Article: "Are the Dead From the Minneapolis Bridge Collapse Victims of Conservative Ideology?"

From an article by Joshua Holland on AlterNet entitled Are the Dead From the Minneapolis Bridge Collapse Victims of Conservative Ideology?:

I would argue that skimping out on infrastructure investments in the name of a low tax burden is a triumph of ideology over commonsense, but it goes beyond that. Conservative philosophy stresses limited government, not bad government, and nothing can change the fact that the public sector remains the only way to organize collectively when there's no profit involved. So nobody seriously believes that the the hidden hand of capitalism is going to step in and inspect and repair bridges that are open to the public. When lawmakers don't fund that work, they know full well that it won't get done.

...

According to the Pioneer Press, the bridge's suspension system was supposed to receive extra attention with inspections every two years, but the last one had been performed in 2003. The governor had every reason to obfuscate; in 2005, he vetoed a bipartisan transportation package that would have "put more than $8 billion into highways, city and county roads, and transit over the next decade." At the time, he was applauded by many Republicans for his staunch fiscal "conservatism."

Comments

[anonymous]

The New York Times reports the following:

Tons of Repaving Material Was on Bridge at Collapse
By PAM BELLUCK and MATTHEW L. WALD (NY TIMES)

MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 5 — Trucks carrying tens of thousands of pounds of crushed stone were parked on the Interstate 35W bridge, and more stone was sitting on the deck when the bridge collapsed, investigators said Sunday, raising suspicions that the added weight of materials intended for repairs may have played a role in the bridge failure.

The chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, Mark V. Rosenker, said investigators had questioned employees of Progressive Contractors Inc., which was doing work on the bridge deck, regarding quantities of various materials, specific equipment they had put on the bridge, and where the materials and equipment were on the bridge. The weight and location will be entered into a computer program, Mr. Rosenker said, to calculate the stresses generated on each girder and other bridge components.

So far, investigators say they have ruled out nothing and will consider everything from the expansion and contraction of the bridge in the extreme weather conditions of Minneapolis to the possible corrosive role of bird droppings.

The stone was being used to add a two-inch layer to the bridge deck. Its weight, and the weight of the trucks carrying it, would most likely not be a threat to a bridge in good condition, engineers said, but could play a role in causing the failure of a structure that was already weakened.

Completion of the computer analysis is probably still weeks away, investigators said. Once the wreckage is removed from the Mississippi River, the plan is to lay out the debris on shore and identify each piece of metal and its role in the structure, in an effort to determine what failed first.

Investigators will pay special attention to components that had been identified before the collapse as needing repair. The board’s final report on the collapse may be more than a year away.

Maybe we should hold off on the outlandish, politically motivated statements until we learn more about this tragedy.

[John Michlig]

There's no absolution for Democrats, either, by the way. Still I think the "no new taxes" crowd will have to think long and hard about consequences.

I find nothing in the NYT article you post to mitigate the disaster - - unless this was one of those special bridges that wasn't built to support MULTI-LANES of MULTI-TON SEMIS all day and all night.

[Josh Strupp]

I disagree. The "no new taxes" crowd wants government representatives to think long and hard about WHERE and FOR WHAT tax dollars are used for. Maybe the "no new taxes" crowd would have chosen to use taxpayer dollars for upkeep on EXISTING infrastructure rather than the multi-billion dollar bottomless pit that is LRT (which runs from the airport to downtown and absolutely no where else.....until the taxpayers hand over another couple billion dollars for expansion that is).

Just a little side note John. The Minneapolis metro area is third only to San Francisco and Seattle in terms of liberal tendencies aong large cities so maybe pointing the finger at conservatives for the bridge failure is a bit misguided. I think you'll find more liberals in the driver's seat in St. Paul than you think.

[John Michlig]

I posted the article as someone else's opinion to consider.

The "no new taxes" crowd certainly STARTED with the philosophy you describe, but it has grown into a dogma that is brayed during elections to sheep who should know better - - the fact is, it costs money to keep up with all the new freeways and bridges being built by Republicans AND Democrats. That's just reality. Politicians trying to keep dumb campaign promises are now seeing vital civic components wither and die. Been to a park in Milwaukee County lately?

Are Democrats culpable as well? Yes.

The main thrust of this blog is the present state of our communities in terms of how our towns and cities are planned and built. The present state of our communities - - which I and many others believe is sorely wanting - - began a precipitous downslide after Proposition 13 was passed in California. We are paying for that "victory" in ways big and small all across the country.

Also, the Minneapolis Metro "liberal area" apparently neglected to vote in the last Governor's race there ...

[Josh Strupp]

I enjoy the focus of your blog John. I agree that the present state of our communities needs should be discussed in greater detail than it currently does.

On a side note, many in the "no new taxes" crowd understand, like you do, that services and infrastructure cost money. And yes, the politicians, especially on my side of the aisle, use terms like "tax hell" to gets votes. But that doesn't change the fact that government, by and large, is fiscally irresponsible and ineffecient (i.e. Milwaukee County employees that used to cut the grass 3 times a week at Grant Park in the middle of August because they needed something to do). Some of the backlash you see from the "no new taxes" crowd is a direct result of government representatives abusing the power they are given by the people by voting themselves bloated pensions and benefits or adding rediculous pork barrel projects to the budget. My point is that significant tax increases are NOT the solution to the problems you blog about.

P.S. I go to Whitnall Park almost every week, golf at Oakwood Golf Course (for cheap!), play softball at West Milwaukee and Wilson Park, and visit Grant Beach on occasion as well. Complaining about the conditions of the Milwaukee Park system is ridiculous to put it nicely.

Minnesota has a Republican Governor. I must be way off base about the Minneapolis metro's liberal tendencies.

[John Michlig]

I agree with you, Josh. The base ethos from which fiscal conservatism springs is something we need in government.

I'm frustrated, however, by the monster it's become in the hands of people less discerning than yourself. It's become empty dogma, and it feeds our current narcissism and overwhelming sense of self-entitlement.

You're right - significant tax increases aren't the answer, but we all have to come to the realization that what we've built - and the WAY we've built it - is going to mean we have to pay the freight until a new SUSTAINABLE paradigm is constructed. There's some middle ground there that we won't hear about on talk radio.

In other words, we gotta bite the bullet and pay SOME taxes rather than, for instance, ghettoize our bus system or let our parks continue to decay just so we can afford a hot tub.

RE the parks - you honestly don't notice any drastic difference in conditions as I do?

[Josh Strupp]

I agree. It would be nice to find some middle ground regarding taxes. I have no problem with modest increases as long as government is transparent about where the funding is going.

As for the County Parks. I haven't noticed one deficiency yet. They still look like big open landscapes with trees and grass (and the occasional picnic table, playground set too.) Still waiting for the first overflowing garbage can but none as of yet!