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Re: Infrastructure spending is needed
Author: David Smith
Date: 01-13-2010 - 19:11
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>
> David Smith Wrote:
> Same thing happened during
> > the 1930's under the Hoover/Roosevelt policies,
> > and it ended up making the Great Depression the
> > decade long debacle that it was.
> >
>
Exchequer Wrote:
> So in other words, the United States, in general,
> and Southern Nevada in particular would have been
> better off if the Hoover Dam was never built? If
> you want to argue that point, be my guest.
This level of childish obfuscation is inexcusable. Hoover Dam was a drop in the bucket, as was Grand Coulee. You'll also notice public works had been built prior to the Great Depression as well as after. So what? These projects did nothing to alleviate the effects of the Great Depression because the underlying cause of the depression was simultaneously being empowered by FDR and his gang. Businesses couldn't borrow money because the government was sucking it all up, and wage and price controls were stifling free enterprise. The reason so many were continuously out of work was because there was no incentive to start and maintain small business.
Keep this in mind also: 75% of all private sector employment in the US has historicaly been in small to medium sized businesses. When you see the way FDR attacked this sector for a decade, you can begin to understand why we had continual 25% to 30% unemployment, despite Hoover Dam et al.
As to this current "stimulus", where are the funds for infrastructure projects that might actually be useful? Like say, a second Cascade tunnel bore for BNSF's Stevens Pass line, or a rebuild of the Milwaukee's favorable Snoquailme Pass line, or a tunnel under the Blue Mountains for UP, or a reconnect of the W&I's Palouse lines with the Great Northwest lines down near Lewiston, or a new line from Oaksdale WA to Thornton WA? Hey, how about the Lewiston-Missoula rail link?
I don't see any new rail lines being built for freight movement, but I do see where California might get a new HSR line so that patrons from LA can get to LV 3 hours slower than by flying! I don't see any new power plants being built or oil and gas fields being opened up for drilling, but I do see a lot of money being thrown at wasteful "green" projects that produce no energy.
There's an awful lot of lipstick being applied to an awful lot of pigs, but nothing to improve the flavor or quantity of the meat.
And yeah, if Las Vegas was still a pitstop on the UP, the USA would be better off today, since Vegas produces nothing tangible but sucks up a lot of juice and water in the process. You probably should have referenced Grand Coulee Dam in your tanget!
>
> David Smith Wrote:
> Same thing happened during
> > the 1930's under the Hoover/Roosevelt policies,
> > and it ended up making the Great Depression the
> > decade long debacle that it was.
> >
>
Exchequer Wrote:
> So in other words, the United States, in general,
> and Southern Nevada in particular would have been
> better off if the Hoover Dam was never built? If
> you want to argue that point, be my guest.
This level of childish obfuscation is inexcusable. Hoover Dam was a drop in the bucket, as was Grand Coulee. You'll also notice public works had been built prior to the Great Depression as well as after. So what? These projects did nothing to alleviate the effects of the Great Depression because the underlying cause of the depression was simultaneously being empowered by FDR and his gang. Businesses couldn't borrow money because the government was sucking it all up, and wage and price controls were stifling free enterprise. The reason so many were continuously out of work was because there was no incentive to start and maintain small business.
Keep this in mind also: 75% of all private sector employment in the US has historicaly been in small to medium sized businesses. When you see the way FDR attacked this sector for a decade, you can begin to understand why we had continual 25% to 30% unemployment, despite Hoover Dam et al.
As to this current "stimulus", where are the funds for infrastructure projects that might actually be useful? Like say, a second Cascade tunnel bore for BNSF's Stevens Pass line, or a rebuild of the Milwaukee's favorable Snoquailme Pass line, or a tunnel under the Blue Mountains for UP, or a reconnect of the W&I's Palouse lines with the Great Northwest lines down near Lewiston, or a new line from Oaksdale WA to Thornton WA? Hey, how about the Lewiston-Missoula rail link?
I don't see any new rail lines being built for freight movement, but I do see where California might get a new HSR line so that patrons from LA can get to LV 3 hours slower than by flying! I don't see any new power plants being built or oil and gas fields being opened up for drilling, but I do see a lot of money being thrown at wasteful "green" projects that produce no energy.
There's an awful lot of lipstick being applied to an awful lot of pigs, but nothing to improve the flavor or quantity of the meat.
And yeah, if Las Vegas was still a pitstop on the UP, the USA would be better off today, since Vegas produces nothing tangible but sucks up a lot of juice and water in the process. You probably should have referenced Grand Coulee Dam in your tanget!
