by Glenn Littrell
Drive cross country, on state or federal roads, and you will begin to worry about:
your car's tires and suspension and your safety crossing bridges (remember the Mississippi River bridge collapse in 2007).Drive through inner-cities and small towns and you will worry about;
your car's tires, suspension and body as you struggle with deteriorating lane markers, crumbling curbs and shoulders, and your safety crossing bridges. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-35W_Mississippi_River_bridge)For heavens sake, go through poor black, white or integrated neighborhoods or towns only in a rental car:
Then you won’t have to worry about the car size potholes, crumbling or absent sidewalks, un-marked street crossings.Plan to visit a city, state or National Park?
Be prepared for higher and higher user fess, curtailed hours of operations and understaffed service.Taking the train, live near a railroad track?
Think about the recent fatal crashes in Philadelphia and the Bronx.As a matter of fact, don't drive out of your town without a vehicle inspection and a roadside guide to city ordinances of the towns you'll drive through:
The age old speed trap and new creative city ordinance fines, tickets and service fees now fund small town budgets, and are now the primary revenue producers for cash strapped (starved) underfunded towns. (p.s. There is no such roadside guide, yet)Going to the VA for a serious ailment?
Be prepared to take heavy drugs to treat symptoms in lieu of expensive treatments that cure.Funding levels proposed by the majority (GOP/Republican'ts) would diminish our nation’s capacity to build and grow.
- The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development bill would cut Amtrak, causing deferred maintenance and capital investments
- The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development bill also slashes discretionary grant funding necessary to build and maintain highways, ports and subways.
- Cuts to affordable housing deny resources to eliminate lead poisoning in communities .
- the Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations bill would eliminate the successful Community Oriented Policing Services Hiring Program, resulting in 1,300 fewer law enforcement positions helping keep communities safe.
“Making each bill worse are ideological policy riders that benefit not the American people, but powerful special interests. …the trucking industry with provisions allowing longer and heavier trucks, delaying regulations ensuring truckers have adequate rest and preventing an increase in minimum insurance. The majority (Republican'ts) expands policy riders hindering enforcement of gun safety laws and meddles in foreign policy solely…”
