Posted on 02/02/2013 2:27:21 PM PST by Olog-hai
Approximately 5.2 percent of funds obligated to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) during fiscal years 2009-2011 actually went to the construction of new highways.
An additional two and a half percent of that funding went to new construction of bridges, according to a Jan. 16 report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) entitled “Highway Trust Fund Obligations, Fiscal Years 2009 to 2011.”
Between FY 2009-2011, the Department of Transportation [DOT] authorized $144 billion from the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) to four separate administrations within the Department. Of that $144 billion, $116.7 billion went to the FHWA.
FHWA then devoted 81 percent ($94 billion) of the funding it received towards “construction and maintenance purposes.” Of the total $116.7 billion to the FHWA, $6.094 billion (5.2 percent) was spent on the construction of new highways and $2.963 billion (2.5 percent) on new bridges. …
(Excerpt) Read more at cnsnews.com ...
Obama wants to raise gas taxes when likely billions of this fund have been wasted.
We have to build bike trails and pay for public transportation.
A government agency got some money and spent almost 90% on doing it's job with a small percent going towards building new roads and bridges as opposed to keeping the old(er) ones going
The US is pretty much all mapped out by now ... where else do you want to go ... nowhere ??
The real story is the 30% or so that’s skimmed off the top of highway funds before anybody even considers maintaining roads.
Most highway fund money goes to well-connected contractors who then channel cash back to the politicians via campaign contributions.
Kinda like union dues.
They are using money from gas taxes to build bike lanes and maintain old railway routes? Those jackasses in Washington just spend money without thinking. Let’s get Nancy Pelosi a bike and she can ride home to California.
A broom would be cheaper, she can fly home herself
Most of it is turning old railroads into bike trails. Of course, the whole matter of railroad regulation that caused some of these railroads to be abandoned is another scandal altogether. (And meanwhile, the railroads are saying that they don’t have enough capacity.)
People already have been mugged on these former rail lines turned into bike trails. I see nothing but trouble.
Anyone thinks this is unusual need only look at Rick Perry and the State of Texas - they spend highway money on other things too and we have more roads than any state. Government spending is now at crony capitalism and corrution levels in every state!!
Here in Michigan Rick Snyder is a regular ole “Mr Choo Choo and public transportation. Now he wants to raise gas taxes to pay for it.
I’d say Snyder probably doesn’t even remember SEMTA commuter rail, in spite of being MI-born.
His thinking is driven from the heart of Michigan liberalism in Ann Arbor where he lives.
Until government can not pick so many “friends” to reward, we will only get more corruption. Look at the NJ senator, he was working on a BILLION dollar cotnract for the donor, who gave him less than 100K. Heck if I could get 500 million profit on a deal, i’d think 100k + the use of my jet and vacation home was a good invetment.
Regulation and taxation are the sticks they use to go with the carrots.
Getting rid of the ridiculous regulations and taxation would leave business with less incentive to buy off politicians. The corruption would still exist to some extent but I think business would police their own ranks better.
All we need then is a politican(s) x 100 that wants to clean out the rule books, with major citizen input sounds like a web application.
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