Because anyone who has played Simcity knows that if you dont have good highways,subways and commuter rail your Urban Real Estate portfolio is worthless.Trump has thousands of employees who rely on Public Transit and customers who Use Acela to get to and from there Condos in NYC to there jobs in Phily and DC. Help me here but nobody else is talking Infrastucture.
Don't forget the wall..
Infrastructure involves a lot more than just RRs. Roads, water lines especially the lead pipe problems, water treatment plants, Sewers both storm and sanitary, Sewerage treatment plants, Power lines esp transmission grid, power plants, pipelines of all kinds, waterways, dams, locks, seaports, bridges of all kinds Telephone, cable, lines, etc,
So there is much more to infrastructure than just a sound bite.
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CandOforprogress2 Help me here but nobody else is talking Infrastucture.
Bernie Sanders Proposed spending $1 TRILLION on infrastructure last January when he proposed the Rebuild America Act as a means of creating jobs
Trump? Really, the rest of his gang has been anti passenger train, anti mass transit, for decades. let's not go too far down this road.
One TRILLION? chump change! Didn't Fidel Castro end up with a trillion dollar bill that was printed by Harry Truman to bail out Europe's economy after world war 2? Oh wait, that was on the Simpsons.
Convicted OneBernie Sanders Proposed spending $1 TRILLION on infrastructure last January when he proposed the Rebuild America Act as a means of creating jobs
The problem I have it is all Taxpayer spending, zero private funds, zero deregulation to provide stimulus, it's all spend, spend, spend of taxpayer money like there is no tommorrow. Both JFK and Jimmy Carter were smarter, when it came to reviving an economy. If I could change the Constitution I would propose an amendment that government use of taxpayer dollars spent as stimulus be prioritized into programs with the highest yielding returns back to the taxpayer as far as GDP growth, future expense avoidance, and a money multiplier effect (increase in money supply).
Yet our infrastructure continues to crumble deeper into third world status. We're going to have to eventually pay the piper. Do we spend the trillion today, or a few trillion in a few years?
I know water mains, electric grids and sewer plants aren't sexy, but they are a lot more important than some wall or casino, or whatever..
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
zugmannDo we spend the trillion today, or a few trillion in a few years?
The latter. Worry about getting re-elected first, and if you keep it up, it'll be someone else's problem later.
_____________
"A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner
Trump talking about infrastructure?
Trump talks about a lot of things, many of which seem to be impractical, unconstitutional, or morally repugnant. However, this is supposed to be a nonpolitical forum, so I'll just say he has never shown me any interest or expertise that relates to railroads.
Tom
zugmannI know water mains, electric grids and sewer plants aren't sexy, but they are a lot more important than some wall or casino, or whatever..
Alas, unless you're Flint, water (and other such infrastructure) is a local problem - like the area near me that has dozens of wells contaminated by road salt from a highway maintenance site.
John Q. Public from {name a big city} doesn't care about a couple dozen contaminated wells in East Podunk.
I would opine that JQP, voter, doesn't spend a lot of time out on those crumbling roads - and considers such issues outside is sphere as local as well.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
ROBERT WILLISON Trump? Really, the rest of his gang has been anti passenger train, anti mass transit, for decades. let's not go too far down this road.
How much of the crumbling infrastructure falls under federal jurisdiction anyway? Aren't the states responsible for sewers, and roads?
Ulrich How much of the crumbling infrastructure falls under federal jurisdiction anyway? Aren't the states responsible for sewers, and roads?
There lies the rub.
A sewer (or waterline) is generally a local responsibility - city, village, special district. Occasionally there will be state or even federal funding for sewer or water projects, the base responsibility is still the local municipality.
Roads are a mish-mash. City and village streets are usually the responsibility of the city or village - unless they are a state highway, in which case the state pays the bills. Around me, the county "owns" some roads outside the cities and villages, the townships "own" others.
Where I lived in Michigan, the county maintains most of the roads outside the villages and cities, while the state maintains the state highways.
Then there's the federal component, especially on the Interstates and to some extent on state roads. That can be a significant piece.
Technically, I would presume that aside from infrastructure on federal installations (military, parks, etc), the federal government has almost zero responsibility for the infrastructure in this country, even if it does provide substantial funding in some cases.
Its also who the Contractors are who is building the Infrastucture. The new train station in Scheactady NY came in at 25,000,000 or 10 million over budget because only Union Contractors could bid on the job under NY state law.
Without getting deeply political I'd be surprised if much more happens in the next 10-20 years than the bandaid approach to fix what's broken. When the 35W bridge just 30 miles from me fell,, the phone system was jammed and making any call for several hours was imposible.
Modeling the "Fargo Area Rapid Transit" in O scale 3 rail.
CandOforprogress2 Its also who the Contractors are who is building the Infrastucture. The new train station in Scheactady NY came in at 25,000,000 or 10 million over budget because only Union Contractors could bid on the job under NY state law.
Heaven forbid that anyone would ever underbid a contract. Building materials NEVER increase in price from the time the bid is submitted. SOP [/sarcasm]
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
BaltACDHeaven forbid that anyone would ever underbid a contract. Building materials NEVER increase in price from the time the bid is submitted. SOP [/sarcasm]
Or they just use crap materials and the building gets condemned in 10 years.
zugmann BaltACD Heaven forbid that anyone would ever underbid a contract. Building materials NEVER increase in price from the time the bid is submitted. SOP [/sarcasm] Or they just use crap materials and the building gets condemned in 10 years.
BaltACD Heaven forbid that anyone would ever underbid a contract. Building materials NEVER increase in price from the time the bid is submitted. SOP [/sarcasm]
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
Here in NY (and I'm sure many other places as well), municipalities have to pay "prevailing wages," union or not.
"Prevailing wages" around here are higher than regular wages, meaning that if a new fire station is to be built by a town, it will cost more to build than the identical automotive maintenance facility (garage) right next door.
BoydWithout getting deeply political I'd be surprised if much more happens in the next 10-20 years than the bandaid approach to fix what's broken. When the 35W bridge just 30 miles from me fell,, the phone system was jammed and making any call for several hours was imposible.
I acknowledge that several years ago a large bridge failed in the Twin Cities. And it's reasonable that such a catastrophe would overload the designed capacity of a telephone network.
But we need to at least question this mantra that our infrastructure is "Crumbling". For example, our railroads are the most efficient rail freight system in the world. The rail infrastructure has never been in better shape.
This idea of a "Crumbling Infrastructure" seems to be continually stoked by a society of civil engineers. These are people who would benifit monetarily from increased government expenditures on infrastructure projects. We can at least be suspicious of their motives.
Who among us has a problem with infrastructure? My electricity and gas are reliable as they can be. My cell phone works well. The roads I drive on are in very decent shape. I have my own well and septic system.
I know we need to keep on top of things, but I question the existence of an issue in need of a trillion dolar solution. I suspect a lot of this is also fueled by people who want money for pet projects such as passenger train service between Moline, IL and Chicago. It's like they say "Infrastructure" and all rational thought ceases.
greyhoundsBut we need to at least question this mantra that our infrastructure is "Crumbling". For example, our railroads are the most efficient rail freight system in the world. The rail infrastructure has never been in better shape.
Many of the problems are with what a lot of people see - the roads. It's a matter of not having the resources (ie, cash) to keep up with what needs to be done. The post-war building boom is (past) due for a refresh.
County highway here is going to finally start a road rebuild in front of my house (at least this time they've actually put the signs up...) that they started talking about four years ago.
What's unseen is the underground stuff - many small towns are struggling with century-old (and older) sewer and water systems, especially here in the northeast. Diminishing tax bases and competition for state and federal money make the multi-million refreshes very difficult to accomplish.
Without engaging in the Trump conversation. Politicians of any party are perpetually running for re-election. Voters see value in new construction. Voters do not see value in maintainance. Maintainance is invisible and so does not buy votes.
Politics should not be a career.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
One of the quotes I have seen about crumbling infrastructure is that our airports are run down.
From what I have seen, by and large that is definitely true in New York and maybe some of LAX but almost every other airport I have been in seems to be doing just fine.
Reagan in DC, Atlanta, DFW, PHX, SFO, SeaTac, O'Hare, Detrioit, Cincinnati, San Diego, Cleveland, St. Louis, Milwaukee, MSP, Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, Denver, Ontario, John Wayne, among others, all seem to be well maintained, easy to navigate through, and often are being expanded and renovated.
I spend a lot of time dealing with infrastructure renovation and in order of critical need it really is water and sewer and bridges, with roads after that. Then school buildings, many of which have also been poorly maintained, but can be renovared for another 50+ years of use.
Freight rail infrastructure is as solid as it has ever been and they are doing a good job continuously renewing their right of way.
Locking. Too much politics, not enough railroading.
Brian Schmidt, Editor, Classic Trains magazine
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