this are actually pretty easy:
Give the bridges to private businesses. Require that they carry a $10B insurance policy.

Whatever company is formed to hold the bridge will charge an appropriate toll and keep the bridge in shape. $10B is a big incentive not to allow problems, and the insurance company will be very motivated to make sure the bridge stays in good shape. It's also enough to pay families $10M per person for 1000 deaths should something catastrophic happen. It wouldn't bring anybody back, but again, it's a big incentive for the business to keep the bridge in shape.

The users of the bridge will pay for it's upkeep through tolls, as they should. Taxpayers who do not use the bridge will no longer be forced to pay for it.

You might be worried that the business might try to jack up the tolls, which I'm sure they will. But in the city of bridges, people have a lot of options for getting from point A to point B, including other paths, mass transit across the bridge, and carpooling across the bridge, or even working from home when possible. In the end, that will keep tolls in line with the value of crossing the bridge. You might not allow the same business to own more than one bridge, just to make sure there's competition.

Michael