Downsizing Blog
Transportation Cliff or Pothole?
Recent news reports have zeroed in on Washington’s next “cliff,” the “transportation cliff” that is expected to happen when the federal Highway Trust Fund runs out of money sometime this summer. Most of those articles have a hidden agenda: to increase spending for transit even though transit now gets 20 percent of federal surface transport dollars but carries little more than 1 percent of the travel carried by automobiles (about 55 billion passenger miles by transit vs. 4.3 trillion passenger miles in cars and light trucks). This post will explain some of the politics of the transportation cliff.
Cut Spending Because Government Hurting Nation
I have posted an updated plan to cut spending by one fifth and balance the federal budget. These cuts are not the only ones needed, but they are a mix of reasonable reforms spread broadly across the government.
Mad Magazine vs. Hollywood
Side-by-side obituaries in the Washington Post on Sunday were an interesting juxtaposition.
Highway Bill: Another Spending Test for the GOP
Chris Edwards testified yesterday to the Senate Finance Committee regarding federal highway and transit funding. Some thoughts.
All Aboard the Privatization Train
With the expiration of the current federal highway bill in a few months, the infrastructure issue is heating up. Newspapers are ginning up interest with stories about deficient and falling down bridges.
I Thought Liberals Favored Diversity?
Frequent stories in the Washington Post describe failures in federal management and programs. There are also frequent stories about efforts to further centralize power in Washington. The ambitions are endless, even though the failures keep piling up.
WaPo’s Bridge Story Is Structurally Deficient
Oh dear, yet another scare story about falling-down bridges. A Washington Post headline today in the hardcopy is “63,000 Bridges Structurally Deficient, U.S. Says.”
Federal Government Often Selfish, Not Selfless
A new Rasmussen poll finds that just 19 percent of voters think that the federal government “does the right thing nearly all the time.” The poll also finds that two-thirds of voters think that the government “looks out primarily for its own interests.”
White House Helicopter Fleet
Did you know that the White House has a fleet of 19 helicopters? The Washington Post today discusses efforts to replace this fleet of aging Sikorsky’s with 21 new vehicles yet to be procured. The fleet is used by the president, vice president, and cabinet secretaries.
Risking Taxpayer Dollars on DOE Loan Guarantees
In February, I highlighted the Department of Energy’s issuance of a $6.5 billion loan guarantee to build a nuclear power facility in Georgia. At the time, the project was behind schedule with cost overruns, and the project’s owners had already secured private financing. Yet DOE issued the loan guarantee anyway.