I didn’t see where the bill would have the government guaranteeing loans for the new generators.
Sorry if I led you to believe the new projects were involved with guaranteed loans involved. That was accomplished during the Obama fallacy. This bill 257-166, was just to get the ball rolling using taxpayers money. And in Washington, it might as well be the same thing.
If I read the bill right, the Army Corps of Engineers will be tasked with the project. The current hiring rate for a civil engineer within the Corp of Engineers can reach $106K per year. A project manager $130K, a project engineer $92K (he’s cheap), and an electrical engineer $101K. Numerous of these are going to be required to try to commit as many as 80 damns that can be converted. So we have already reached a long way toward $1M just to establish what the top dogs are going to make for one project. Not a circuit purchased, not one electrical contractor hired, not even an environmental impact statement requested, and the taxpayers are already in the hole, with not one shovel of dirt in sight yet.
They are estimating many years before the light at the end of the tunnel for something we already really have becomes visible. So the added cost of the failure of the first effort to the time and expense of the second multi, multi-billion dollar investment with an economy that I don’t feel can handle the stress of another shock, could be very destructive. Government needs to consider getting off their heels and back on their feet before this effort.
Our economy is not based upon government subsidy. It is based upon self sustainment by public companies. With Social Security and Medicare funds depleting at an alarming rate, our states’ infrastructures breaking down from lack of funds and attention, the job providers being taxed into not hiring or creating jobs with a live-able wage and still pay their commitments, and healthcare crashing in upon itself, now may not be the time to throw funds at a project that can try to hold its own for more people needings essentials long enough to recover enough to start forward. I just don’t feel now is the time to gamble such a great expense with not a whole lot in the cupboard mother Hubbard.
rwood