It would be nice if I felt that we're making progress in this world, but every day brings reminders that the powers that be have other ideas.
Yeah, sure, there's discussion going on, but so what? The trend is obvious, the machinery is in motion, the costs are irrelevant because someone -- not you and me -- stands to make a butt-load of money.
Examples:
-- Today's Standard has a story (click) on the West Davis Highway, a $587 million strip of asphalt designed, so far as I can tell, to make development of what's left of Davis County, and western Weber County, a lot easier. This massive subsidy to developers is to be paid for by you and me.
UDOT, so today's story goes, is extending the comment period, and I suppose it is possible that UDOT could look at all those comments, say "wow, this was a mistake," and cancel the whole thing. It would then send a polite note to all the contractors and developers planning to make zillions off the thing after investing millions in "campaign donations" to members of the Legislature to support it, but we all know how likely that is.
So, comment away -- it won't matter, the highway will be built. That $587 million would buy a lot of mass transit, but that won't happen because "mass transit requires government subsidy and that would be subsidy," while a free highway gifted to developers is "forward-looking infrastructure," or some such.
If you want to comment go to UDOT.utah.gov/westdavis. It will do little good, but might make you feel better.
-- Nationally, the effort to get the US involved in Syria's civil war is gearing up. Today the Pentagon released a letter (click) listing the costs of intervention, anywhere from $500 million a year to station troops there, to $1 billion a month to fly airplanes over and enforce a no-fly zone.
Needless to say, supporters of intervention such as Sen. John McCain, R-AZ, are very upset at this. John and a few others, such as Sen. Lindsay Graham, have been very noisily advocating intervention. Whether they do this just because Obama hasn't yet, and it's a way to attack Obama, or they seriously think the US can accomplish something, one thing stands clear: They have no way to pay for it.
Those deficit hawks never say how they'll pay for their war adventures, which means they'll just rack up the costs -- billions more to Halliburton and other war companies -- and then scream about deficits and cut welfare, Social Security, Medicare and everything else.
If you ponder the comments on that story you will see more than 50 as of this writing, including one from me, not a one supporting us getting involved in war in Syria. Polls show the large majority of Americans agree, yet this is still a debate in Washington, the sort of intellectual debate disconnected from reality that lets politicians rack up points, and please lobbyists, but leaves us stuck with the bills and the funerals.
I'd suggest writing to your congressperson, but ours are all staunch Republicans who like these wars. Rep. Rob Bishop thinks the government should double military spending and cut out everything else. A letter might boost business for the Postal Service, but that's about it.
More highways and war -- what makes America great?
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