Do Conservatives know that America ranks 23rd in the World for Infrastructure?

[dougskiles]

Part of the problem is that our regulatory system allows very little innovation.  We are penalized for trying new concepts and rewarded for sticking with the 'tried and true'.

Your last two sentences seem to say that the "fault" for this aging infrastructure should be lain at the feet of both conservatives and liberals... or more precisely ALL Americans. Hmmm....

Emphatically, yes, we are ALL responsible.  What I'm dealing with is not a political issue - although each side will claim the other is responsible.  My issue is that we have gotten so used to doing things a certain way that we no longer evaluate all options when making decisions.  We do things simply because "that is the way we've always done them here".  The "if it ain't broke, don't fix it mentality" is the problem.

This issue may be better explained by generational theories than political ideologies.  I suspect (and hope) that we are moving back into an age of innovation and realization of the importance of investing in our infrastructure.  BUT the infrastructure will look completely different than what we have been doing before.  At least, I hope so.

[BridgeTroll]

Agreed Doug...  my point was more for Faye and her choice of thread title...

Do Conservatives know that America ranks 23rd in the World for Infrastructure?

[jcjohnpaint]

I feel that it is kind of funny how (and I am in no way just pointing to Republicans), but the extreme conservative are always cutting education, but a truly informed society would in no way be so blinded by the rights arguments.  Keep em stupid and they will have nothing to fear. 

[dougskiles]

I feel that it is kind of funny how (and I am in no way just pointing to Republicans), but the extreme conservative are always cutting education, but a truly informed society would in no way be so blinded by the rights arguments.  Keep em stupid and they will have nothing to fear. 

In that respect, I would prefer for the state to cut our education budget to zero, reduce our taxes accordingly and let us decide how to spend the money educating our children at a local level.  It really doesn't matter how much more or less they fund our system, the problem is the system they created and are enforcing statewide.  Until we fix the system, the money is just being wasted.  The most effective change happens at the local level.

Sorry for being so completely off-topic.

[FayeforCure]

Part of the problem is that our regulatory system allows very little innovation.  We are penalized for trying new concepts and rewarded for sticking with the 'tried and true'.

Your last two sentences seem to say that the "fault" for this aging infrastructure should be lain at the feet of both conservatives and liberals... or more precisely ALL Americans. Hmmm....

Well, it would definitely be a major conservative problem, considering that conservatives do everything in their power to deny changes in our environment, whether it's climate change ( which they deny is accellerated and man-made) or the inevitability of oil shortages that would require us to move to alternatives sooner rather than later.

Besides we all know how conservatives hate taxes and spending, without which major improvements in infrastructure are simply impossible.

So YES, primarily it IS a conservative problem. What governors again, were the ones turning down the HRS monies? What........, they were all conservative?

How about Democratic governors, did any of them turn down HSR money ? No, none?

Well, we couldn't be more clear than that!!!!

[Ocklawaha]

HEY JTA? WANNA BECOME THE STAR OF FLORIDA? GIVE MEDELLIN A CALL - ALWAYS HAPPY TO SHARE!

http://www.metrodemedellin.org.co/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=92&id_link=134&parent_link=113&Itemid=134&lang=en

The year 2008 marked the culmination of 20 continuous years of efforts devised to place the Metro Culture as the distinctive seal of the city's public transit system. This commitment was made evident through the variety and quantity of campaigns and programs undertaken by the company.


    * Educational Campaing
    * Trainig and Intruction
    * Other Campaigns

Educational Campaing

Metro de Medellin’s educational work is ongoing and the following activities were carried out in 2008:

•         Educational agents at the Itagüi and Niquia stations instructed 100,000 users on compliance with rules and regulations, appropriate use of handicap facilities and proper use of the “civica (i.e. good citizenship)” card.

•         Twenty educational agents gave instruction on how to comply with regulations pertaining to attention provided for special needs groups and regular passengers at the mezzanine and platform levels of our stations. In a joint effort with the  “Futuro para la Niñez” Corporation, 450,000 customers received instruction.

•         A public awareness campaign about proper use and care of elevators and electro mechanic platforms in stations was carried out, where 10 people with limited mobility from the “Amigos de los Limitados” Corporation participated.

•         Another public awareness campaign was carried out with 57,000 passenger on line J, who were transported for free as part of the “Instructive Operation with Users” program, which took place between February 23rd and March 1st .

•        Direct instruction was given to customers in the cabins and stations of the J and K lines.

•         Educational visits were given to instruct potential users from private Educational Institutions. Approximately 13,000 students from institutions such as Marymount, Colegio San Ignacio, Columbus School, Pinares, Colegio Alemán, Colegio Montessori, Colegio Alvernia, Gimnasio Los Alcázares, Colegio Colombo Francés received instruction.

•         350 train conductors from Metrosan, Barbosaâ€"Porcesito, Rápido San Cristóbal, Expreso Campo Valdés, and Castilla were educated on the customer service culture.

Teaching our children how choosing transit can make life better!

http://www.metrodemedellin.org.co/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=75&id_link=113&parent_link=0&Itemid=113&lang=en

Feeling sick? MEDELLIN!

http://medicaltourismmag.com/detail.php?Req=324&issue=16

Want a drink or maybe just want to play in the WATER? MEDELLIN!

http://www.iadb.org/en/news/news-releases/2009-02-27/medellin-will-complete-historic-river-clean-up-with-idb-financing,5137.html

I went looking for the 3rd world... and I found it when I arrived in MIAMI going north!

OCKLAWAHA

[JeffreyS]

Part of the problem is that our regulatory system allows very little innovation.  We are penalized for trying new concepts and rewarded for sticking with the 'tried and true'.

Your last two sentences seem to say that the "fault" for this aging infrastructure should be lain at the feet of both conservatives and liberals... or more precisely ALL Americans. Hmmm....

Well, it would definitely be a major conservative problem, considering that conservatives do everything in their power to deny changes in our environment, whether it's climate change ( which they deny is accellerated and man-made) or the inevitability of oil shortages that would require us to move to alternatives sooner rather than later.

Besides we all know how conservatives hate taxes and spending, without which major improvements in infrastructure are simply impossible.

So YES, primarily it IS a conservative problem. What governors again, were the ones turning down the HRS monies? What........, they were all conservative?

How about Democratic governors, did any of them turn down HSR money ? No, none?

Well, we couldn't be more clear than that!!!!

Conservatives do not hate spending unless it is on America or Americans. Iraq infrastructure they like spending on it so much they will Knock it down just to spend on it again.

[FayeforCure]

•         A public awareness campaign about proper use and care of elevators and electro mechanic platforms in stations was carried out, where 10 people with limited mobility from the “Amigos de los Limitados” Corporation participated.

•         Another public awareness campaign was carried out with 57,000 passenger on line J, who were transported for free as part of the “Instructive Operation with Users” program, which took place between February 23rd and March 1st .

•        Direct instruction was given to customers in the cabins and stations of the J and K lines.

•         Educational visits were given to instruct potential users from private Educational Institutions. Approximately 13,000 students from institutions such as Marymount, Colegio San Ignacio, Columbus School, Pinares, Colegio Alemán, Colegio Montessori, Colegio Alvernia, Gimnasio Los Alcázares, Colegio Colombo Francés received instruction.

•         350 train conductors from Metrosan, Barbosaâ€"Porcesito, Rápido San Cristóbal, Expreso Campo Valdés, and Castilla were educated on the customer service culture.


Teaching our children how choosing transit can make life better!

http://www.metrodemedellin.org.co/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=75&id_link=113&parent_link=0&Itemid=113&lang=en

Feeling sick? MEDELLIN!

http://medicaltourismmag.com/detail.php?Req=324&issue=16

Want a drink or maybe just want to play in the WATER? MEDELLIN!

http://www.iadb.org/en/news/news-releases/2009-02-27/medellin-will-complete-historic-river-clean-up-with-idb-financing,5137.html

I went looking for the 3rd world... and I found it when I arrived in MIAMI going north!

OCKLAWAHA

Thanks Ock!! Proud of my birth country ( though my parents are European, from the Netherlands)!!!


But unless we know the cause, there is no changing our trajectory in the US. When I first came to the US, the US was still a forward thinking country. Now, 31 years later, we are so regressive it isn't even funny!

King Scott was the perfect embodiement of regressive, irrational thinking when he turned down HSR monies. NO Democratic Florida Governor would have done that!!! Charlie Crist was a moderate Republican that doesn't exist anymore.

Here is another person who has noticed our 30 year decline..........the one dougskiles talks about too:

Except for earmarked projects they can put their names on, most Republicans (and some Democrats) view public investment in anything that doesn't have a military purpose as anathema, un-American. In fact, without government subsidies and innovation funded by public monies, the U.S. economy would never have been as successful as it was.

Politicians, both the myopic and the malicious, together with their billionaire patrons, seek to do all they can to keep us on the dead-end path set for us by Ronald Reagan 30 years ago. Unless our smarter, more progressive leaders commit to vast sums for green investment and combine this public money with green policies, the economic deterioration plaguing us now will worsen, along with the environment.

Some will argue that now is not the time because the House of Representatives is in the hands of the most anti-environment, pro-oligarchy crew in more than a century. They will say the President isn't bold enough. Funny how our enemies never stop trying to accomplish their agenda because they are told it's impossible.  Do you suppose their unwillingness to surrender despite the odds is what has made them so successful?

[FayeforCure]

For merit to pay off, the state must intervene.

Really?

Let me "splain" BT:

All in all, the OECD report is an ugly reality check for a country that has historically seen itself as uniquely rewarding of talent; as a place free of the sorts of rigid social structures that led so many generations of immigrants to leave Old Europe.

And the goal of reducing barriers to social mobility isn't just a moral imperative, it's an economic necessity, the OECD notes.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/17/social-immobility-climbin_n_501788.html

This  chapter
assesses  recent  cross-country patterns  in  intergenerational  social mobility and
examines  the role  that public policies play  in affecting mobility.  Intergenerational
earning, wage and  educational mobility vary widely across OECD  countries.

The presence of credit constraints could hold back investment in tertiary education for
able individuals from disadvantaged or low-income families and thereby be an obstacle to
upward social mobility. The design of student loan and support systems can help mitigate
these constraints. In countries where such funding is available to all students (so-called
universal/individual systems), the probability penalty for an individual from a lowereducated
family to achieve tertiary education is smaller compared with the penalty
observed in countries relying on other types of funding and loan systems (Figure 5.9). This
suggest that government-supported loan or grant systems may reduce students’
dependence on their families for financing their post-secondary studies and alleviate
financial constraints, thus promoting intergenerational social mobility.

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/2/7/45002641.pdf

Hence state intervention is a must for meritocracy to flourish, so that low income families have the ability to send their kids up the economic ladder of a quality tertiairy education!!

Sadly most Americans cannot afford to go to school beyond publicly funded high school, and Republicans insist on continuing to cut Pell grants. Then they wonder this:]

More than 40% of those Americans born in the bottom quintile remain stuck there as adults.

http://www.economist.com/node/15908469

[FayeforCure]

  I suspect (and hope) that we are moving back into an age of innovation and realization of the importance of investing in our infrastructure.  BUT the infrastructure will look completely different than what we have been doing before.  At least, I hope so.

Doug, here is some additional data behind the trend:

Despite substantial increases and important new projects under the Obama Administration, the federal government is still not spending as much on R&D as a percentage of GDP as it did in the 1950s. I would argue that it should be spending twice that level, which would be 6% of GDP.

http://www.globalpost.com/webblog/commerce/fareed-zakaria-restoring-the-american-dream

And in terms of business tax rates that Republicans keep wanting to cut ( Governor Walker created a budget crisis when he cut corporate taxes in Wisconsin):

There are things the U.S. does well. Most new jobs in America are created by start-ups and small companies, so the ease of doing business is crucial â€" and there's good news there. The World Bank has a ranking of countries measured by the "ease of doing business," and the U.S. is No. 4. That's very good, but there's a catch. Those rankings are divided into several categories. In most, like "starting a business," the U.S. does well. But in one category it's only 61st in the world, and that is "paying taxes."

[NotNow]

.......wow......just......wow......

[peestandingup]

The US has already made up its mind that everything we do is awesome & everyone else is stupid. And that we're gonna ride this suburban sprawled super-oil-reliant cluster fuck all the way down wide open.

[uptowngirl]

.......wow......just......wow......

yep

[BridgeTroll]

.......wow......just......wow......

yep

No doubt.  Listening to Faye... either no democrats have ever been elected to any local, state, or federal government post higher than dog catcher... or... they inexplicably have done nothing while in office... OR... they are as complicit as the republicans in Faye's perceived world.

People who are not ideologues understand that it is option three that is the most true... and Faye's red-faced desk pounding and finger pointing does nothing.

[uptowngirl]

Not to mention the complete disregard and lack of understanding of her host country as a whole. Since only immigrants like her are doing anything in America today, while all the natives sit around on their lazy dumb %$&*, I guess we should be grateful.  It is a little sad, as this is a really good topic for conversation, our infrastructure is getting old, but the title and first couple of posts completely turned me off. BTW I am neither Republican or Democrat, but ideologues just make me tune out.