tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609536178570975752.post7836197704556526555..comments2024-01-12T00:32:20.149-08:00Comments on The Overhead Wire: More LaHood Background InformationPantograph Trolleypolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17833159138533550544noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609536178570975752.post-75523321789152056982008-12-18T11:26:00.000-08:002008-12-18T11:26:00.000-08:00The Federal Government has discovered this wondrou...The Federal Government has discovered this wondrous new technology called the printing press, which allows it to print as many little green bits of paper as it wants to. The Federal Goverment can fund anything it damn well wants to, it's just a matter of getting the political will to run up huge deficits.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609536178570975752.post-3165950469981771382008-12-18T10:49:00.000-08:002008-12-18T10:49:00.000-08:00I don't think it's fair to say that Cat machinery ...I don't think it's fair to say that Cat machinery equates to road construction. There are plenty of Cat diggers, graders, and miscellaneous used in every new rail project. In addition, Cat is also a company that frequently flirts with entering the railroad locomotive business, and I believe that some of its engines are currently in use in newer, more environmentally friendly diesel engines used in switching operations (so-called "green goats"). <BR/><BR/>Now that that nitpick is over, I think you have a choice here. You can either hope for a big infrastructure boom, or for funding reform, but I don't think you can realistically look for both. What's more important for the next two year, getting things built, or getting bogged down in red-tape and proceedure?<BR/><BR/>That said, I get increasingly uncomfortable these days when I read local papers and see everyone predicting an infrastructure boom as soon as Obama is sworn in. The man is not made of money. There is just no possible way he can fund even a tenth of the laundry lists that are making eyes glow around here, especially when you consider that almost every other region is experiencing the same "Dear Santa Clause" phenomenon. <BR/><BR/>THis all leaves aside whether or not Obama will stick to his pledge of a "new way" of politics, and funds projects consistently based on merits, regardless of whether that project benefits a Republican area (the South) or an area that didn't really matter in the election (low population areas such as the Pacific Northwest of the inner West.)ABChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14228287202310693027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609536178570975752.post-58115029868479188972008-12-18T10:40:00.000-08:002008-12-18T10:40:00.000-08:00he'll probably be ok but i think it is clear he wo...he'll probably be ok but i think it is clear he wont be the change agent for transportation policy... "transportation" will probably continue to more or less mean 70% highways, 25% aviation, 4% transit and 1% amtrak. i'm waiting to hear both obama and lahood when this is official friday and whether we hear "roads and bridges" or "roads, bridges and...".<BR/><BR/>then again most transportation policy will probably be coming from congress and i think there are some good people in key positions here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609536178570975752.post-61640107361995416582008-12-18T09:21:00.000-08:002008-12-18T09:21:00.000-08:00Are there any transit-savvy reporters that might b...Are there any transit-savvy reporters that might be covering his inaugural press conference? I fear that he'll do a presser and nobody will ask him any hard questions about transit.Rollie Fingershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15227928886685150819noreply@blogger.com