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Roads to Ruin: Towns Rip Up the Pavement
Wall Street Journal ^ | July 17, 2010 | LAUREN ETTER

Posted on 07/17/2010 5:59:50 AM PDT by reaganaut1

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To: livius
It's time to expose the “Public Servants” scam.

Is one legitimately called a “servant” when his lifestyle includes benefits and income which far exceeds his “master.”

Exactly who is serving whom.

It's pretty obvious...we in the private sector are the slaves to the elite, entitled, pampered, protected public sector non profit government class.

41 posted on 07/17/2010 6:31:38 AM PDT by Awgie (truth is always stranger than fiction)
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To: B-Chan
"I'd rather my kids drive on a gravel road than stick them with a big tax bill," said Bob Baumann, as he sipped a bottle of Coors Light at the Sportsman's Bar Café and Gas in Spiritwood.

Chipped windshields are another good reason to revive passenger rail service from our rural communities to the larger cities that still have paved streets.

42 posted on 07/17/2010 6:33:15 AM PDT by Willie Green (Save Money: Build High-Speed Rail & Maglev and help permanently ground Air Force One!!!)
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To: livius
Hah! Ever tried to ride a bike on a gravel road? I think they’ve got a surprise coming...

When was the last time you bought a bike? They have shock absorbers now.

I can see it now, "The federal govt. has announce a new program by BHO. We will now pay up to $100 to refit every bike with shock absorbers. This $200 million dollar program will create at least 12 new jobs."

43 posted on 07/17/2010 6:33:25 AM PDT by raybbr (Someone who invades another country is NOT an immigrant - illegal or otherwise.)
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To: saganite
“This is the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized,” he wrote in his government blog.

That line is straight out of "Atlas Shrugged" - sounds like Ma Chalmers and her soybeans getting government subsidized rail service while Minnesota's wheat rots in the granaries. LaHood exemplifies today's Republican - a go-along-to-get-along statist who can never quite surrender enough to earn the trust he craves from his masters.

44 posted on 07/17/2010 6:33:54 AM PDT by Mr. Jeeves ( "The right to offend is far more important than any right not to be offended." - Rowan Atkinson)
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To: reaganaut1
First, doesn't it cost money to rip up roads like this?

Second, I'll bet that of course money from gas taxes that could have paid for road repair and maintenance was siphoned off for other purposes, and on top of that, spending for social services probably went up as well.

45 posted on 07/17/2010 6:33:58 AM PDT by pnh102 (Regarding liberalism, always attribute to malice what you think can be explained by stupidity. - Me)
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To: raybbr
When was the last time you bought a bike? They have shock absorbers now.

Considering the amount of traction a bicycle tire has on gravel, I hope that they also have side air bags!

46 posted on 07/17/2010 6:35:59 AM PDT by meyer (Big government is the enemy of freedom.)
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To: reaganaut1

Sounds like the next the local governments have figured people care about—like school bands and sports and library hours—so of course they’ve got to cut back on them in order to maximize their ridiculous union employee pension schemes.


47 posted on 07/17/2010 6:36:52 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: Mr. Jeeves

So much of what is in Atlas Shrugged is now evident that I refer to Ayn Rand as a prophetess, not a philosopher. Of course, she had seen it all first hand as a child.


48 posted on 07/17/2010 6:38:55 AM PDT by saganite (What happens to taglines? Is there a termination date?)
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To: Flag_This
I'm going to Shanghai in September on business, and will visit the Expo. I will use the trains and walk a lot to get around. One train I will use travels to Beijing at high speed. I look forward to something besides the ACELA from DC to NuYawk!

I will also use a motorized BIKE furnished by my hosts! I didn't want to drive a car and risk collision! New cars means new drivers!!!!!!!!

49 posted on 07/17/2010 6:39:38 AM PDT by WVKayaker (“The object of oratory is not truth but persuasion.” -Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay)
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To: Vince Ferrer
Goverments have some problems prioritizing what they should really be doing.

Chattanooga's big on sweetheart real estate deals, homeless shelters, catering to the freeloaders, and adding bicycle lanes. Not so big on breaking up gangs, educating the kids, and paying the maintenance workers though. I would say that they have some huge prioritization issues.

50 posted on 07/17/2010 6:39:58 AM PDT by meyer (Big government is the enemy of freedom.)
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To: meyer
Considering the amount of traction a bicycle tire has on gravel, I hope that they also have side air bags!

That's why you'll have to buy a hybrid bike. Yes, there are such things. They are a cross between a road and an off-road bike. Fatter tires and marginally more comfortable than the a road bike. Good for mild off-roading but gotta keep pedaling on pavement because of the fatter tires.

Hey, it'll keep us in shape.

51 posted on 07/17/2010 6:40:22 AM PDT by raybbr (Someone who invades another country is NOT an immigrant - illegal or otherwise.)
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To: stevio
Absolutely nothing wrong with chip and oil roads, IMHO

I'd much prefer that to the pot hole infested thoroughfare in front of my place.

52 posted on 07/17/2010 6:40:30 AM PDT by Roccus (......and then there were none.)
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To: stevio

The problem is, the enviros have declared war on the “oil” part, and are claiming that the petroleum derivative product are poisoning babies or something.


53 posted on 07/17/2010 6:41:13 AM PDT by La Lydia
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To: avg_freeper

>>Reminds me of “Atlas Shrugged” when everything started going into disrepair.<<

Me too, but it may just be starting. Check this out:
http://www.chrismartenson.com/crashcourse


54 posted on 07/17/2010 6:42:03 AM PDT by RobRoy (The US Today: Revelation 18:4)
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To: Leisler
Everywhere the state builders, the government growers have built buildings, roads, bridges, social programs that we can not maintain.

Remember all the "Homeland Security" bucks that were being passed out a while back? A wholebunchalotta counties and municipalities here in WV just had to have big, expensive Haz-Mat rigs............then came the bills for maintenance.....

55 posted on 07/17/2010 6:45:22 AM PDT by Roccus (......and then there were none.)
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To: grellis; AdmSmith; Arthur Wildfire! March; Berosus; bigheadfred; blueyon; Convert from ECUSA; ...
...as counties struggle with tight budgets and dwindling state and federal revenue. State money for local roads was cut in many places amid budget shortfalls.
Alabama, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, et al.
56 posted on 07/17/2010 6:45:26 AM PDT by SunkenCiv ("Fools learn from experience. I prefer to learn from the experience of others." -- Otto von Bismarck)
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To: livius
One was about a boy living in Britain as the Roman Empire collapsed. The story begins with the child’s first noticing that something is wrong when he sees grass growing up between the stones on the Roman road and sees that any damage to the road is suddenly no longer being repaired.

Bingo.

Letting our transportation infrastructure erode is a very bad idea.

It has many knock-on effects, from driving businesses and other investors away to degradation of emergency services, and it reduces the tourist trade. I have seen delivery services refuse to deliver to an address because of the state of unpaved roads.

But this must delight the Kenyan Clown, who is determined to see our country destroyed.

57 posted on 07/17/2010 6:48:03 AM PDT by snowsislander (In this election year, please ask your candidates if they support repeal of the 1968 GCA.)
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To: raybbr
My latest acquisition to the fleet...

Yes, it says "HEMI"!. Bring on the gravel!

58 posted on 07/17/2010 6:48:56 AM PDT by meyer (Big government is the enemy of freedom.)
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To: reaganaut1
"I'd rather my kids drive on a gravel road than stick them with a big tax bill," said Bob Baumann, as he sipped a bottle of Coors Light at the Sportsman's Bar Café and Gas in Spiritwood.

Unfortunately, Bob, your kids will not only be driving on a gravel road, but will be stuck with a huge tax bill as well. The downside of electing democRATS and RINOs.

59 posted on 07/17/2010 6:50:11 AM PDT by meyer (Big government is the enemy of freedom.)
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To: Willie Green
Chipped windshields are another good reason to revive passenger rail service from our rural communities to the larger cities that still have paved streets.

Uh oh, now you've done it. Your comment is going to seriously piss off the "big windshield" lobbyists.....

60 posted on 07/17/2010 6:53:04 AM PDT by Thermalseeker (Stop the insanity - Flush Congress!)
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