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Post by erik on Jul 29, 2014 21:54:59 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2014 7:09:21 GMT -5
We really have to get our priorities straight, such as taking care of our own citizens, instead of engaging in useless wars and then rebuilding OTHER country's infrastructure...
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Post by erik on Jul 30, 2014 8:39:09 GMT -5
I think the first question is whether people are willing to put up not only the money for these projects, but are also willing to put up with the inconvenience of having these repairs done--because, folks, that's what it's going to require.
One of the things most people don't realize, though I think Rick here does, is that much of L.A.'s water pipe system was built in the first quarter of the last century, when this was a city of under three quarters of a million people. And in the last several years, after decades of increased population strain, that system has begun to crack with really terrible results. If we aren't willing to put a concerted effort of money, time, and resources into repairing and monitoring that complex system that keeps things moving (not to mention making sure that money goes where it's intended, and not siphoned off by fraud), then we deserve exactly what we get (IMHO).
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2014 9:32:28 GMT -5
The scenario sounds like something out of the classic film 'Chinatown'..
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Post by erik on Jul 30, 2014 9:36:40 GMT -5
Quote by robertaxel:
Yes, come to think of it, it does. All we're missing is the 1930s cars, and Jack Nicholson with a nosebleed job.
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Post by rick on Jul 30, 2014 13:24:09 GMT -5
It is horrible what happened and that millions of gallons of water was wasted. If I may, the following just goes to show how in this age of the 24/7 news cycle, TV stations are so anxious to put someone on the air live, without VETTING if they are authentic.... Case in point.... Please watch the 2 1/2-minute YouTube video where "Mr. Slungpue" is taken seriously by Ellen Leyva of KABC…. L.A. Observed piece about UCLA water main break & Ellen Leyva of KABC7 getting punked |
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Post by erik on Jul 30, 2014 17:41:47 GMT -5
Quote by Rick:
It's the kind of thing that you'd normally laugh yourself into a hernia over....if it weren't real, that is. But it really is sad for a news reporter to be had like that on the air on this big story. Somebody at these d***ed TV stations should be minding the store, but, in the quest for something as nebulous as "ratings", no one's doing this anymore.
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Post by sliderocker on Aug 1, 2014 16:08:21 GMT -5
I think the first question is whether people are willing to put up not only the money for these projects, but are also willing to put up with the inconvenience of having these repairs done--because, folks, that's what it's going to require.
We know there's one group of people who are going to be opposed to any amount of spending, especially if some of the money comes from the federal government. I don't know about that group of people at the state, county or city levels in California but are the Do Nothings (as I call them) just as likely to be opposed at those levels as at the federal level? It has to be done and it's an expensive project that can't be fixed by the free market system of private businesses or paid for by private individuals. What happened in L.A. was unbelievable but it's something that will likely happen elsewhere as there are plenty of cities with old water pipes running through them.
One of the things most people don't realize, though I think Rick here does, is that much of L.A.'s water pipe system was built in the first quarter of the last century, when this was a city of under three quarters of a million people. And in the last several years, after decades of increased population strain, that system has begun to crack with really terrible results. If we aren't willing to put a concerted effort of money, time, and resources into repairing and monitoring that complex system that keeps things moving (not to mention making sure that money goes where it's intended, and not siphoned off by fraud), then we deserve exactly what we get (IMHO).
What also concerns me are our roads and bridges, many of which are in bad need of repairs or being rebuilt altogether, but here again, it's something that can't be done by the private businesses or private citizens. Many of the repairs or rebuilding can't be done at the state level either. We had a bridge here in Oklahoma that was shut down and condemned because it was weakening due to heavier traffic flow and in danger of collapsing. The bridge connected two towns to each other and it took over a year for the state to find the money needed to put in another, stronger bridge. I don't think our Republican-dominated government planned on doing anything about it - more of the free market will take care of the problem, but the free market couldn't and the state had to find the money for the bridge. I think they had to go to the federal government for assistance and that must've killed them to have done that. But, what once took the people of those two towns only minutes to go from one town to the other, turned into having to take an alternate route that took forty-five minutes minimum. The Do-Nothing legislators couldn't sit on their keisters hoping and praying private businesses would find the solution. But, private business couldn't divert enough funds from their companies to build a new bridge. The bridge was proof the free market system can't fix everything and it's ironic the Do Nothings still hold onto the belief the free market system can do everything and taxpayer money isn't needed.
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