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2nd Term Part 4: Donkeys, Elephants, and Porcupines

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Re: 2nd Term Part 4: Donkeys, Elephants, and Porcupines

FlagDUDE08 said:
Actually, they very well could have gone someplace else: to another town.
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How would that have benefited my town?

The road itself had to be built where it was to help ease the congestion on the main road.

FreshFish said:
and meanwhile, the debt incurred to finance said projects will remain with us forever (every year we run a deficit means that all existing debt is rolled over AND new debt also is added on top).

When you factor in open-ended debt service costs, sometimes those projects are still a good deal, and other times they aren't. It's really hard to measure what else WON'T be done because that debt squeezed out another opportunity elsewhere.

My main complaint with federal public works projects is that if you do one, you have to do 50, or 100 or whatever, so that everyone gets their "piece of the pie."


(everyone wants "their" piece of the pie but no one wants to be the baker! :( )
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Are we still in debt on the Hoover Dam project? Rural electrification? Interstate highways? We sure are reaping the economic windfalls from those projects. The funding for the bypass in my town will be paid back in full this year. Meanwhile it has generated all kinds of economic activity.

ETA: Let me just ask, if the government doesn't do things like build roads, bridges, sewer lines, dams, etc etc etc...who is? You think private companies are going to build them with money out of their own pocket? Hell, business owners with major sports franchises worth hundreds of millions won't even build a stadium with their own money and that will directly benefit them. You think these same captains of industry are going to build the roads?
 
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Re: 2nd Term Part 4: Donkeys, Elephants, and Porcupines

ScoobyDoo said:
Bull ****. Boner is chanting Jobs, Jobs, Jobs. It's my job as a citizen to ask him where the **** they are.
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Funny you don't hold your hero to the same standard
 
Re: 2nd Term Part 4: Donkeys, Elephants, and Porcupines

ScoobyDoo said:
I most certainly do. Unfortunately the Bone Man is blockage. Obama can't pass legislation he can only sign it.
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Boner is a putz, another example of a DC politician who only cares about power
 
Re: 2nd Term Part 4: Donkeys, Elephants, and Porcupines

joecct said:
Money can't buy me love, but it can buy me a politician or two or 538....

http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2013/06/24/1pct_of_the_1pct/
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Republicans are about 40 percent more common than Democrats among the 1% of the 1%. While almost half (49.8 percent) of the 1% of 1% gave at least 90 percent of their money to Republicans, just over one third (35.5 percent) of these donors gave at least 90 percent to Democrats.

Figure 8 bins the donors by their level of partisanship based on how much they gave to parties and candidates. Since super PACs are technically independent, we do not include donations to these groups in our totals.

While the most common occupation listed among these donors is “Retired” (13.1%), the plurality with identifiable professions hail from top corporate jobs: 8.8 percent identify themselves as “president,” 8.7 percent as “attorney” or “lawyer” and 8.5 percent as “CEO.” While there is some overlap among the corporate jobs (for example, various individuals list themselves as “CEO and Chairman,” or “President/CEO,” etc.), a total of 5,639 top donors (17.0 percent) list themselves as at least one of the following: “CEO," "President," "Chairman,” “Executive” or “Owner."

Looking purely at the monetary contributions, CEOs and chairmen (frequently the same person) account for the largest raw percentage of donations, which tells us that they contribute, on average, a bit more than the average member of the 1% of the 1%. By contrast, retirees give a little less on average, accounting for only 10.8 percent of the contributions as compared to 13.2 percent of donors.

It’s also worth highlighting that 7.7 percent of the 1% of the 1% list their occupation as “homemaker.” Since homemakers are rarely compensated for their work, we are left to assume that their ability to contribute tens of thousands of dollars is due to spousal or inherited wealth. “Homemaker” is the listed occupation for 27.4 percent of the female 1% of the 1% donors, while “Retired” is the listed occupation of 17.5 percent of the female 1% of the 1% donors. (As a basis of comparison, 11.5 percent of the male 1% of the 1% donors list their occupation as “retired.”)
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Good info.
 
Re: 2nd Term Part 4: Donkeys, Elephants, and Porcupines

FlagDUDE08 said:
Yes.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/09/hawaii.volunteers.repair/
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:D

The problem of every decaying bridge, crumbling road...every community that needs sewer service installed, repaired, etc. etc. solved just like that. Realistically to boot! :rolleyes:

Keep us Minnesotans busy with just the potholes. I know the recent complete I-494 / I-694 corridor redo could have easily been achieved in this manner. :)
 
Re: 2nd Term Part 4: Donkeys, Elephants, and Porcupines

Priceless said:
Great. One road, in the middle of nowhere. OK, problem solved then. Let's eliminate all highway expenditures from the state and federal budget and let private citizens and businesses handle everything. I'm sure everything will work out.
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I do think we should allow neighborhoods to save $100 or two off their annual taxes and in return, receive the priviledge of doing all their own roadwork. Of course, that doesn't mean neighbors are going to care about the potholes near your place...or anyone outside of your neighborhood for the freeway to get to your neighborhood for that matter.

Along with parks, police, sewer, etc, I prefer to leave that option for those who prefer living in a dump.

joecct said:
Cynical me says nobody will be able to use the bridge until the State inspects it.
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Don't think I'd be too excited about using it.
 
Re: 2nd Term Part 4: Donkeys, Elephants, and Porcupines

Priceless said:
Great. One road, in the middle of nowhere. OK, problem solved then. Let's eliminate all highway expenditures from the state and federal budget and let private citizens and businesses handle everything. I'm sure everything will work out.
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States are starting to "sell" highways to private corporations. The corporations keep the tolls, maintain the roads, etc. usually for a fixed (very long) term.
 
joecct said:
States are starting to "sell" highways to private corporations. The corporations keep the tolls, maintain the roads, etc. usually for a fixed (very long) term.
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Love to see the ratios of number of guys standing around during roadwork on each side. Private companies wouldn't get into it unless they could do it more efficiently.
 
Re: 2nd Term Part 4: Donkeys, Elephants, and Porcupines

joecct said:
States are starting to "sell" highways to private corporations. The corporations keep the tolls, maintain the roads, etc. usually for a fixed (very long) term.
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Where is that happening? Around here companies sponsor a piece of highway, but all that means is they pick up the garbage for their mile or two along the highway.
 
Priceless said:
Where is that happening? Around here companies sponsor a piece of highway, but all that means is they pick up the garbage for their mile or two along the highway.
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If you google it there are a few. I first heard of it regarding a new bridge to the outer banks...that one may be only partially private equity funding but at one point there was discussion of an entirely private proposal.
 
Re: 2nd Term Part 4: Donkeys, Elephants, and Porcupines

This ought to be mandatory watching this fall (I hope)

Crossfire Returns

The opportunity to help relaunch an American institution, "Crossfire", was irresistible.

As a junior member of Congress I had been a guest on Crossfire many times. It was launched in 1982 and became the premier place for debating the issues and talking about ideas.

Every night for 30 minutes two hosts and one or two guests would take a serious topic and examine it from multiple perspectives.

There was plenty of time for everyone to express clear views and to ask each other substantive questions.

From supply side economics and tax cuts, to the Contra versus Communist fight in Nicaragua, to the Iran Contra scandal, there always seemed to be enough interesting, provocative ideas to hold your attention for 30 intense minutes.

Crossfire was very different from the usual analyst on a set for four to eight minutes.

Crossfire focused on big questions and featured well prepared advocates from both sides of the issue.
People got in the habit of watching Crossfire because they knew they would hear a good debate. Whether you were a liberal, a conservative, or an undecided independent, you found yourself listening to the other side and having to confront arguments and facts that weren't part of your normal conversation.

Part of what made Crossfire work was the quality of its guests. A lot of knowledgable, influential people knew that Crossfire would give them a chance to make their arguments and be heard on their issues. They came prepared because they knew the other side would have spent hours getting ready and would have solid rebuttals and good arguments.

I remember one time Congressman Steve Solarz mouse trapped me with clever planning and destroyed my whole point with careful research into a letter I had written to then Soviet Chairman Leonids Brezhnev. It was brilliant showmanship by Solarz and it taught me a lot about being prepared and thinking through all the angles.

Part of what made Crossfire fascinating was its unpredictability.

When the late Bob Novak was a host you could never guarantee which side he was going to take. If someone came badly prepared or with an inadequately thought through argument he would pivot, switch sides and take them apart. His commitment was to giving the viewers a thorough understanding of both sides of an issue and he would challenge anyone, even his own ally, if they came badly prepared or were sloppy.

As Stephanie Cutter, S.E. Cupp, Van Jones and I relaunch Crossfire, it will be serious, tough minded, and confrontational, but not a hostile program.

If we can bring to CNN the kind of focused dialogue, fact based disagreement, great informed guests, and serious conversation I experienced in the early days of Crossfire, then we will truly contribute to a better American dialogue and a more positive environment for politics and government.

I look forward to it and hope you will join me for Crossfire this fall. We'll announce the launch date and time later this summer.

Your Friend,
Newt
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Re: 2nd Term Part 4: Donkeys, Elephants, and Porcupines

Priceless said:
Where is that happening? Around here companies sponsor a piece of highway, but all that means is they pick up the garbage for their mile or two along the highway.
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Did you ever notice the Citizens' Bank toll booths along the Mass Pike?
 
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