US Taxpayers are Gouged on Mass Transit Costs

[bgwah]

I don't normally respond to Krazen's baiting, but I actually do find this to be a very interesting and important topic. And it reminds me how much the "copyright rule" we have on this forum can be twisted and used as a convenient excuse to only post portions of an article you like, and ignore those that do not fit into your narrative.

Here are some more quotes from the article that Krazen found it convenient to omit:

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Unions aren't mentioned in the article. Not even once. However, there are multiple references to private companies and contractors and their rampant corruption. And really, I'm not naive to believe unions don't play a role in this. They likely do. But if so they would be one of many factors. And isn't it interesting that the very article Krazen decides to use as evidence doesn't even mention them? Perhaps he's just hoping most won't actually read the article --- which I suppose is likely... Also funny that a lot of these countries doing it better than us are run by Socialist and Communist governments. What kind of message is Krazen trying to send?

But as someone who would like our country to invest in better mass transit, I did read the article, and it certainly doesn't lead one to the same conclusions as Krazen. In fact, what I see is the opposite. I see more and more private sector influence in government. Whoever donates the most money to political campaigns and lobbying gets their way. Yet Republicans seem to think Citizens United was a good ruling. I suspect it will just lead to more and more of this.

There are very specific problems we run into with infrastructure projects, many of which are mentioned in the article. These are problems that can and should be fixed. Quitting and letting our infrastructure crumble as some Republicans would prefer is just lazy and dishonest.

[bgwah]

Well that was a well hidden "part 2" link. But the website refers to them as two separate articles, and I replied based off the one you linked to... So neener neener.

The second article does bring up an interesting point I've thought of before. The up-front construction costs for completely grade-separated rail (usually meaning subway or elevated) are higher than say, a streetcar or light rail, but because they are separated from automobiles they can be automated, thus greatly reducing labor costs for many decades.

I also  found this interesting:

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Many of the labor problems mentioned in the second article seem to appear only in older cities.   Washington is heavily unionized, but Seattle's new light rail line doesn't seem to have a lot of those oddities.

Once again, these are all fixable problems. We need more efficient government.

[bgwah]

People who want to build infrastructure to provide union jobs or Keynesian stimulus should be hit with sticks. Infrastructure should be built because it's cool and new infrastructure helps the economy by merely existing.

I partially agree with you... But not with your anti-Keynesian point.

When there is a recession, government can build new infrastructure for less money because there isn't as much competition from the private sector for construction workers, materials, etc... Providing work for those unemployed construction workers is an added benefit.

[bgwah]

Well that was a well hidden "part 2" link. But the website refers to them as two separate articles, and I replied based off the one you linked to... So neener neener.

The second article does bring up an interesting point I've thought of before. The up-front construction costs for completely grade-separated rail (usually meaning subway or elevated) are higher than say, a streetcar or light rail, but because they are separated from automobiles they can be automated, thus greatly reducing labor costs for many decades.

I also  found this interesting:

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Many of the labor problems mentioned in the second article seem to appear only in older cities.   Washington is heavily unionized, but Seattle's new light rail line doesn't seem to have a lot of those oddities.

Once again, these are all fixable problems. We need more efficient government.

Well, yes, the glorious state of Washington does not burden its citizens with an income tax. In New Jersey and New York the Democratic party can't wait to drag out the income tax stick to beat its citizenry.

If your chumps wanted to fix these fixable problems they would have done so. But they are making money, of course.

And Republicans are even worse with defense spending. Pick your poison, I guess. And it doesn't sound like my chumps (here in WA) are nearly as bad. But we're having trouble with the new 520 bridge, so maybe I shouldn't speak so soon. Though we don't know who is at fault yet, and it's looking more like a company cutting corners to save money than unions at this point.

[bgwah]

^its a two-part series of articles. He didn't link to the one about labor costs in his original post, though.