One of he big reasons that I am a conservative/libertarian is that politicians & government cannot prioritize it's basic functions.
This is why I cannot support any tax increase proposed by The One. To him, everything is of equal priority. See for the feds, the FBI is of equal importance as sugar and mohair subsidies. The Department of Education is equally as important as the Defense Department.
And that these stupid ass sound walls the governments have spend gabillions on over the years are just as important as modernizing our bridges..........
But it would be one thing if these graffiti magnets were a one and done project for the Feds. But now we find out that these things are no more than crumbling eyesores...........
Noise walls along area highways are crumbling faster than expected -- and proving costly to replace.Ohio Department of Transportation officials acknowledge that stretches of the sound barriers have become pitted eyesores, years before reaching a 20-year life expectancy.
A big reason is widespread use of a concrete product approved by ODOT headquarters in Columbus, ODOT officials in this region say. The material has not held up well to Cleveland-area winters, especially where walls rise closest to icy, salted interstates.
ODOT is now spending $5 million a year to repair and replace walls statewide, a spokeswoman said. Cuyahoga County communities have claimed the lion's share of money so far.
"I'm not happy with the original material that we had available and how long it has lasted," said Dale Schiavoni, planning and engineering administrator for ODOT District 12, which includes Cuyahoga County. "We're disappointed we didn't get a longer life out of the concrete walls, especially."
So now we have to spend money to fix the crap we didn't need and didn't work in the first place.
As I told one of my assistants today. I'm not opposed to a tax increase in general but how else, as a public, do we keep the government from blowing more money on meaningless, ineffectual eyesores?
By the way. Ask anyone near these things and they will tell you that more trees would have been a better, more green and more aesthetic alternative.
More.......
1 comment:
Exactly. You never hear a pitch for tax hikes justified for most of the things government buys. It's always for the children. Always for grandmas medicine.
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