I thought that one of the reasons we have been paying county taxes all these years has been for the maintenance of roads and bridges.Didn't the county just a few years ago add a surcharge on all cars and truck registrations for roads and bridges....
OK, so I'm not trying to be negative, but genuinely confused.
The only way we can ensure that our infrastructure stays sound is if we have a surplus? I apologize if I misunderstanding this, truly. We have really been diverting repair funds just to make budget for years?
I get that things have been a mess, but when did infrastructure become an after thought? Obviously we need to maintain and repair these things, they're essential, which is which I'm concerned that they didn't rank more of a priority.
I don't have a lot of time to devote to this until probably tomorrow, but in my humble opinion, the problem is and has been the lack of a long-term plan. Everybody knows that roads and bridges don't last forever - some may seek to ignore it, but they still know this. Upkeep; both maintenance and replacement should be planned out for at least 10 years in advance for every inch of it. That way money could be allocated every year and multi-year budgets could be put together. The federal government has been avoiding a long-term highway bill as well for a few years now. You want an economic engine? Here it is and its one that will benefit everyone with a concrete (pun intended) result and benefit. But it has to be well-thought out and multi-year.
Forgive my being a bit sardonic but how about GCEDC and Start Up NY contributing some money to the infrastructure repair problem. It's all our money to begin with, maybe it's time we have more say about it's reallocation.
so the money for the repairs has already been collected and spent somewhere else.
can anyone tell me the name and or names of the people who are responsible for this? makes me angry that I am held responsible for every action I make right down to failure to use a turn signal and yet the elected official can do what ever they please with taxpayer money.
Who's responsible. They've all been in Albany for the past 60 years saddling counties with millions of mandated spending, preventing county governments from making reasonable decisions about to allocate local taxpayer money.
Dick's is just one of the wrongful recipients of "our money" being used to give select businesses a break. Every one who receives taxpayer money reallocated to "subsidize" their business is culpable. Government collecting taxes and then reallocating the money to those chosen by a select few is a form of welfare at the least, and fraud in the true application. Sadly our state representatives Hawley and Ranzenhofer are champions of that system.
Anyone interested in a classic example of the economic development fiasco in WNY need to closely monitor the SolarCity project in Buffalo. Though it may become a legitimate operation creating 3000 jobs, Cuomo is using 75% [$750Million] of his promised Buffalo Billion to subsidize this project. That is $250,000 per job!!!! THAT IS TAXPAYER MONEY. And there is NO guarantee that this will be a "winner".
LOL Dave I love it.....that story made my day. It would be very entertaining for someone to do the same here in NYS. Then we could compare to NYS thruway the difference in efficiency.
LOL Ed, you reminded me of a trip a bunch of friends and I made in a Van to a convention in CT. One of the older members of our group pointed out a Huge Dick's sporting goods store in a mall.
She said "Oh my thats the biggest Dick's I've ever seen. The moment of silence followed by the roar of laughter was the most fun we've ever had. It was so bad we had tears in our eyes and had to pull over to get lunch and recover. Set the mood for that trip too, as we began to notice also that every little strip plaza we passed in that part of CT had a Liquor Store at one end, a doughnut shop at the other. With a community police station in the middle.
I don't mean to imply that there is no place for privately owned toll roads. Apparently the one around Toronto works out well. Private ownership of toll roads in Indiana, not so well (those roads were not built by private enterprise, but were sold/outsourced somewhat recently).
I'm all for competitive industries building roads or other infrastructure for those who swish to pay for their use. However, basic maintenance of basic infrastructure such as bridges is a service government should take care of. It stinks that it has not been done at the level necessary to keep the bridges in good shape, but you're going to have to figure out how to fund the repairs before the bridges truly become unsafe.
I didn't read the entire article because i'm not going to pay the WSJ. But the Indiana toll road failed for a couple of reasons, the main one being that the State of Indiana was paid 3.8 billion upfront, putting the toll road in a huge debt position right out of the gate. Then use dropped off due to economic conditions, that's life. Also, private companies go in and out of bankruptcy all the time, why would this industry be any different? However, the bottom line is Indiana hobbled this thing from the start. A real free market could work, this wasn't it. Not a good representation Tim.
How did Indiana "hobble this from the start"? They offered something for sale, somebody looked at the offer, and they bought it. Were the rules changed after the fact? Did the state sell a product that was not represented properly in the offer? I don't think so.
I agree that companies go out of business all the time.... However, you have a logic failure in your argument. "Businesses fail all the time, so your one example of failure is not proof that the basic concept is flawed." I don't disagree with that argument. Conversely, simply pointing out that the Toronto private toll road has been successful is not evidence that "it could work", as businesses are successful all the time.
Look - there will be situations where privately funded road will be appropriate. I guess my main point was that the discussion was about existing bridges on existing roads. This is basic infrastructure used to allow people and goods to get from points A to points B - not new roads with specialized purposes (loops around cities, expressways to get from A to B quicker, etc). Basic infrastructure IS a common good that should be taken care of by government.
Call me skeptical but I don't
Call me skeptical but I don't believe the two are mutually exclusive.
I thought that one of the
I thought that one of the reasons we have been paying county taxes all these years has been for the maintenance of roads and bridges.Didn't the county just a few years ago add a surcharge on all cars and truck registrations for roads and bridges....
OK, so I'm not trying to be
OK, so I'm not trying to be negative, but genuinely confused.
The only way we can ensure that our infrastructure stays sound is if we have a surplus? I apologize if I misunderstanding this, truly. We have really been diverting repair funds just to make budget for years?
I get that things have been a mess, but when did infrastructure become an after thought? Obviously we need to maintain and repair these things, they're essential, which is which I'm concerned that they didn't rank more of a priority.
I don't have a lot of time to
I don't have a lot of time to devote to this until probably tomorrow, but in my humble opinion, the problem is and has been the lack of a long-term plan. Everybody knows that roads and bridges don't last forever - some may seek to ignore it, but they still know this. Upkeep; both maintenance and replacement should be planned out for at least 10 years in advance for every inch of it. That way money could be allocated every year and multi-year budgets could be put together. The federal government has been avoiding a long-term highway bill as well for a few years now. You want an economic engine? Here it is and its one that will benefit everyone with a concrete (pun intended) result and benefit. But it has to be well-thought out and multi-year.
Forgive my being a bit
Forgive my being a bit sardonic but how about GCEDC and Start Up NY contributing some money to the infrastructure repair problem. It's all our money to begin with, maybe it's time we have more say about it's reallocation.
Or better yet, Brian, how
Or better yet, Brian, how about Dick's Sporting Goods throwing a bigger chunk of money into the pot.
After all, I would think that the huge influx of travelers to THAT "tourist attraction" would be a big cause of road damage.
Hmmm! Another minus vote with
Hmmm! Another minus vote with no explaination.
Guess I can only surmise that I've stepped on some dick's toes.
Sorry!!
so the money for the repairs
so the money for the repairs has already been collected and spent somewhere else.
can anyone tell me the name and or names of the people who are responsible for this? makes me angry that I am held responsible for every action I make right down to failure to use a turn signal and yet the elected official can do what ever they please with taxpayer money.
Who's responsible. They've
Who's responsible. They've all been in Albany for the past 60 years saddling counties with millions of mandated spending, preventing county governments from making reasonable decisions about to allocate local taxpayer money.
Dick's is just one of the
Dick's is just one of the wrongful recipients of "our money" being used to give select businesses a break. Every one who receives taxpayer money reallocated to "subsidize" their business is culpable. Government collecting taxes and then reallocating the money to those chosen by a select few is a form of welfare at the least, and fraud in the true application. Sadly our state representatives Hawley and Ranzenhofer are champions of that system.
Anyone interested in a classic example of the economic development fiasco in WNY need to closely monitor the SolarCity project in Buffalo. Though it may become a legitimate operation creating 3000 jobs, Cuomo is using 75% [$750Million] of his promised Buffalo Billion to subsidize this project. That is $250,000 per job!!!! THAT IS TAXPAYER MONEY. And there is NO guarantee that this will be a "winner".
"The company's short history has been written in red ink. SolarCity has lost $452.6 million since 2010, including $88.4 million the first half of this year, according to its filings with the SEC." http://www.investigativepost.org/2014/10/09/solarcitys-shaky-foundation/
Just
Just Sayin':
http://bastiat.mises.org/2014/10/englands-private-road-rakes-in-the-mon…
http://bastiat.mises.org/2014/08/guess-who-built-the-roads/
LOL Dave I love it.....that
LOL Dave I love it.....that story made my day. It would be very entertaining for someone to do the same here in NYS. Then we could compare to NYS thruway the difference in efficiency.
LOL Ed, you reminded me of a
LOL Ed, you reminded me of a trip a bunch of friends and I made in a Van to a convention in CT. One of the older members of our group pointed out a Huge Dick's sporting goods store in a mall.
She said "Oh my thats the biggest Dick's I've ever seen. The moment of silence followed by the roar of laughter was the most fun we've ever had. It was so bad we had tears in our eyes and had to pull over to get lunch and recover. Set the mood for that trip too, as we began to notice also that every little strip plaza we passed in that part of CT had a Liquor Store at one end, a doughnut shop at the other. With a community police station in the middle.
Talk about convience LOL
Private tolls roads
Private tolls roads work......there is one that goes around Toronto......http://www.407etr.com/.
Oops - guess it doesn't work
Oops - guess it doesn't work every time
http://online.wsj.com/articles/indiana-toll-road-operator-files-for-ban…
I don't mean to imply that there is no place for privately owned toll roads. Apparently the one around Toronto works out well. Private ownership of toll roads in Indiana, not so well (those roads were not built by private enterprise, but were sold/outsourced somewhat recently).
I'm all for competitive industries building roads or other infrastructure for those who swish to pay for their use. However, basic maintenance of basic infrastructure such as bridges is a service government should take care of. It stinks that it has not been done at the level necessary to keep the bridges in good shape, but you're going to have to figure out how to fund the repairs before the bridges truly become unsafe.
I didn't read the entire
I didn't read the entire article because i'm not going to pay the WSJ. But the Indiana toll road failed for a couple of reasons, the main one being that the State of Indiana was paid 3.8 billion upfront, putting the toll road in a huge debt position right out of the gate. Then use dropped off due to economic conditions, that's life. Also, private companies go in and out of bankruptcy all the time, why would this industry be any different? However, the bottom line is Indiana hobbled this thing from the start. A real free market could work, this wasn't it. Not a good representation Tim.
How did Indiana "hobble this
How did Indiana "hobble this from the start"? They offered something for sale, somebody looked at the offer, and they bought it. Were the rules changed after the fact? Did the state sell a product that was not represented properly in the offer? I don't think so.
I agree that companies go out of business all the time.... However, you have a logic failure in your argument. "Businesses fail all the time, so your one example of failure is not proof that the basic concept is flawed." I don't disagree with that argument. Conversely, simply pointing out that the Toronto private toll road has been successful is not evidence that "it could work", as businesses are successful all the time.
Look - there will be situations where privately funded road will be appropriate. I guess my main point was that the discussion was about existing bridges on existing roads. This is basic infrastructure used to allow people and goods to get from points A to points B - not new roads with specialized purposes (loops around cities, expressways to get from A to B quicker, etc). Basic infrastructure IS a common good that should be taken care of by government.