The Conservative vision for America: cut infrastructure, let's see what happens...
POSTED BY: Niki2
UPDATED: Saturday, September 5, 2026 02:36
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People in Wisconsin were alarmed when the Leo Frigo Memorial Bridge began to sag. This has now forced the shutdown of the I-43 corridor along Green Bay, and the rerouting of the 40,000 vehicles it carried daily. This bridge failure will now sap billions out of the Wisconsin economy:Quote:
Gov. Scott Walker vowed that the Leo Frigo Memorial Bridge, which carries Interstate 43 over the Fox River on the north side of Green Bay, will be reopened. But officials Wednesday acknowledged that they have no idea how long it will take to diagnose and fix the problem.
“It could be months. It could be a year,” Kim Rudat, the spokesman for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s northeast region. The closure, he said, will likely last “for quite some time.”
The dip is 400 feet long and a little more than 1½ feet deep, DOT said. It crosses all four lanes of the interstate. http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20130925/GPG0101/309250360
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This is yet again evidence of how putting off maintenance costs more than any money saved, as the economic impact ripples outward. The governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, delayed critical maintenance of the bridge ( http://www.roadsbridges.com/dot-wisconsin-slows-road-construction-acti
vity), even ignoring when cracks were discovered in 2012, and used money for bridge maintenance to instead pay back mutual funds and bankers ( http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2013/sep/01/kathleen-vi
nehout/gov-scott-walker-responsible-record-debt-payments-/). And it is not as if this was a surprise, as reports explaining the need for $64 billion in critical maintenance, back in 2004. "THE $64 BILLION QUESTION
WISCONSIN’S LOOMING INFRASTRUCTURE COSTS", http://www.wpri.org/WIInterest/Vol13no2/Mil13.2.pdf)
Beginning in 2004, an array of right-wing think tanks fought for what they called the Taxpayers Bill of Rights, which would in part hurt Wisconsin’s ability to maintain its infrastructure. While this initiative was defeated in 2004 and 2006, it is now the law of the land. Scott Walker has codified the right for Wisconsin citizens to potentially die on unsafe roads, to undermine the state economy, in general giving the citizens of the state a giant middle finger.
Meanwhile, in Colorado, the torrential rains resulted in flooding which was made worse by multiple dams which have failed, with dozens more still at risk.
Republicans have blocked bills to deal with repair or maintenance on infrastructure throughout the state ( http://www.desdemonadespair.net//feeds/posts/https://www.roadsbridges.
com/colorado-governor-blames-republicans-legislative-failure). These efforts, done in the name of "fiscal conservatism", do not save money at all, and wind up costing far more than the money saved. Several bridges and dams had already failed before the flooding ( http://www.coloradodot.info/news/2012-news-releases/08-2012/highway-67
-closed-due-to-bridge-failure), which makes the added stress of the current conditions too much to bear. It is reported that over 100 bridges are unsafe ( http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_18684192?source=bb) while the number of dams nearing failure continues to climb ( http://www.damsafety.org/map/state.aspx?s=6), with over 300 dams listed as at-risk, and two dozen as of extreme risk.
The department tasked with managing the repairs for dams in the state is woefully understaffed and underbudgeted, and the state Republicans refuse to fund any repairs ( http://www.denverpost.com/ci_17314534) in their push for “small government.” This flies in the face of the reality of aging dam infrastructure across the United States, with 85% to be over a half-century old by 2020. ( http://www.denverpost.com/environment/ci_24080336/dams-break-at-rocky-
mountain-arsenal-and-larimer)
How many more roads, bridges, dams, etc., have to fail across this nation before we as a society say
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Replace 'infrastructure' with 'pork, graft and waste', and I'll take those cuts.
Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen
Resident USA Freedom Fundie
" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall
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Republicans in general are a shrewd lot. Re-routing money away from maintenance puts money in their pockets, then critical failure puts money in their friend's pockets. Screwing the taxpayers is a win/win situation.
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Boy, what a moronic remark! Of course anyone (except those receiving it) would joyously cut pork, etc., only that's not what it is. I realize you couldn't be bothered reading the links to recognize that, and just have the driving need to post something fatuous in response to anything I put up, but all you do is make yourself look even more ludicrous every time, sadly.
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Quote:Well, it's not like he can actually address the issue without sounding even less bright...
Originally posted by Niki2:
Boy, what a moronic remark!
But this is a SERIOUS statement on where we are. One big bridge already collapsed, I guess we'll address it as a kind of an issue at, what? When 3 or 4 bridges go?
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Republicans have no interest in maintaining a productive economy because the banksters have figured out that they don't need one. All THEY need is to suck on the Fed teat for a never-ending source of almost zero-interest money, and then leverage every Fed dollar to create 60 dollars in speculation. Who needs production and consumption? All THEY need to do is get on the Fed merry-go-round!
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Quote:Banksters: the new Welfare addicts.
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Who needs production and consumption? All THEY need to do is get on the Fed merry-go-round!
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Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
Republicans in general are a shrewd lot. Re-routing money away from maintenance puts money in their pockets, then critical failure puts money in their friend's pockets. Screwing the taxpayers is a win/win situation.
WTF are you even talking about ? The "maintenance " $ that's supposedly been going to fix roads and bridges has cleverly been rerouted by DEMOCRATS into union buying programs which funnel $ back into the DEM coffers , which go to electing more Democrats. There's very little return in actual WORK done for the $ siphoned off of our tax dollars.
Gas taxes go to funding road and bridge repairs. There's more than enough of a revenue stream , if politicians would be mindful of how they spend OUR money. But they aren't.
And let us not forget Barry's stimulus bill. Nearly 1 trillion EXTRA into shovel ready, roads and bridges projects ?
Where'd all THAT money go ? Shiny new sidewalks w/ wheel chair accessible ramps, in burned out neighborhoods where no one lives. Bravo.
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Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen
Resident USA Freedom Fundie
" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall
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Cites please? Or are you just spouting factiods again?
Oh, and BTW- one example does not a case make. It's called "cherry picking". In order to show that MOST of the money... or even a large portion of it... is wasted in corruption, you'd have to start tracing the money down. Most of it. It's a big topic, but then you've made some pretty sweeping claims, so I suggest you get to it pronto because you'll have to spend a lot of time on this if you're going to do a credible job.
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Love how you ask for cites, then upon seeing I've already given you one, go yammering on about cherry picking , and how 1 cite doesn't make the case.
Too damn funny.
Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen
Resident USA Freedom Fundie
" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall
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