Friday, July 6, 2012

Another Metaphor Opens on Washington Street

Another example of how cutting spending on infrastructure will eventually bite you in the ass:
A second sinkhole has opened on Washington Avenue, prompting serious concerns about the stability of the road, a Kingston official said today.

City Engineer Ralph Swenson said the new sinkhole is just 30 feet south of a sinkhole that opened earlier this year. That hole has led to traffic detours and headaches for nearby residents, and it led the city to borrow $1.6 million to make repairs.

Swenson said high temperatures expected this weekend could cause both holes to open even further as blacktop becomes “more pliable” in extreme heat.
It's beginning to look as if this problem is more extensive than was first thought.

I think we should cut spending some more. Who needs roads and sewers?

On a more realistic note, bond rates are as low as they are ever likely to be. We need major infrastructure repairs everywhere, not just in Kingston. Bridges, roads, tunnels, sewers, water systems, etc., are becoming increasingly decrepit.

So, let's see, we have incredibly low interest rates, major infrastructure repairs that are needed, so we should...cut our bloated government!

Anyone else see the logical disconnect here? Let's borrow some of this cheap money and fix our country, and in the process put millions of Americans back to work.

This isn't rocket science. Neglect your property, and your economy, and it will fall into a state of decay. It just so happens that the property in question is the whole freakin' country.

4 comments:

  1. Hey Cloakroom. It's not that way in every state, but NY surely makes the top ten for falling apart infrastructure. It's called living paycheck to paycheck, overspending via borrowing and no long-term planning for repairs and maintenance.

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    1. I don't disagree, Robin. But we need to act. I can think of one town that needs to replace some highway infrastructure that would cost upwards of $2.5 million, this in a town that has a highway budget of about $2.7 million. The only way to do this is to finance it. Good thing interest rates are so low. What the hell are we waiting for? The alternative, simply letting it collapse and then fixing it, is unthinkable and not worthy of a developed nation such as ours. Let's fix our country and put people back to work.

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  2. Could the tunnel be filled with concrete? Second option.. We could do like Ho-we Caverns did and open it up for tours.

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    1. ROFLMAO! We can hire Jeremy Blaber to be the new tour guide.

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