The death bridge was "structurally deficient," we now learn, and had a rating of just 50 percent, the threshold for replacement. But no one appears to have erred on the side of public safety. The errors were all the other way.
Pretty early to be pointing fingers as if you are paying attention no causes have been ruled out or in, nor does the term "structurally deficient" mean a bridge is dangerous.
There isn't any bigger metaphor for a society in trouble than a bridge falling, its concrete lanes pointing brokenly at the sky, its crumpled cars pointing down at the deep waters where people disappeared.
Only this isn't a metaphor.
Really Nick? It's the bridges that mark a society in trouble? How about one that no longer believes it's people can care for themselves and in the interest of their welfare start to tax the rich and give to the poor without qualification or responsibility?
But when you have a tragedy on this scale, it isn't just concrete and steel that has failed us.
Gee, I wonder where you're going with this?
In a word, it was avoidable.
Wow, Nick. I didn't realize you were a structural engineer. Why didn't you warn us before the bridge collapsed?
For half a dozen years, the motto of state government and particularly that of Gov. Tim Pawlenty has been No New Taxes. It's been popular with a lot of voters and it has mostly prevailed. So much so that Pawlenty vetoed a 5-cent gas tax increase - the first in 20 years - last spring and millions were lost that might have gone to road repair. And yes, it would have fallen even if the gas tax had gone through, because we are years behind a dangerous curve when it comes to the replacement of infrastructure that everyone but wingnuts in coonskin caps agree is one of the basic duties of government.
I'm not just pointing fingers at Pawlenty. The outrage here is not partisan. It is general.
Nick, you are a Liar. You are pointing your finger and it is partisan because that is the only possible motivation for this drivel.
Even if all of the above would have been approved, our current system of maintenance and inspection would not have led to a replacement of this bridge any sooner.
At the federal level, the parsimony is worse, and so is the negligence. A trillion spent in Iraq, while schools crumble, there aren't enough cops on the street and bridges decay while our leaders cross their fingers and ignore the rising chances of disaster.
Nick, you are a disgrace and the fact that your column is an editorial does not excuse you from the horribly bad judgement exhibited by you and your crappy paper today.
8 comments:
I liked the "trillion dollars for Iraq" bit; only off by over a factor of two. Would it kill the Red Star to do a bit of fact-checking with Nikolai Colemanov's work?
in the interest of their welfare start to tax the rich and give to the poor
I hear you. Nothing more disgusting than a society that guarantees a minimal standard of living for all of its members. I wouldn't mind a lot more malnourished children hanging around if it would assure us that nobody's getting a free ride. Especially as hard as us rich people have it. My taxes are so high I can barely afford to leave my 4000 sq ft house.
Oh, and by the way (unless all the troops came home today and I just hadn't heard about it):
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11880954/
Actually, there is nothing more disgusting than a society that guarantees a minimal standard of living for all its members, because it is indeed a society that guarantees a minimal standard of living for all its members.
If you doubt this, read some Solzhenitsyn, Valladares, or Watchman Nee. The historical record of societies guaranteeing a 'minimal standard of living' is that the provide a VERY minimal standard of living for ALL their subjects--bread lines and death camps. Not something that we should aspire to.
I just want to make the point that government should not be in the business of guaranteeing anybody a certain lifestyle unless they are unable to fend for themselves.
This is supposed to be the land of opportunity and as soon as you put a floor under some you put a ceiling over others.
Many people that would otherwise strive to succeed don't because the government continues to take the incentive away at all economic strata.
We now have multi-generational welfare recipients that are able-bodied employable people that just don't know any better any more.
But this is getting a little off-topic.
My point was that Nick Coleman couldn't wait even a day to spin this into a political attack, weeks and probably months before the facts are in as to the cause of this terrible disaster when it is clear that even if funding had passed, the bridge would not have been repaired or closed by the time this event occurred.
Iraq has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that at least five people have lost their lives driving home when a bridge collapsed right underneath them in the Midwestern United States.
Yeah, I've read my Solzhenitsyn. You must not think much of the USA to believe that the only thing separating our great nation from the despair of 1940's and 50's era Russia is a low top tax rate. And death camps? WTF are you talking about?
"Sorry old man. I'd like to do something about the fact that you have to eat dog food to survive, but if I do that you'll only end up in a gas chamber."
I don't see how this conversation can reach any meaningful conclusion, so I'm done. You win again, my man.
"...the government continues to take the incentive away at all economic strata."
Anybody who says this about survival at the lowest economic strata in our country has not tried doing it. We definitely have a poverty crisis in our country, and I don't believe that the 'great lifestyle' afforded by welfare living is the sole cause. I can't believe that the standard of living on welfare is so plush that recipients have no incentive to do better. I knew a family with two kids in Michigan who spent a lot of time on welfare. Every single day they faced the question of whether they'd have anything to eat, and whether they'd have a roof over their heads at the end of the day. When you go home tonight and are eating dinner with your kids, take a long look at them and imagine what it would feel like to wonder if this meal will be the last one for the next day or two.
To claim that incentive is eroded at the top end of the spectrum is even more ludicrous. Please provide me with an example of somebody turning down a promotion, not pursuing an education that would increase their pay, or deciding to scuttle a business venture because the resulting taxes would just be too high.
To claim that incentive is eroded at the top end of the spectrum is even more ludicrous. Please provide me with an example of somebody turning down a promotion, not pursuing an education that would increase their pay, or deciding to scuttle a business venture because the resulting taxes would just be too high.
Krusey, I am telling you as a financial advisor I hear it all the time now.
Business owners settling in instead of taking further risks or hiring more people to grow because they don't see the point of giving half of the incremental income to the government.
I recently had a software salesperson in my office that was coasting at the end of last year because of the additional incremental taxes he would have to pay. He specifically said it wasn't worth the effort.
When things like this start happening, this means people aren't hiring as many people as they might or their companies are growing and making purchases that they otherwise would.
Remember, most people in America work for small employers, and small employers make up a large chunk of my clients so I actually am hearing this more and more.
As you might expect, I still believe in trickle-down economics because I see it in action, or inaction all the time in my line of work.
Thank you all again for visiting and commenting on my blog. I appreciate your perspectives.
Nice set of allegations, but no. The simple reality is that when you confiscate the wealth of the productive to give to the unproductive, you create two very dangerous groups in your society; the productive resent the confiscation of their wealth, and the unproductive have learned they can demand more government cheese.
No death camps here yet, but why do you think our prisons are full of those who have never been told they have to work--the kids of welfare? Increase the subsidies for poverty, and you will get more of the behaviors characteristic of it as well.
And, for what it's worth, they're not very good at building bridges, either.
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