Kinja reply list

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ARP2Hamilton Nolan
7/29/13 4:15pm
The Chamber of Commerce and some other conservative groups are actually in favor of fixing our infrastructure (unlike a number of issues where they don't even agree on the principle). The problem comes on how to pay for it. I think we should be nation building at home, rather than trying to go to war every few years.
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  Volante3192ARP2
  7/29/13 5:03pm
  It's easy to be 'for infrastructure repairs' when you're 'against funding them.'
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  ARP2Volante3192
  7/29/13 5:13pm
  Well, in their defense (as much as I hate to do it), they want to pay for it by slashing medicare, social security, SNAP, and all the other social programs.
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squarksHamilton Nolan
7/29/13 4:08pm
With the amount of gasoline taxes collected every year this should not be the case at all. Mismanagement, mismanagement, mismanagement.
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  WestEggsquarks
  7/29/13 4:13pm
  I don't suppose you have any actual numbers to back up your assertion?
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  DiscoInfernoSupressionSystemsquarks
  7/29/13 4:23pm
  The Federal Gas Tax hasn't changed in twenty years and is ridiculously low compared to other developed nations.
  
  http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/18/opi…
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DiscoInfernoSupressionSystemHamilton Nolan
7/29/13 4:15pm
Spending money on new projects gets you a photo op.

Spending money on maintenance gets you blamed for traffic jams.

In addition, the consequences of sprawl are finally coming back to haunt us. We've been building outward and outward, abandoning neighborhoods the moment they lose their luster, opting for the new developments a few miles away. We don't really fix our communities, we just try to outrun the problems.

New developments outside the existing urban core mean more roads, utilities, schools, emergency services, etc to support the far-flung subdivisions and office parks we've scurried-off to.

Given that it's often a case of population shifting, but not actually growing in proportion to the new development taking place, the existing tax base must support the new infrastructure while also paying to maintain the existing stuff.

If a bunch of new McMansions and strip malls don't have basic access, there's going to be hell to pay. So money is allocated to ensure the new subdivisions have everything they need to function.

Existing communities and existing infrastructure are left to rot.
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PeteRRHamilton Nolan
7/29/13 4:20pm
Our local jackass townfathers insist on spending big money on the local parks while neglecting our surface streets. We've caught them twice restoring money to P+R, including employing a "Director" at a cool $180k per. Meanwhile our vehicles get pounded every day on awful pothole-ridden streets.

It's the fucking middle class mafia with their shitty kids playing in sports leagues that put our local budget so far out of whack.
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CleverUsernameHamilton Nolan
7/29/13 4:07pm
Yay smaller government!

/sarcasm

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DennyCraneHamilton Nolan
7/29/13 4:13pm
That percentage seems low. I bet it's more like 20-25%.
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Zoey NovaHamilton Nolan
7/29/13 4:40pm
as soon as i clicked on that i KNEW that PA would have the highest bridge problem. and i was right. go home state! yea!
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  WestEggZoey Nova
  7/29/13 5:06pm
  To be fair — doesn't PA have more bridges than any other state? (I suppose I could look this up for myself, but let's be reasonable.)
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  cesariojpnWestEgg
  7/29/13 6:27pm
  Texas, with over 48K bridges, is the state with the most bridges in the USA. Ohio comes second with a paltry 27K-ish.
  
  http://www.statemaster.com/graph/trn_bri_…
  
  The Keystone State comes in 9th.
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Chris7BAHamilton Nolan
7/29/13 4:35pm
This is just another ploy by the liberal media to grow the government even bigger!

Who needs good roads and structurally-sound bridges?!?

AMIRIGHT?!
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  WestEggChris7BA
  7/29/13 4:57pm
  When travelling across a bridge, you should attach one bootstrap to each end for safety. I mean, it's just common sense. If your dumb ass falls into a river because the bridge collapses underneath you, I'm sorry but you've got nobody to blame but yourself.
  
  These lefties want the government to literally support them with trusses and shit. Unbelievable. What do they expect us to do next — clean their water for them?!?
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sugarsailsHamilton Nolan
7/29/13 4:53pm
I have a feeling most of those roads are in Milwaukee.
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  Pooperscooper23sugarsails
  7/29/13 5:05pm
  Try Illinois, the most corrupt state and screwed up gov. Say what you like but i'd gladly trade quinn for walker
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  sugarsailsPooperscooper23
  7/29/13 5:33pm
  Augh, Quinn, Walker, I feel your pain neighbor.
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WestEggHamilton Nolan
7/29/13 4:11pm
The latter seems like such a no-brainer in terms of economic stimulus and investment in the country's future. A Federal commitment to bolstering our roads, bridges & utilities would not only put people to work but also give private companies a backbone they can rely on. Multinational corporations set up here because we have an environment that's friendly to business — laws and a market that let them operate relatively freely, infrastructure to support their operations, and security to protect all of the above. Once our bridges start falling down and our fresh water is shut off for days at a time, you better believe they'll start thinking twice.
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