Bridges Too Far

Anybody who drives - I'm guessing most of the people reading this - is probably receptive to the meme of "our nation's infrastructure is crumbling". Yet, though billions of dollars are spent annually between all levels of government as soon as one thing gets fixed or improved, another starts falling apart. What's the real story of America's infrastructure? Frankly it's us, the taxpayers, getting screwed.

A couple of weeks ago, a story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette by Jon Schmitz, "Pennsylvania bridges better, but still need work", caught my eye. The article mentions how in the last three years the number of "structurally deficient" bridges in Pennsylvania has dropped by 1,100. Before you breathe easy, that still leaves about 4,500 in the Commonwealth that need some TLC ("structurally deficient...does not mean they are unsafe but that they are showing signs of deterioration that, if unaddressed, could lead to weight limits or closings").

Later in the article, Mr. Schmitz points out that one of the most important bridges in the Pittsburgh area is on the needy list:

One of the biggest bridges on the deficient list, the Liberty Bridge in Downtown Pittsburgh, is in need of rehabilitation that will cost an estimated $40 million to $60 million, he said. Final design of the project is expected to begin this year but construction funding is not yet available. More than 16,500 vehicles use the bridge on an average day. 

The bridge superstructure is marred with patches of rust and there are areas of corrosion and deterioration in the steel, but Mr. [Dan] Cessna said the span is safe. It is currently undergoing an in-depth inspection. 

The best-case scenario has rehabilitation starting in 2015 if funding becomes available. The department will make interim repairs as necessary until then, Mr. Cessna said.

Dan Cessna is the executive of Pennsylvania Department of Transportation District 11, comprising Allegheny, Beaver, and Lawrence counties. Everybody in Pittsburgh knows the Liberty Bridge, the tunnels that join the bridge to pass under Mount Washington, the lengthy traffic jams during rush hours on both, and what a complete pig's breakfast transportation around here would be if the bridge failed or had to be closed for safety reasons. $40-60 million seems like a bargain to keep the bridge safe and sound. But is it?

Pig(ford)s at the trough

(Important blogger's note: the title of this post is in no means to be interpreted as disparaging or demeaning to Mr. Timothy Pigford, the original named lead plaintiff in the class action suit that led to this travesty.)

"I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents."

"With respect to the two words 'general welfare', I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators."

Those two quotes are by James Madison, and on those topics, he'd be an authority as one of the principle authors of both the Constitution of the United States and the Federalist Papers written in support of the Constitution's ratification.

Last week, The New York Times came across a story of incredible fraud, waste, and graft coming out of the United States Department of Agriculture, generically known as "Pigford". Naturally, the Times was somewhat late to the game as the late Andrew Breitbart was on the story over two years before, and it has also been reported on by Breitbart.com writer Lee Stranahan, as well as numerous other new media sources.

Today is "Blog about Pigford Day", and rather than rehash all the details of the scandal in total, I'm choosing instead to comment on the root cause of how we got there. Naturally, it all comes back to the Constitution, and willful departure from the limited enumerated powers of our government.

Perhaps President Obama should have stood here

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that the crumbling Greenfield Bridge in the City of Pittsburgh will be replaced, with the existing structure being demolished by implosion in December 2014. Wait...what? Nothing to be done for three more years? This is ridiculous because this bridge has been falling down for about twenty years already.

I first came to Pittsburgh in 1989. I became an official PA resident in 1994. I got my first car in 1996, and at that time, used this particular bridge fairly regularly on my daily commute. It was falling down then. The bridge crosses over Interstate 376, known in Pittsburgh parlance as the "Parkway East". Take a look at the picture that the Trib used to illustrate the story:

The Greenfield Bridge is the arch structure. You'll notice that it has fabric netting wrapped around a large portion to contain falling concrete from the structure. You'll also notice the "bridge" beneath the bridge. What's that?

Well, sometime after the 2003 lawsuit by a motorist injured by falling debris, ostensibly from the city's bridge, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation used tax dollars to build a catcher for the debris - instead granting the money to, and working with, the City of Pittsburgh to fix the damn bridge!

This is government "efficiency" at its worst. Government at any level spends too much time on problems that it shouldn't try to fix, and almost as much time looking at problems it should be on top of and saying, "Sorry, not my problem!"

Transportation infrastructure is a responsibility of government, including the Federal government. I look at a "reasonable" interpretation of the Constitution, specifically Article I, Section 8, Clause 7:

[The Congress shall have power] To establish post offices and post roads

I'm sure the US Mail traverses most of our road infrastructure at one point or another. But, that really isn't the point. It's a city bridge, that crosses a US Interstate highway, that was built and is maintained by a state agency, that receives Federal highway dollars. In other words, it's a shared responsibility, and all have failed.

President Obama likes to stand near bridges that don't need repair or replacement while yapping that they do. Perhaps the next time he inconveniences our city with his presence, he can stand under this one and catch some concrete.

Your Government at Work

Were you aware that there is an entire web site dedicated to documenting the daily encroachment of our Federal government on our daily lives? It's even done by the USG itself: Regulations.gov!

Here's a great one that really shows our government focusing in like a laser beam on what is important to our daily lives and livelihoods: "Energy Conservation Program: Test Procedures for Residential Clothes Washers".

The available SNOPR document (that's a "Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking" for the uninitiated) shows how busy and productive the bureaucrats at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy have been in consuming your tax dollars. This supplemental notice is 36 pages long and contains things like the approved procedure of the United States Government for setting a washing machine dial (page 12):

The current test procedure specifies the wash time setting to be used in the energy test cycle....[F]or certain clothes washers equipped with an electromechanical dial to control wash time, the dial may yield different results for the same setting depending on the direction in which the dial is turned to reach the desired setting. DOE believes that consistency in setting the wash time in such cases may be achieved by resetting the dial to the minimum wash time and then turning it in the direction of increasing wash time to reach the desired setting. If the desired setting is passed, the dial should not be turned in the direction of decreasing wash time to reach the setting. Instead, the dial should be returned to the minimum wash time and then turned in the direction of increasing wash time until the desired setting is reached. DOE, therefore, proposes to add these clarifications to the wash time setting provisions in both appendix J1 and appendix J2.

Thirty-six pages detailing proposed changes to rules and regulations that cite other rules and regulations issued by a laundry list (pun intended) of other agencies and offices throughout the USG - not to mention the pages that list how this SNOPR complies with laws, rules, and regulations itself.. DOE helpfully estimates on page 17 that the current energy consumption testing costs for a washing machine manufacturer is only $2,300 per particular model and that the new rules will only increase that by $75. I seriously doubt the costs of actually complying with all the regulations is factored in.

We can, however, be assured and thankful that this particular DOE SNOPR does not endanger the family (page 18):

Section 654 of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 1999 (Pub. L. 105-277) requires Federal agencies to issue a Family Policymaking Assessment for any rule that may affect family well-being. This rule would not have any impact on the autonomy or integrity of the family as an institution. Accordingly, DOE has concluded that it is not necessary to prepare a Family Policymaking Assessment.

Yeah, we can all breathe easier now...

More Government Efficiency - 141 Years Late

The borders between the then Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona territories were first surveyed in 1868.

Colorado was admitted to the Union in 1876. Utah in 1896. New Mexico and Arizona in 1912.

And today in 2009, the National Geodetic Survey, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under the US Department of Commerce has determined that:

The Four Corners Monument is in the wrong place by two and a half miles!

Yet, Americans are still looking to the government to run the economy, run health care, run education...

Lord, help us.