This comment is hidden.
Show Comment
hunkalove · 70-79, M
You should see the potholes in Denver. It's supposed to be caused by the extremes in temperatures, like 20°F at night and 55° during the day. But the city government doesn't seem to care. A family of five in their SUV was recently found mummified in a pothole they had been trapped there so long!
dancingtongue · 80-89, M
@BritishFailedAesthetic @FreddieUK Tax bases are going to vary, even between states here in the U.S. In California the gas taxes (similar to a road tax I assume) and vehicle taxes are collected by the State and fund state highways. City streets and county roads, where the majority of potholes occur, are funded through property taxes. When Prop 13 severely curtailed property taxes -- the primary source of local community funding -- preventive maintenance of the infrastructure including city streets and county roads were cut severely.
The result has been two-fold -- the emergence of potholes as a problem (historically seldom a problem in most of the state where the climate is mild) and their being allowed to fester in severity until the cost of repairing them (and paying for all the lawsuits over damaged vehicles) soared.
"Starve the Beast," the mantra of the cut taxes indiscriminately crowd, is a nice, simplistic slogan. But self-defeating, if the Beast remains in power and cuts muscle rather than fat and inefficiency to reduce costs. Active campaigns to elect politicians who will go after corruption and inefficiency while assuring that cost-effective maintenance programs are retained would be far more effective, imho.
The result has been two-fold -- the emergence of potholes as a problem (historically seldom a problem in most of the state where the climate is mild) and their being allowed to fester in severity until the cost of repairing them (and paying for all the lawsuits over damaged vehicles) soared.
"Starve the Beast," the mantra of the cut taxes indiscriminately crowd, is a nice, simplistic slogan. But self-defeating, if the Beast remains in power and cuts muscle rather than fat and inefficiency to reduce costs. Active campaigns to elect politicians who will go after corruption and inefficiency while assuring that cost-effective maintenance programs are retained would be far more effective, imho.
FreddieUK · 70-79, M
@dancingtongue Very enlightening, thanks. We don't have hypothecated (posh for ring-fenced) taxes in the UK generally, but I'm interested in your note about who pays for the roads. Mostly our roads are the responsibility of the local authority, but major routes and motorways (freeways?) are overseen by a national organisation. Trunk roads and M-ways suffer less from potholes because they have more money spent on them, but all the rest have to paid for by cash-strapped councils.
Your last paragraph rings true for me, but I wouldn't use the word 'corruption' so much as the term 'undue influence' - a bit milder perhaps. No-one wants to pay tax, but we love complaining that 'someone else' must pay for what we like to have provided for us.
Your last paragraph rings true for me, but I wouldn't use the word 'corruption' so much as the term 'undue influence' - a bit milder perhaps. No-one wants to pay tax, but we love complaining that 'someone else' must pay for what we like to have provided for us.
whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M