| Author | Message | ||
     86129squids |
Given that this is a topic representing a lethal threat to us all, here's a new thread. https://www.npr.org/2018/12/06/674073296/more-poth oles-traffic-jams-on-the-horizon-unless-interstate s-are-fixed-report-fi It's easy to take for granted one may be riding on a "good" road, any given moment, then WHAM! Especially at night... | ||
| Ourdee |
Most know I drove a wrecker truck the first 6 months of the year in the Indianapolis area. In one 24 hour period inside the 465 loop around Indianapolis AAA (triple a) handled over 500 calls from chuck holes. I pulled up to hook a car and there would be another 5 to 15 cars sitting there on flats or with ball joints that had let loose. Teslas alone, I had over 5. Often with both tires on the same side. Sports team owners? I had one of theirs. The carnage early in the year was incredible. I had bent and warped rims on the wrecker. One hole knocked the right headlights out the roll-back onto the road. This Spring, Summer, and Fall sections of 465 have been closed for emergency repairs. They have about got it fixed. Some sections were so bad there were 6" to 8" chunks of concrete on the pavement from the huge holes. On out of State runs I experience the worst roads of my life. | ||
| 86129squids |
"On out of State runs I experience the worst roads of my life." Arkansas is horrible. Plus, armadillos! I once read that Tennessee had (has?) the best DOT of most all the states, and generally I believe it- but sadly, things <are> deteriorating. | ||
| Daddio |
Hey, wait a minute! All the infrastructure maintenance needs were met years ago! Are you forgetting all those 'shovel-ready' jobs? | ||
| Ebutch |
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| 86129squids |
OK- so, since I've heard but not seen anything that Trump has promised, youn's got anything? It'd be good to know. | ||
| Ebutch |
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| Blake |
I think Trump is president now. | ||
| Crusty |
I think Trump is president now. Thank God. | ||
| Pwnzor |
OK- so, since I've heard but not seen anything that Trump has promised, youn's got anything? Are you asking for substantiation of promises delivered upon? I can show you my paychecks before and after... good enough? | ||
| Ratbuell |
+1 on the tax reform, as well as medical insurance. He's also enacted quite a few tax rules for small businesses, concerning year-of writeoffs (100% deductions for equipment and supplies bought), to aid in startups and upkeep/modernization. Example - I bought a new $1600 mixing console this year. I get to claim $1600 against my taxes. He's been trying like hell to get the rest done - build the wall, etc - but obstructionists in the House and Congress would rather obstruct and argue for the sake of argument, than make actual progress for this country and its citizens. | ||
| 86129squids |
"OK- so, since I've heard but not seen anything that Trump has promised, youn's got anything?" Infrastructure? | ||
| Ratbuell |
Admittedly moved down the list a bit due to border security and trade issues. Make the country secure first, and then you can work on cleaning things up inside. Something's gotta come first; other things gotta wait their turn. Especially with obstructionists all over the place! Are you looking - locally - at items that are federal responsibilities? Or local/municipal? AFAIK, the only true infrastructure that the Feds have to worry about is the interstate highway system; the rest is up to the states, counties, and cities/towns. Anyone can correct me if I'm wrong here... | ||
| 86129squids |
"Admittedly moved down the list a bit due to border security and trade issues. Make the country secure first, and then you can work on cleaning things up inside." I would argue that the importance of a border wall pales to white compared to maintaining our infrastructure. | ||
| Ratbuell |
I disagree. If you can't control who's IN your space, then why bother making that space NICE? And, by extension, the argument could be made that simply BY controlling who comes in, you're helping keep things nice and under control. I know I don't clean my house, and then leave doors open / unlocked...it doesn't mean I never let people in, but I make damned sure to control who comes in! | ||
| Airbozo |
I honestly feel that if Trump had tackled infrastructure _first_, then He would have had a lot of ammunition to prove he was honestly working to make america great again and he would have had less credible criticism directed his way. While I feel that the borders need to be more secure, it was not the top priority to show he wanted to improve the country. IMHO. The open door analogy is getting old and not a valid argument. The door is closed and locked, but you still have panes of glass in your windows that break easily... | ||
| Crusty |
The stock market is hitting all time highs, businesses are giving their workers bonuses, Companies are moving production back to the US,Taxes have been cut and people are whining about infrastructure and saying that Trump hasn't done enough to prove he's doing a good job. And he's accomplished it with heavy resistance. So far, he's has kept more campaign promises in less than two Years than Obamalamadingdong kept in eight. And just how fast do you think it'll take to improve the infrastructure? Build the wall. Keep the invaders out. Then work on the roads. | ||
| Ratbuell |
The door is closed and locked, but you still have panes of glass in your windows that break easily... Actually...there IS no door to speak of. Unless you count those louvered jobs you put in front of your washer-dryer, or the swing-wing doors that were on the ol' west saloons. Because that's all we've got at the moment - holes, ladders, gaps, and nobody to patrol the gaps or holes to any effectiveness. The open door analogy is perfectly valid because it's a fact. People don't want to accept it, because it's been ignored for so long that "there's no way it could be true". Getting old? Absolutely. I don't even live in a border state, and I'm sick of hearing how people are end-running the process, getting free shit (on my dime and the dime of every other legal citizen), and in extreme cases causing sickness, addiction, and death to citizens. Enough is enough. We don't have to shut down immigration. Immigration is what made this country. What we have to shut down is ILLEGAL immigration. CONTROL who comes in, and when. Period. | ||
| Sifo |
The open door analogy is getting old and not a valid argument. The door is closed and locked, but you still have panes of glass in your windows that break easily... A door without a wall is nothing but a board. Seriously, controlling the borders is the number 1 job of the government. Infrastructure isn't really that much of a federal issue. Most falls on state and lower governments. BO made a big deal of it with "shovel ready jobs", but all he did was give cash to state and local governments. States happily took the cash. They started road repair jobs that would have been done in a few years anyway. The problem was that it created a bunch of fly by night road construction crews that lacked the equipment and knowledge to get the job done on time. I saw one of these projects in IL, done by a construction company that I'd never heard of before, or since that took 3 years to complete. Meanwhile businesses along that road closed their doors because their only parking for customers was on the street, and that was gone for 3 years. Making the US prosperous is the avenue to updating infrastructure. Get cash moving and you get the tax income to get things done. If things don't get done at that point, raise hell with your state and county. What was done by BO was little more that slightly shifting when some projects got started, by a year or two. Even the construction companies didn't want to buy new equipment for the glut of work because they knew a drought cycle was to follow immediately. It failed to move the economy forward in any meaningful way because infrastructure dosen't create business, but rather business demands and pays for infrastructure. | ||
| Strokizator |
Two relatively young Supreme Court justices with a 3rd liberal on life support is a major accomplishment, not counting the dozens of lower court judges he's appointed. Heck, it's a full time job just rolling back Obama's executive orders and obliterating his legacy. Live by the pen and cell phone, die by the pen and cell phone. Serves the former narcissist-in-chief right. | ||
| Court |
>>>> I bought a new $1600 mixing console this year. I get to claim $1600 against my taxes. Be sure to check with your tax accountant. That is REALLY accelerated depreciation. | ||
| Ratbuell |
My understanding is that its the new rule for small business, to promote startups/growth and help defer those costs and encourage expansion. I always check before I file, don't worry - dad was a CPA and believe me...I'm about as particular as can be about finances. And, I didn't buy it with the "plan" to write it off. I don't plan on money that isn't in my hands - I know better  |
