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One simple point; the largest single part of our infrastructure in private hands -- our freight railroads -- are in the best financial condition they have experienced for nearly a century.
I recognize that much of our transport infrastructure can't be converted to private operation. But the lack of market discipline invariably makes itself felt.
Last edited by 2nd trick op; 09-21-2012 at 04:48 PM..
One simple point; the largest single part of our infrastructure in private hands -- our freight railroads -- are in the best financial condition they have experienced for nearly a century.
I recognize that much of our transport infrastructure can't be converted to private operation. But the lack of market discipline invaiably males itself felt.
There is a railroad river crossing under construction near my office. The funding is a result of a partnership between the railroad, Amtrak, the Federal Railroad Administration, and the Missouri DOT. More and more funding is coming as a result of partnerships and cost shares with various jurisdictions.
Private contractors would object to your military labor plan.
Anyway, the problem isn't a shortage of labor, it is a shortage of revenue. Military base funding comes out of one pot of money. Infrastructure comes out of a different pot.
It does not. Where do people come up with this stuff or more accurately, you?
You can't say if its not in my county its your problem, since its all interconnected. The greatest risk is in the power grid. It's a hodge podge of construction from the early 1900's to a few years ago, and its no more safe or reliable than the weakest point.
One of the huge blackouts on the east cost was caused by a tree falling in a storm in the upper midwest. It knocke down a wire, which shorted, and sent a surge of electricty ahead. This took out all the smaller junctures until it hit the largere ones and then they like clockwork went down too.
All those disastor and back a coupld of century scenerios don't seem so far fetched when you take into account that for some of these segments, there's no back up and perhaps no option but starting over.
We need to quit trying to save the world from itself and save ourselves from the crumbling foundations of our econonic and social systems.
Correct you please? I do not even know where to start. Do you pay a military tax and an infrastructure tax? No, of course not. Taxes are taxes.
A fuel tax isn't devoted to transportation infrastructure? Congress doesn't take some of my income tax and apportions it to the defense budget? Those are two pots of money right there.
There isn't one big cauldron of money where each department just reaches in and takes what it wants. Congress deals out a portion to each department and they have to work with what they get in their particular pot.
A fuel tax isn't devoted to transportation infrastructure? Congress doesn't take some of my income tax and apportions it to the defense budget? Those are two pots of money right there.
Yes, they take your income tax from the big pot and apportion it to defense. They could just as easy apportion it to infrastructure.
Quote:
There isn't one big cauldron of money where each department just reaches in and takes what it wants. Congress deals out a portion to each department and they have to work with what they get in their particular pot.
Dat's da ways I sees it.
There are not separate pots that they take from. They decide where to spend the one big pot.
Yes, they take your income tax from the big pot and apportion it to defense. They could just as easy apportion it to infrastructure.
There are not separate pots that they take from. They decide where to spend the one big pot.
Once apportioned to a department, it can't be taken it away during a fiscal year. But, I see your point when considering reapportionment for the next fiscal year. The savings from base closures can be reapportioned in future fiscal years, but it can't be done during the same fiscal year since funds are already dedicated. I was only considering one fiscal year when I previously posted.
I often think to myself what our country could look like if we'd taken all that money we spent on middle east wars and spent it instead on improving our infrastructure.
Or all the billions of state dollars wasted on bloated salaries and pensions.
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