Monday, July 22, 2013

The Busway



If political or financial rants bother you, go away and come back tomorrow.

Connecticut is spending $567 million to build a 9.4 mile busway from downtown Hartford to downtown New Britain.  (The feds are paying about 80 percent of the total, but that is us, too.)  That is $60 million per mile for a busway that will have few riders.  Yes, it is providing 4,000 construction jobs, but any public expenditure of $567 million is going to create temporary jobs.  And add to the tax burden.

I need to take some blood pressure pills.

18 comments:

  1. It's a disgusting waste of taxpayer money and a perfect example of why governments are broke.

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  2. I wish we could get some of that money to improve transit in Toronto! This city is such as mess... a new bus (or better) subway line is definitely needed here! :)

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  3. I often wonder why political men don't know to count, when we , as simle citizens , do it very well every day..

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  4. $60 mil a mile? That's insane! Somebody's got their hand in the till! Follow the money. Reminds me of a Bridge to Nowhere and how what's her face couldn't remember praising it and fighting for it! :)

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  5. Oh, I forgot to mention the cure for your frustration: Hike thyself to the nearest golf course post haste!

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  6. Totally understand what you mean!

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  7. If you have any extra blood pressure pills, send them my way!! This is typical of government everywhere it seems and it never stops! Insane indeed!

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  8. It's just crazy..but is it weird that I feel a little relieved that it happens other places than Perth :))

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  9. We continue electing the wrong people to lead our country, who receive tremendous support from big money people to be certain to retain their power.

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  10. I agree with you, your data are really convincing! It is the same and even worse here, when they say that the money comes from Rome or Brussels: guess who gave it to them.
    I will have my own rant, a smaller one, tomorrow...

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  11. Jack, you forget: nothing's too good for the U.S. taxpayer!

    The U.S. Border Patrol just finished a world class facility in the town next to us. They expanded (of course!), built a new building, including a gym. They paid several million $ for the land itself, curious since I've yet to see acreage run even close to a million, even for prime real estate and tens of acres. A whistle-blower complained to Congress that the Patrol here is aimless and encouraged to work overtime. They "settled" with him and he transferred back to the southern border.

    Warms the cockles of my heart. Or maybe that's my blood pressure.

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  12. Hmmm, our city council handed over a large tract of park land to real estate developers for decades, at the city's risk and at the developer's gain, so they could refurbish a football stadium, build retail, a condo building, and some townhouses... all while claiming they'll still add on parkland. I keep waiting for them to say, "well, we've run out of funds for that park, so we'll just pave it over."

    All of this construction is going on seemingly twenty four hours a day a ten minute walk from my place. No wonder I'm not sleeping well...

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  13. Congress wouldn't know common sense even it it met them on the road...

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  14. Wow. And, that is all I have to say.

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  15. Sounds like something our Governor would do. Can you tell I don't like her.

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  16. We have so much of this in my country! I am recently taking one more half blood pressure pill every day!!!

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  17. This sort of wasteful spending gives me a toothache (literally)!

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