singleparent's Profile

Located in: Rochester, MN

Current Status: (Offline)

Total Comments: 126

Latest Comments

• Reid sets markers for historic health care debate

  Yep, they announced it.  10 hours of “debate” and then a vote.  2000 pages, 10 hours.  So they need to “discuss and come to consensus” upon 3.3 pages per minute.  Kind of funny when it would take over 31 hours to read the bill into the Congressional Record.  Who cares, it’s only other peoples money and lives we are playing with.

  11/20/2009 8:14 AM
• Reid sets markers for historic health care debate

  Debate...that’s funny.  There isn’t going to be any debate.  A bunch of speeches from both parties towing the party line, and the arms of blue dog democrats twisted behind their backs by Rahm Emanuel an Harry Reid.  Debate?  That would signify the free exchange of ideas and a discussion of the actual details in the bill.  Never going to happen.  Washington is BROKEN.

  11/19/2009 3:57 PM
• 'Jobless recovery' is a lump of coal, courtesy of Obama

  A stimulus in itself is not a bad idea to temporarily, artificially prop up a bad economy.  The problem with this stimulus is that it grew government, earmarked everything under a government program, and “created or saved” temporary jobs.  The jobs are under government contract or grant, so no real business expansion has been created to maintain the jobs past the stimulus money.  The money isn’t spent yet because the government is so bureaucratic and disorganized that they are still trying to doll all of the money out.  There was never a plan to delay the majority of the expenditures until 2010.

  The Obama administration is “betting on the come” that private sector employment will benefit from the leak off approach.  It was doomed from the beginning, and it will not work.

  Look at our school district.  It saved the layoffs of 18 teachers through the stimulus.  What happens next year when the money is gone?  It’s nothing more than a delay of the inevitable. 

  The stimulus should have been focused on small business.  Providing incentives and low interest loans to business for expansion or product development.  Instead, the government grew itself and once the money is gone will need to contract.  Ever hear of a state or federal government entity getting smaller?  Me neither.  Get ready for higher taxes.

  11/19/2009 11:20 AM
• 'Renewed interest' in personal rapid transit

  Ok, I can see the sense of humor isn’t present this morning.  OK, what is the cost benefit analysis of installing rails at $7 to $15 million dollars per mile?  That doesn’t put a single car on the tracks. 

  Let’s just look at something simple.  Broadway from 37th Street NW to 27th Street SE and East Circle to West Circle drive.  Basically one big cross dissecting Rochester.  About 14 miles of track.... costing approximately $105 million dollars to install, using the meager $7 million per mile.  Not upkeep, no other lines.  No cars. 

  So, let’s quadruple the installation costs to account for cars and additional lines. $420 million. Annual upkeep and maintenance, what? 5%.  So that’s $21 million.

  Let’s assume a 30 year estimated useful life.  Cost per year - $35 million.  If you can get 7.3 million riders per year (365 days X 10,000 people X 2 trips per day).  That’s only $10 per day to get you to and from work.  And what does the bus cost?

  Like I said.... HOGWASH!

  11/18/2009 12:33 PM
• 'Renewed interest' in personal rapid transit

  Within a half a mile?  In January, at -20, with a -40 degree wind chill?  How many body parts freeze off on that walk?

  This is a bunch of hogwash.  Maybe a review of the Simpson’s monorail episode is in order.  At least they were TRYING to be funny.

  11/18/2009 11:44 AM

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