East Coast outages could last most of the week

Wow... A bit of infrastructure spending might have forestalled this issue but instead we got the Volt and bankruptcy infected solar companies. I guess Obama doesn't care. Most of them are just rednecks anyway, clinging to their guns and their bibles...
 
Was listening to the 9:00 gal on CNN this morning and even wrote a response to her Facebook poll where she was asking if the power companies should be penalized for not restoring power sooner. Told her that was really dumb. Well, not in those exact words. :)
 
Damocles said:
Wow... A bit of infrastructure spending might have forestalled this issue but instead we got the Volt and bankruptcy infected solar companies. I guess Obama doesn't care. Most of them are just rednecks anyway, clinging to their guns and their bibles...
Click to expand...

obama has been trying to invest in infrastructure but the gop is opposing him

seems that the rednecks do not want money invested in their infrastructure...until they need them and then it is too late
 
Don Quixote said:
obama has been trying to invest in infrastructure but the gop is opposing him

seems that the rednecks do not want money invested in their infrastructure...until they need them and then it is too late
Click to expand...

Link? This spending should have taken place for recovery spending. It's what the Stimulus should have been spent on rather than bankruptcy infected solar companies. Remember him jocularly laughing with reporters on how "shovel ready" wasn't as "shovel ready" as he had "hoped"? My guess is you are talking about his sudden interest in actually creating shovel ready work... just in time for an election.
 
Don Quixote said:
obama has been trying to invest in infrastructure but the gop is opposing him

seems that the rednecks do not want money invested in their infrastructure...until they need them and then it is too late
Click to expand...

LMAO... he said he would 'invest' in infrastructure with part of the stimulus bill in 2009, when Dems controlled everything. He failed to do so. Now as the election nears and unemployment remains above the level Obama said it would not go if we gave him his stimulus money for the 40th month (or so)... NOW he wants to actually spend money on infrastructure again. After he has run up deficits of over $1 Trillion in each of his years in office.
 
As for the East Coast... here is a shovel ready (literally) job... quit putting your power lines up on poles. Join the 21st century and put them in the ground. That way power doesn't go out during severe storms.
 
Superfreak said:
As for the East Coast... here is a shovel ready (literally) job... quit putting your power lines up on poles. Join the 21st century and put them in the ground. That way power doesn't go out during severe storms.
Click to expand...

THIS!!! The parent company of the company I work for is the biggest utility construction company around. We do less underground work on the east coast than virtually anywhere else.

Put the lines underground!

As for why its taking so long, there are thousands of guys busting their ass out there as we speak. But handling powerlines is not like plugging in cables. Some of the best are climbing poles and running bucket trucks in the heat to get things restored.
 
WinterBorn said:
THIS!!! The parent company of the company I work for is the biggest utility construction company around. We do less underground work on the east coast than virtually anywhere else.

Put the lines underground!

As for why its taking so long, there are thousands of guys busting their ass out there as we speak. But handling powerlines is not like plugging in cables. Some of the best are climbing poles and running bucket trucks in the heat to get things restored.
Click to expand...

yeah... I know they are busting their asses... and doing so in nasty heat. I applaud their efforts. You would think the 'intellectual elite' of the northeast would have a bit of common sense and bury the damn things. There is plenty of labor right now. Put everyone who is getting an unemployment check to work for 8 hours a week digging ditches etc... to bury them. They can spend the rest of the week 'looking for work'. That way it can be done without costing anything additional (for the ditch digging part anyway)
 
Superfreak said:
yeah... I know they are busting their asses... and doing so in nasty heat. I applaud their efforts. You would think the 'intellectual elite' of the northeast would have a bit of common sense and bury the damn things. There is plenty of labor right now. Put everyone who is getting an unemployment check to work for 8 hours a week digging ditches etc... to bury them. They can spend the rest of the week 'looking for work'. That way it can be done without costing anything additional (for the ditch digging part anyway)
Click to expand...

That sounds good. But I doubt most could do an 8 hour ditch digging job. Plus it has gotten a lot more technologically advanced in recent years. Few jobs burying lines (or conduit for those lines) involve long open ditches. Missiling or stitch-boring is the most common method, with HDD (horizontal directional boring) coming in second.

But we could sure put the young and strong to work, along with a huge load of hispanics.
 
WinterBorn said:
That sounds good. But I doubt most could do an 8 hour ditch digging job. Plus it has gotten a lot more technologically advanced in recent years. Few jobs burying lines (or conduit for those lines) involve long open ditches. Missiling or stitch-boring is the most common method, with HDD (horizontal directional boring) coming in second.

But we could sure put the young and strong to work, along with a huge load of hispanics.
Click to expand...

Did not know that. Well, we could still have them dig ditches. Just for shits and giggles. I do believe that those on unemployment (and welfare) should be put to work for at least 8-16 hours a week doing something.
 
Damocles said:
Just have them dig holes and fill them back up while you bore out the pipe for the lines.
Click to expand...

There is always a need for a shovel operator on these projects. But typically these crews are paid by production. They get X dollars per foot buried. So the diggers have to hustle. Something american laborers are not usually good at. We have tried them in numerous places.
 
Damocles said:
Wow... A bit of infrastructure spending might have forestalled this issue but instead we got the Volt and bankruptcy infected solar companies. I guess Obama doesn't care. Most of them are just rednecks anyway, clinging to their guns and their bibles...
Click to expand...

Umm power companys are private industries.
Can't they properly reinvest in THEIR infrastructure? Or do they need government handouts?
 
Occupant said:
Umm power companys are private industries.
Can't they properly reinvest in THEIR infrastructure? Or do they need government handouts?
Click to expand...

LOL. I don't know, what about car companies, banks, and bankruptcy infected Solar companies? Do they need government handouts?

I'm just holding to actual Keynesian theories. Spend on infrastructure during recession, not on speculation.
 
Occupant said:
Umm power companys are private industries.
Can't they properly reinvest in THEIR infrastructure? Or do they need government handouts?
Click to expand...

Putting a medium sized citiy's lines underground would cost millions of dollars. The entire segment for a large power company could run into the billions of dollars to put all the lines underground. Gov't grants and matching funds are typically used in utility upgrades of this type.

The gov't is heavily involved in the infrastructure of public utilities.
 
WinterBorn said:
Putting a medium sized citiy's lines underground would cost millions of dollars. The entire segment for a large power company could run into the billions of dollars to put all the lines underground. Gov't grants and matching funds are typically used in utility upgrades of this type.

The gov't is heavily involved in the infrastructure of public utilities.
Click to expand...

It's one of the reasons they get a monopoly and are largely controlled by PUCs...
 
Damocles said:
LOL. I don't know, what about car companies, banks, and bankruptcy infected Solar companies? Do they need government handouts?

I'm just holding to actual Keynesian theories. Spend on infrastructure during recession, not on speculation.
Click to expand...

I did not realize you were Keynesian...

Our govt is brainwashed on specualtion. If it is good for Wall Street it is good for America.
A mindset that is pulling us down the tubes.
 
Superfreak said:
So was GM
Click to expand...
Agreed I was against both bailouts.
If you can't run your business correctly you need to go out of business.
If the need is there someone else will do it.

The stimulus should have been psent on projects the govt owns.
Highways, schools, water/sewer projects, etc.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top