McConnell: No Senate Republicans will back Biden on $4T (msn.com)

Oneiric1975

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I’ll will tell you this. There’s not hardly a day that goes by that I don’t go through some sort of construction zone where a bridge is being repaired or replaced.

Anecdotal data, but yes. However it has been known for years that America's infrastructure is in need of updating.

You are being redirected...

Stay safe on the roads and bridges!
 
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Hammster

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Yup. Deficits, per se, are not always bad things.
They are good as long as the money spent is money you approve of.

I think that’s mostly the thought on both sides.
 
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Hammster

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Oneiric1975

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They are good as long as the money spent is money you approve of.

I think that’s mostly the thought on both sides.

Yes, there are many Americans who don't want to see money invested in America. That is a sad state of affairs. Reap the whirlwind I suppose.
 
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Oneiric1975

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I know they need updating. That’s my point. They are currently being updated.

Obviously not enough if the studies are finding that nearly a third are in need of significant repair.

And many of these bridges are years overdue for repairs.

Repairs cost money.
 
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Hammster

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Yes, there are many Americans who don't want to see money invested in America. That is a sad state of affairs. Reap the whirlwind I suppose.
I don’t want to see money wasted on pork. And that seems to be where most of the money goes.
 
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Hammster

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Obviously not enough if the studies are finding that nearly a third are in need of significant repair.

And many of these bridges are years overdue for repairs.

Repairs cost money.
And how will throwing more money at the problem be of any help?
 
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Oneiric1975

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I don’t want to see money wasted on pork. And that seems to be where most of the money goes.

I wholeheartedly agree. Bills always get pork added. It seems we can't do anything these days (on either side of the aisle) without it getting larded up.

But that doesn't mean the expenditure is a bad idea. That would be like saying I'm not going to fix the electrical in my house because the electrician will track mud into the hallway. We need to get the electrician to NOT track mud in while getting the much-needed fix.
 
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Oneiric1975

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Let me see if I'm understanding your question correctly.

When a company is contracted to fix a bridge they demand pay. This is called "billing". When a company is paid you can get work out of them.

If you have a backlog of work that needs to be done you need to get MORE contracts out to get the work done. Each of these companies will "bill" the government for the work (so that they might pay their employees as well as purchase needed materials to do the repairs), and obviously to make a profit of some form (capitalism).

If you have MORE money to spend you can get more contractors and pay them.
 
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Hammster

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Let me see if I'm understanding your question correctly.

When a company is contracted to fix a bridge they demand pay. This is called "billing". When a company is paid you can get work out of them.

If you have a backlog of work that needs to be done you need to get MORE contracts out to get the work done. Each of these companies will "bill" the government for the work (so that they might pay their employees as well as purchase needed materials to do the repairs), and obviously to make a profit of some form (capitalism).

If you have MORE money to spend you can get more contractors and pay them.
Where are these workers coming from? Do you think these companies have folks just standing on one foot and then the other just waiting for a call?
 
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Albion

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Yes, there are many Americans who don't want to see money invested in America. That is a sad state of affairs. Reap the whirlwind I suppose.
There is no issue here at all.

The Congressional Republicans are quite willing--and have announced it and been more than specific about it--to do just what you are concerned about having done, i.e. repairing roads and bridges.

But that doesn't mean the expenditure is a bad idea. That would be like saying I'm not going to fix the electrical in my house because the electrician will track mud into the hallway.

The analogy is quite wrong. If 2/3 of the money that would be appropriated by the proposed legislation were for roads and bridges and etc, you would have a bona fide point. But that is NOT the case with this legislation. It affords only a tiny amount, less than 10% for such repairs. The great majority of the allocations would be for pet projects of the Democrats that have nothing whatsoever to do with what people understand by "infrastructure."

Nor is 4 TRILLION dollars so little that we could just wink at all the pork that's in the bill, just for the sake of getting money for roads. It is, in fact, about 1/8 of the national debt total, which is already the largest by far of any nation in the world.
 
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Oneiric1975

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Where are these workers coming from? Do you think these companies have folks just standing on one foot and then the other just waiting for a call?

Construction jobs come and go. There are trained construction people who currently do not have employment. The companies that get contracts often hire people. This is common across US industry. When work is not available (because no one is contracting the company) they often lay people off. When work is available they hire new people on.

Industries at a Glance: Construction: NAICS 23
 
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TLK Valentine

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But if you house is only worth $60000, and you still want 400k, then it will be easy to blame me for the sale not going through.

True -- but it's my house; I decide the asking price. And it turns out, I don't need you to close the sale.

Let's try a different analogy -- you go to your dentist with a raging toothache, and he gives you two options:

1. a $400 root canal,
2. a $60 prescription for painkillers.

Ignoring the important lesson to always carry dental insurance, only one of those is going to actually solve your problem.

Of course, you always have a third option: shop around for a cheaper dentist. Just remember that tooth's only going to get worse, so shop quickly.
 
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Hammster

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True -- but it's my house; I decide the asking price. And it turns out, I don't need you to close the sale.

Let's try a different analogy -- you go to your dentist with a raging toothache, and he gives you two options:

1. a $400 root canal,
2. a $60 prescription for painkillers.

Ignoring the important lesson to always carry dental insurance, only one of those is going to actually solve your problem.

Of course, you always have a third option: shop around for a cheaper dentist. Just remember that tooth's only going to get worse, so shop quickly.
I would expect that the doctor wouldn’t be adding extra money to be used for a new pool for the neighbors.
 
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TLK Valentine

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I would expect that the doctor wouldn’t be adding extra money to be used for a new pool for the neighbors.

He's not -- but I'm not so certain about the insurance company...

Not that it matters, as long as it's nice and expensive... just the way we like it in America.

(meanwhile, your tooth is still in excruciating pain)
 
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Hammster

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He's not -- but I'm not so certain about the insurance company...

Not that it matters, as long as it's nice and expensive... just the way we like it in America.

(meanwhile, your tooth is still in excruciating pain)
I’d be happy to pay the price if it was a fair price. And if the infrastructure bill was only for infrastructure, I’d be good with that.
 
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Oneiric1975

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I’d be happy to pay the price if it was a fair price. And if the infrastructure bill was only for infrastructure, I’d be good with that.

From your mouth to God's ear. I agree that we have waaay to much pork in all legislation. The more necessary the legislation is the more people want to lard it up with stuff that is their personal "wish list". Politicians always sell us the sizzle as opposed to the steak.

We saw that happen during the Trump administration when the deficits were exploded in order to give tax breaks, the majority of which went to the ultra-wealthy. It was a give-back to the wealthy leaving huge gaps in revenues which have to come from somewhere. And it wasn't really necessary, but it made a select cadre of valuable donors happy I suppose.
 
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