Maggie's Farm

Do you think Russell Simmons would say the same thing if This exact same program had been implemented by GW Bush? Simmons thought process never got past the fact that Obama is black so therefore he is all in for whatever Obama wants to do.

Bridges and all public works not only take longer then they should but they cost far more then they should. A good example here locally is the I-5 bridge across the Columbia River between Portland Or. and Vancouver Wa. The politicians in Oregon are committed to sucking as much money out of this to extend Portlands infamous light rail. Light rail sounds good but it is a money pit. They replace bus lines with light rail and the cost per commuter goes up by a factor of 20. The road traffic seems unaffected by removing those busses. So why light rail? The answer is money (and power). The unions build the light rail, they drive the trains after they are built and the unions control the bureaucracy that decides to build the light rail. If a private contractor built the light rail it would cost from 30% to 50% less. The light rail is constantly being extended against the wishes of the voters. A city or county votes it down and the city of Portland and "Metro" (the bigger bureaucracy) pushes it through anyway. But back to the bridge. The current I-5 bridge is old but adequate, 3 lanes in both directions and would probably be serviceable for another 25 years or more. But never the less lets assume it needs to be replaced. There are many versions of a replacement bridge and the lowest cost is a concrete bridge with 3 lanes in each direction for under a billion dollars. The one the politicians want includes light rail tracks and it costs just under $4 billion. The voters have voted down the more expensive bridge numerous times. But the politicians won't give up. In fact to cut the costs but still get their precious light rail (and the union support that goes with it) even suggested a smaller bridge with 2 lanes each direction and light rail of course for about $2 billion. The politicians cannot take their eye off the light rail that the voters don't want or the billions in tax money that the voters don't want to pay.