Murder By Numbers

By now, of course, you have heard and read of the tragedy in Minnesota.

A tragedy that was unnecessary and wholly preventable. The death count stands at five, probably because Minnesotans have the good sense to maintain their emergency services and reaction was swift.

The Republican Governor vetoed a 5 cent gas tax increase that would have gone to road repair. Compounding this criminal indifference is the pending groundbreaking of a half billion dollar stadium for the Twins. Truly, Bread and circuses while our country falls apart in neglect.

Just the first in a long line of infrastructure collapses that will be coming our way because nobody wants to face the cost of maintaining it. As usual, a predominance of the blame may be laid at the feet of what currently passes for conservative, who never saw a public expenditure of money to serve the common good that they were willing to support. There were plenty of warnings that this bridge needed attention; ignored and passed by pleadings of lack of funding. The cost never goes down; and now the cost to repair is several times higher than the cost to maintain. So where's the fiscal responsibility?

The truly horrifying thing is that there are hundreds of bridges across the country that have the same ispection result; 'structurally deficient', that this one had. Think about THAT as you drive your SUV home tonight. Especially those with W stickers on 'em.

Fortunately, in Wisconsin, we have several years of Tommy Thompson under which the road builders were well endowed. Even so, a bridge in Milwaukee collapsed several years ago, although fortunately it was a single member and no one was killed. I believe, as an adjunct of the Interstate system, that was a Federal responsibility anyway.

Brace yourselves; more will be coming as the aging infrastructure yields to entropy. Water systems, sewage systems, roads, bridges, power, all of it has been subject to deferred maintenance in favor of tax cuts and military spending. This may also be a good place to point out that dollars spent in heavy construction efforts such as infrastructure are multiplicative, in that they feed the communities through creation of high wage jobs and increases in local spending.

But no. The CEO of GE needs another tax cut so he can increase his golden parachute, send jobs to Mexico, and buy a new villa.

The old saying goes 'an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure'. Might as well say a dollar spent on maintenance is worth a hundred dollars spent on repair.

And, as I said up there, this attitude towards our infrastructure betrays a lack of concern for fellow Americans by the Reaganoids and Randians like Rove, Bush, Grover Norquist..... and on and on. A minneapolis writer has a stark editorial here.
This Random is for the victims of this kind of neglect.

1. Sister Death from the album "Excellent! - The Violent Years" by The Jazz Butcher Conspiracy
2. The Devil In Mexico from the album "Who Will Survive and What Will Be Left of Them?" by Murder By Death
3. S.T.B. from the album "Birth, School, Work, Death" by The Godfathers
4. Pale White Girls from the album "Sex, Age & Death" by Bob Geldof
5. Death or Glory from the album "London Calling" by The Clash
6. O Death from the album "Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart" by Camper Van Beethoven
7. Scream In Vain from the album "Sex, Age & Death" by Bob Geldof
8. Death Row from the album "The Executioner's Last Songs, Vol. 2" by Rico Bell
9. One Minute Closer (To Death) from the album "Radical Departure" by Ranking Roger
10. Killbot 2000 from the album "Who Will Survive and What Will Be Left of Them?" by Murder By Death



Driving home over any bridges tonight? I am.

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