Lost American Initiative
Whatever happened to the “can do” attitude that allowed this country to put a man on the moon when such a feat was perceived possible only in science fiction movies? Essential and long overdue improvements to US infrastructure now take decades as work is delayed by bickering special interest groups, mindless bureaucrats and endless state and federal regulations.
The recent opening of 3 new runways at 3 major airports is cause for celebration, but the amount of time required to complete these long overdue expansions is appalling. Hundreds of billions of dollars a year in energy and human resources are dissipated each year as we still rely on unexpanded and unimproved infrastructure built decades ago.
Consider the time required to reap the benefits of 3 new airport runways.
In the eight months since a new runway opened at the U.S.’s second-busiest airport, plagued for decades with lengthy flight delays, O’Hare has operated with above-average on-time arrivals—better than Dallas, Atlanta and Denver in 2009, according to FlightStats.com. O’Hare’s on-time arrival rate improved by 27% so far this year compared with the same period of 2008. That was twice the improvement of any other big U.S. airport.
The new runway, opened last Nov. 21, gets much of the credit. While airline reductions in flight schedules have eased congestion and reduced flight delays, the ability to now land three planes simultaneously in most weather conditions instead of two jets at a time has turned O’Hare from a choke point into a reliable airport.
Because of the enormous cost and heated legal battles with neighbors and environmentalists, building runways at big airports is a rarity—and a major reason air travel has been bogged down in the past 10 years. Last fall, three major runways opened with much fanfare on the same day in Chicago, Seattle and Washington, D.C. Seattle’s new runway took two decades of planning, approval, court fights and construction. O’Hare’s new runway was the first at that airport in 37 years.
Economic growth relies on an efficient transportation system. The fact that the second busiest airport in the US could not be expanded for 37 years speaks volumes for the inability of government to “get things done that need to be done”. Think about this the next time you are wasting 8 hours of your life due to a flight delay.
According to the FAA, 30,000 flights at O’Hare were delayed because of weather in the first five months of 2008. This year through May, only 8,800 weather-delayed flights were recorded “and we had a crazy winter this year with all kinds of snow,” says Ms. Drouet.
Consider the similar multi decades delay for Seattle to add an additional runway:
At Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, delays typically stacked up in the frequent fog and rain because the two existing runways were too close together to have planes landing side-by-side in poor visibility. So the airport wanted a third runway far enough from the existing runways so planes could land two at a time in any weather.
The project took more than 20 years and cost more than $1 billion. Heavy construction started in 2004.
Stimulus Spending Largely Wasted
A significant amount of the country’s infrastructure was built during the depression. The interstate highway system was built during the Eisenhower administration before many of us were born. How much better off would all of us and our children be if necessary improvements to the country’s infrastructure was addressed in a comprehensive, time sensitive manner?
“Stimulus spending” of almost a trillion dollars was deployed to reduce taxes, enhance special interest spending and pass out funds to those who would most quickly spend it at Walmarts on Chinese imported goods. This type of foolish spending leaves us another trillion in debt while keeping Chinese factories busy - it does not leave the country with anything of lasting value.
Vacuous Leadership
Of course, even if every dollar of stimulus spending had been directed exclusively to infrastructure enhancements, it would not be spend for 15 years if the airport runway example applies. Therein lies the pitfalls of democracy - those making the spending decisions are more focused on the next election rather than the strategic long term needs of the Country.
Thought Provoking Links
Even some loyal Democrats are feeling queasy about what will happen if, as seems likely, Al Franken wins the endless dispute over that Senate seat from Minnesota. With Arlen Specter’s recent conversion, that would give the Democrats 60 seats, or three-fifths of the Senate, which is a filibuster-proof majority.
We have endured gridlocked government for so long that the idea of a president and a Congress from the same party enacting the legislation that they promised to enact while they were running for office seems almost unnatural.
The president and his party in Congress face the terrifying prospect of being able to fulfill their campaign promises. They will have no excuse if there is no health-care reform or energy reform, or if there are and they are disasters.
Now, when the voters demand change, they may well get it. We’ll see how they like it.
America is on the great quest for “change”. Although a great campaign slogan, when faced with the reality of real change, most people are terrified. With what can only be described as near dictatorial power compared to previous Presidents, the Obama administration is likely to bring the status quo to an abrupt halt. The power to act decisively could be a huge positive for the country - time will tell.
Speaker’s Comments Raise Detainee Debate To New Level
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s extraordinary accusation that the Bush administration lied to Congress about the use of harsh interrogation techniques dramatically raised the stakes in the growing debate over the Bush administration’s anti-terrorism policies even as it raised some questions about the speaker’s credibility.
Pelosi’s performance in the Capitol was either a calculated escalation of a long-running feud with the Bush administration or a reckless act by a politician whose word had been called into question. Perhaps it was both.Washington is now engaged in a battle royal of finger pointing..
Conservatives say that, if Pelosi was so opposed to torture, she should have spoken out forcefully when she learned that these techniques were being employed.
The president wants the focus kept on the future…
Each side seems to have something to prove. Meanwhile, real issues we face today and in the future are being sidetracked. No one is better than a politician at pointing fingers and blaming others. It’s time to move on to more important issues.
TWO TRILLION dollars in health-care savings, as hailed by President Obama in the White House yesterday, would be nothing to sneeze at.
The White House has emphasized repeatedly that health-care reform is entitlement reform — that is, an answer to the nation’s long-term fiscal challenge. Yet, so far, it is backing a plan to expand coverage that would cost taxpayers between $1 trillion and $1.5 trillion over 10 years, while it has proposed health-care savings of only $309 billion. There is a danger that the administration and Congress alike will be tempted to “pay for” actual government expenditures with presumed but unspecified savings, like those promised yesterday. In fact, even as they promise cost control, a number of the groups that met with the president yesterday also have argued that health-care reform should not be held to Congress’s pay-as-you-go rules.
The White House has stated clearly that any reform bill should be fully paid for. To ease suspicions that the associations he met with yesterday are only talking a good game on cost control to ensure a seat at the bargaining table of health-care reform, the president will have to reaffirm his commitment to pay fully for health care and get to that goal without gimmicks.
In 2007 the U.S. bill for health care amounted to 17% of gross domestic product (GDP), compared to 11% in Switzerland and Germany and 10% in Canada and France. There is no evidence in terms of over all health or longevity that suggests the U.S. is getting any benefit for spending almost twice as much on health care as other industrialized nations. Savings on health care are, of course, theoretically doable but getting there will be the hard part. One person’s “savings” usually means a cost or pay cut to someone else - and that “someone else” is likely to resist.
Designed By :
