Your Tax dollars at work!

http://www.tidepool.org/original_content.cfm?articleid=115629

Alaska is by far the leader in promoting the its seafood, with the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute and its $12 million dollar annual budget working to differentiate Alaska's seafood products from others. That work has paid off, as Copper River sockeye salmon, king crab, and other Alaskan delicacies are now nationally recognized brands that command steady consumer demand.
*****

Pork never smells good unless it's cooking in your backyard or your neighbor's. Pork barbequeing in another state is just a waste of perfectly good money. I don't even want to know how much those Florida orange juice ads cost, but that money could've mended a lot of roads around here or opened up some more jobs in the local military base.
 
[quote name='RBM']http://www.tidepool.org/original_content.cfm?articleid=115629

Alaska is by far the leader in promoting the its seafood, with the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute and its $12 million dollar annual budget working to differentiate Alaska's seafood products from others. That work has paid off, as Copper River sockeye salmon, king crab, and other Alaskan delicacies are now nationally recognized brands that command steady consumer demand.
*****

Pork never smells good unless it's cooking in your backyard or your neighbor's. Pork barbequeing in another state is just a waste of perfectly good money. I don't even want to know how much those Florida orange juice ads cost, but that money could've mended a lot of roads around here or opened up some more jobs in the local military base.[/QUOTE]

I work in the seafood department of a grocery store, and let me tell you, when Copper River Sockeye comes in, we could charge just about anything and we still wouldn't have enough. As it is, at close to $20 a pound, it flies out the door. Don't get me wrong, it's great salmon, but hell, I'll wait until the second or third run of salmon when it's $10 a pound.
 
[quote name='BigSpoonyBard']I work in the seafood department of a grocery store, and let me tell you, when Copper River Sockeye comes in, we could charge just about anything and we still wouldn't have enough. As it is, at close to $20 a pound, it flies out the door. Don't get me wrong, it's great salmon, but hell, I'll wait until the second or third run of salmon when it's $10 a pound.[/QUOTE]

Salmon has always been overrated, catfish now that's a quality fish.
 
[quote name='zionoverfire']Salmon has always been overrated, catfish now that's a quality fish.[/QUOTE]

plus catfish are hard to catch. you gotta stick your arm in a hole and wait for them to bite you!
 
I too prefer catfish over salmon. I can't stand the smell of salmon.

Back on topic, Alaska is the king of pork, no doubt about it. Add these to the ridiculous transportation spending there.
 
Along comes a new challenger!

Ashtabula County, with more covered bridges than any other county in Ohio, hopes to add another distinction: the longest wooden covered bridge in the United States.

Officials say the 600-foot bridge could end up being the cornerstone of a budding tourist economy. Ashtabula County, located in the northeast corner of the state, has struggled for decades with high unemployment and the loss of industrial jobs.

The design also features a windowed walkway on top of the two-lane bridge, which should give pedestrians a spectacular view of the Ashtabula River valley.

...

The span will replace a dilapidated steel-beam bridge. Federal highway officials have pledged $5 million toward construction costs.
The county is celebrating its heritage this weekend with the annual Covered Bridge Festival, and bus tours bring people in year-round. But officials envision the new bridge as a must-see for bridge enthusiasts around the country.

"You can't put a dollar value on that," said Betty Morrison, who has been involved with the festival program since its inception in 1986. [/QUOTE]
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http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2005/10/08/county_seeks_to_build_longest_covered_bridge_in_us/

You can't put a dollar value on it, but apparently you can spend $5 million of my hard-earned tax dollars. I suppose it's important to give back to all of those dedicated "bridge enthusiasts" across America.
Click to expand...
 
[quote name='camoor']Along comes a new challenger!

Ashtabula County, with more covered bridges than any other county in Ohio, hopes to add another distinction: the longest wooden covered bridge in the United States.

Officials say the 600-foot bridge could end up being the cornerstone of a budding tourist economy. Ashtabula County, located in the northeast corner of the state, has struggled for decades with high unemployment and the loss of industrial jobs.

The design also features a windowed walkway on top of the two-lane bridge, which should give pedestrians a spectacular view of the Ashtabula River valley.

...

The span will replace a dilapidated steel-beam bridge. Federal highway officials have pledged $5 million toward construction costs.
The county is celebrating its heritage this weekend with the annual Covered Bridge Festival, and bus tours bring people in year-round. But officials envision the new bridge as a must-see for bridge enthusiasts around the country.

"You can't put a dollar value on that," said Betty Morrison, who has been involved with the festival program since its inception in 1986. [/QUOTE]
Click to expand...


http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2005/10/08/county_seeks_to_build_longest_covered_bridge_in_us/

You can't put a dollar value on it, but apparently you can spend $5 million of my hard-earned tax dollars. I suppose it's important to give back to all of those dedicated "bridge enthusiasts" across America.
Click to expand...

Actually, wooden covered bridges are a tourist attraction in vermont. Many people drive around looking at bridges there.
 
[quote name='alonzomourning23']Actually, wooden covered bridges are a tourist attraction in vermont. Many people drive around looking at bridges there.[/QUOTE]

True, but that doesn't excuse federal highway dollars going to a tourist attraction instead of something worthy.
 
[quote name='elprincipe']True, but that doesn't excuse federal highway dollars going to a tourist attraction instead of something worthy.[/QUOTE]

Well, I agree 5 million is an excessive amount compared to the amount of tourism adding a new covered bridge would bring (most people like old ones). But I think, since tourism generates revenue, it sometimes is worth doing.
 
You can't really count the full $5M as going towards a covered bridge. The article describes the current bridge as "a dilapidated steel-beam bridge", which would make it sound as though it needs replacing either way. So the real cost of the covered bridge would be $5M minus the cost of building a 'regular' bridge at the spot, which is probably a couple of million anyway.
 
[quote name='alonzomourning23']Well, I agree 5 million is an excessive amount compared to the amount of tourism adding a new covered bridge would bring (most people like old ones). But I think, since tourism generates revenue, it sometimes is worth doing.[/QUOTE]

I don't mind them doing it, just not with my tax dollars. If you want a tourist attraction, use your own tax money to build it.
 
Ashtabula County, located in the northeast corner of the state, has struggled for decades with high unemployment and the loss of industrial jobs.
The design also features a windowed walkway on top of the two-lane bridge, which should give pedestrians a spectacular view of the Ashtabula River valley.

"We knew we didn't want people walking inside the bridge. That would be too dangerous," said county engineer Tim Martin. Elevators will be added to make it handicap accessible.

Construction on the county's 17th covered bridge was to have started two years ago but got delayed while engineers sorted through some environmental issues, Martin said Saturday.

Work is now scheduled to begin next year and wrap up in 2008. The span will replace a dilapidated steel-beam bridge. Federal highway officials have pledged $5 million toward construction costs.
Click to expand...
[quote name='Drocket']You can't really count the full $5M as going towards a covered bridge. The article describes the current bridge as "a dilapidated steel-beam bridge", which would make it sound as though it needs replacing either way. So the real cost of the covered bridge would be $5M minus the cost of building a 'regular' bridge at the spot, which is probably a couple of million anyway.[/QUOTE]

So it's OK because it's only $3 million instead of $5 million being spent on pork?

Why is a county which has little use for roads (high unemployment and little industry) getting a prime cut of taxpayer money? I live in DC - a major city where the federal government does most of it's work, and we have the third worst traffic system in the nation due to the fact that we have no representation in congress - and can't collect taxes from private industry because the government has taken all the best real estate - and the Federal government doesn't pay taxes. That means DC workers are forced to get to work on local roads with potholes as big as SUVs, or choked archaic two late highways with chronic gridlock, or (if you have the option) a metro system that's constantly in danger of getting it's funding yanked by such morally virtuous characters as Tom Delay (R). All the while a dying Ohio town with nearly no industry gets a few million thrown it's way for a massively expensive covered bridge and windowed walkway under a dubious scheme to generate tourism that any private company would tell you is not worth the investment.
 
[quote name='camoor']Why is a county which has little use for roads (high unemployment and little industry) getting a prime cut of taxpayer money?[/QUOTE]

I'm not disagreeing with the rest, but aren't those areas fitting the above description the ones who needs these projects the most?
 
[quote name='alonzomourning23']I'm not disagreeing with the rest, but aren't those areas fitting the above description the ones who needs these projects the most?[/QUOTE]

Well - if there was a new factory that was putting down stakes, or it was a major throughfare for city-to-city traffic I would have to say that a covered bridge could be justified. However if these factors were present I'm sure that this fluff piece would have mentioned it - besides the fact that a windowed walkway for this extremely long bridge, given the small population of the town and bleak future outlook, smacks to me of waste at a time when the government can't seem to find funds to fix the crisis of traffic gridlock in it's own backyard.

You know what they do when our traffic gets too bad? More toll lanes. Meanhile dying Ohio towns are getting tourist-attraction features on their bridges complete with windowed walkways for free. You gotta love congress...

Washingtonians are spending ever more time stuck in traffic ... according to a national study released yesterday that also showed the region cemented in its ignominious role as home to the nation's third-worst traffic congestion.

...

The numbers for Washingtonians are mind-numbing: The average commuter in 2002 spent 67 hours in congestion; the region gave up a collective 126.6 million hours to traffic; trips took half again as long during rush hour as during non-peak times, and an estimated $2.3 billion was lost in congestion-related costs.

...
What's more, things keep getting worse. In 1982, the average Washington area commuter spent 21 hours stuck in traffic. That more than doubled to 48 hours by 1992 and jumped to 67 in 2002. The national average is 46.

None of this came as any surprise to area drivers, particularly yesterday, when roadways were jammed with cars shuttling children to and from school and commuters who had just returned from vacation.

...

C. Kenneth Orski, editor of the transportation newsletter Innovation Briefs, said the report largely omitted an important piece of infrastructure that area leaders are working to build: toll lanes in which fees are adjusted according to traffic volume.

...

Virginia officials approved a plan last month to add such toll lanes on the Capital Beltway, while leaders in Maryland are planning similar concepts on the Beltway and other major roads.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2537-2004Sep7.html
 
[quote name='BigSpoonyBard']I work in the seafood department of a grocery store, and let me tell you, when Copper River Sockeye comes in, we could charge just about anything and we still wouldn't have enough. As it is, at close to $20 a pound, it flies out the door. Don't get me wrong, it's great salmon, but hell, I'll wait until the second or third run of salmon when it's $10 a pound.[/QUOTE]

When I worked in the seafood dept of my grocery store (THe Pier at Jewel in Chicagoland), there were no brand names for the seafood that the customers saw, beyond the pre-packaged fake crab and the bags of meijer brand shrimp. Everything else that had brands only had them on the styrofoam boxes that all of our fish came in and the customers never saw those (unless they were shopping at 8 am and saw me stocking the case).
 
[quote name='camoor']Well - if there was a new factory that was putting down stakes, or it was a major throughfare for city-to-city traffic I would have to say that a covered bridge could be justified. However if these factors were present I'm sure that this fluff piece would have mentioned it - besides the fact that a windowed walkway for this extremely long bridge, given the small population of the town and bleak future outlook, smacks to me of waste at a time when the government can't seem to find funds to fix the crisis of traffic gridlock in it's own backyard.

You know what they do when our traffic gets too bad? More toll lanes. Meanhile dying Ohio towns are getting tourist-attraction features on their bridges complete with windowed walkways for free. You gotta love congress...



http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2537-2004Sep7.html[/QUOTE]

Toll lanes work well when properly done, that's what they're doing in the u.k. and it done very well at reducing traffic.

But, not that I agree with this particular one, roads are very important for small towns. You can make life a little easier in a big city, or give small towns easier access to the outside world and all it entails, such as jobs.
 
[quote name='alonzomourning23']Toll lanes work well when properly done, that's what they're doing in the u.k. and it done very well at reducing traffic.

But, not that I agree with this particular one, roads are very important for small towns. You can make life a little easier in a big city, or give small towns easier access to the outside world and all it entails, such as jobs.[/QUOTE]

Yet the number of toll lanes that they have around here smacks to me of double dipping - I already paid my taxes why am I being asked to pay more. The best part is that you can get to any airport on specially designated traffic-free and toll-free lanes (convienient for those mid-west congressional staffers who need to travel back to Ohio to check on their $5 mil bridge project)

I don't disagree with you about roads being important for towns, but I have an issue with building the longest covered bridge replete with windowed walkway when we could just build a simple bridge and then use the extra money to reduce wasted time and unnecessary congestion on heavily travelled city roads. I'm not talking about making our traffic life a little easier here - I'm talking about getting us some emergency repairs for bridges and metro rails that are falling apart and roads that are a danger to those of us who don't drive SUVs.

Just lookup "Wilson bridge" if you want to get an idea of the disaster waiting-to-happen out here.
 
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