Secrets of the City

Far be it from me to question the Governor’s motives (Safety First!), but proposing that we earmark such a large outlay for all of the bridge repair at the expense of so much else just looks to me like he’s double-dog-daring the Dems to deny him so that he can point the “you don’t care about our citizen’s safet” finger back at them. It’s so inspiring when a tragedy becomes a political football.

That cat’s been out of the bag since about 8 p.m. on 8/1/07, grote.

note to self: stop hitting add comment before you’re done commeting.

As I was saying…

If the fulcrum of the debate is bonding for local roads/bridges vs bonding for higher ed that’s a good thing, because that’s what bonding is supposed to be used for. The bad thing would be if we were still having to talk about modern spaces for gorillas, artificial snow makers and water parks vs roads/bridges and higher ed. The governor’s proposal has redirected the focus toward true infrastructure and public works needs, which is very welcome.

I would love to see more systematic funding, rather than earmark based funding. I don’t know your experience with that behemoth SAFETEA-LU, but that was a major departure for federal highway funding in that it was the first pure earmark transportation bill. I am not as familiar with the way MN does funding, but does the legislature just fund the DOT and have their professionals determine which projects are most pressing, or do they decide themselves which projects are most needed?

Two groups also asked the FCC to fine the nation’s No. 2 Internet provider $195,000 for every affected subscriber.

…one can dream.

We don’t earmark the way Washington does. It’s complicated depending on what type of bonds are issued, but you’re basically right in that which ever jurisdiction gets the money decides based on its own assessments. The Legislature just sets the overall amounts.

I like that method better, as it seems (results may vary based on political appointee) to respect professional judgement not political haymaking. But the overall amount the funding source, and the distribution between jurisdiction become the focus of gamesmanship. Six of one, one half dozen of the other, I guess.

I don’t know if gamesmanship gets played at that level or not, but I don’t think district heads are political apponitees, though I could be wrong.

Funding source is a big one though: Bond vs. Gas Tax and the like. Sheesh. We pay one way or the other, could we just get over it already and fix the roads. Damn boomers passing long term debt onto me and my unborn kids… I almost think that the state should have its own estate taxes on boomers who shirked their duties and stuck us with this future obligation. Too bad there are so many of them.

I say let’s just pass an Idiot Tax, and our funding problems are over!

Yes, I am prepared to pay my fair share…

Or in other words, what Kevin is saying is that we’re “finally” putting the guns and butter debate to rest, since we have to settle for putting ramen on the credit card these days.

Idiot Tax, I like that idea. I would couple this with a hubris tax and we could build whatever we wanted.

Nice reduction Champs.

Maybe if Gov. Pawlenty would just raise the sales tax as the legislature wanted to do last session with all the money going for the road system instead of any other crap he dreams up we’d be on our way to fixing some of our roads in a few years. A five or ten cent gas tax increase isn’t really going to hurt that many people. The people who use more gas in their big SUV’s and gas gussling vehicles are the only ones that it stings a bit. Otherwise a ten cent increase is only $1.50 per tankfull, based on a fifteen gallon tank, which is large for a lot of cars these days. Gas can flucuate thirty cents from day to day when Super America and the others that follow them all the time wants to screw us all and make a few more bucks. Nobody benefits at all from that except them. They use any stupid excuse to raise their prices. a little more money.

So who won the debate? My money is on the guns.

We get the roads, but not schools or transit or anything else and we have to pay for it plus interest over the next twenty years, so if I could determine which of these spending priorities were guns and which were butter, I could tell you. But I think were all kind of screwed
(aging population+wage stagnation+benefits cram-down). Barring a major disruptive technology based leap in productivity, as energy and materials costs keep rising labor costs will be seen as the only place to control expenses. Say it ain’t so.

Joe, I totally agree. A gas tax dedicated to transportation is more of a user fee…if you drive a lot, you’ll pay more for the money it takes to repair damage done to those roads.

By law, any buildings built with state bonding funds have to be very energy efficient, as this article in the Duluth News-Tribune points out.

The sales tax was for transit, not the road system or any other crap Pawlenty dreams up, which I assure you would not be transit.

Lunch – the funding source in this case is all bonding, as this was the governor’s bonding proposal.

I don’t quite get the guns and butter thing, but what I meant was that at least we’re focused on things we should be bonding for, rather than stupid crap. That’s a step.

btw – I love this NTSB guy!

But traditionally a portion of bonding was always dedicated to higher education. So by excluding it, the Gov seems to be setting the Dems up to defeat this bill, making it into a cudgel he can hit them with later. Ala: “I gave you a bonding bill that funded roads and you didn’t pass it.” It stinks of gamesmanship as I read more about it.

…rather than stupid crap.

Your “crap” is another man’s necessity.

He’s not excluding higher ed, just not giving it the traditional unwritten rule of 1/3 the total.

What are we, dung beetles?

IMO that’s not a great long term strategy. We need to have a one time massive and diversified state effort to make up for the previous 12-16 years of infrastructure disinvestment. I keep reading these white papers on toll roads and private ownership of infrastructure, I cringe when I see them coming from the toll free west. But I have driven in Europe, Asia and even Chicago (99 year lease!) and the roads are fine. But if I were the gov’t I would try to keep a piece of that pie and take stock over cash.

You’re right lunch, and bonding is the best way to get that money right now, IMO.

By the way, I need to amend this earlier comment:
That cat’s been out of the bag since about 8 p.m. on 8/1/07, grote.

According to the governor, “a prominent legislator” called his office “within an hour” of the bridge collapse threatening political retribution.