Bridges and Beliefs
One of our basic beliefs as we go to work and back is that the bridge we have to cross will not fall down. When one does, as happened in Minneapolis yesterday, we want to know why. Our readers are asking questions, offering theories and pointing fingers while also praising the competence of the rescuers, who are working today as recovery teams with many people still missing. They want to know (or already have a strong opinion) about whether our tax dollars are being spent in the right place (Iraq instead of infrastructure) and concerned about whether something similar could happen here, wherever here is.
As clermontpc said, "this really makes you wonder. If this can happen there, it can happen anywhere."
And joejack65 wrote, "WoW!!! I can only imagine how many people are going to have anxiety when driving over bridges for awhile. My condolences to the families who lost loved ones to this tragedy!
I would also like to express my appreciation to the rescue workers for doing their job!!!"
But the political debate that envelopes much of our conversation these days is drawing the bulk of the comments about the Minneapolis tragedy. katman13 wrote that it's "Too bad we are spending billions on Bush's phony war against terror instead of investing in our infrastructure."
That concern was also expressed by ggwalt123, who wrote that "...If Republicans remain in power, I suspect we'll see more and more of this. With deregulation and tax cuts, there will be no money for maintenance or inspections, and no one to make sure things are being done properly. Once again proving that Republicans are a threat to our national security..."
But nowanna, with a tone that can only be regarded as sarcastic, said that "As expected, out of their caves come the 'blame Bush/Republicans/Iraq/Haliburton' crowd. We all know that if we had a Democrat in the White House, the tax cuts would have been repealed and used to fix up the bridges, specifically this bridge, with the extra money."
julian2 said, "...we should all stop pointing our finger at the Iraq war for a moment" and pointed to the fact that the Twins have postponed a scheduled game and delayed a ground-breaking ceremony "for the NEW BILLION DOLLAR STADIUM that will be effectively given to the Twins in order to get them to stay in Minnesota. A touching show of respect for the dead, don't you think?"
And Washington area reader killerm raised a long-running local issue in writing, "...Should one of our local beltway bridges suffer the same fate what is the regions plan to route traffic? To me this highlights the need for a new bridge across the Potomac from Maryland to Virginia."
All comments on the Minneapolis bridge story are here.
By Doug Feaver |
August 2, 2007; 8:48 AM ET
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Posted by: Locustspicy | August 3, 2007 6:43 AM
I live in Mineapolis and have driven over that bridge twice every day for the last 12 years. It's been resurfaced multiple times in that period, it's been inspected at twice the norm (it's inspected yearly, rather than every other year). Minneapolis believes in high taxes and high public spending. If you can't pay for infrastructure here, you can't pay for it anywhere.
It isn't that we aren't paying for infrastructure, it's that we are not getting what we are paying for.
Let's not ask the taxpayer for more - lets ask for more for our tax dollar.
Posted by: kents | August 2, 2007 10:21 PM
we're all smart people -- i mean, we're reading this top-of-the-line newspaper, and not getting our news from some breathless TV reporter. we all know this bridge collapse is telling us something. everyone who drives the interstate daily has seen for themselves in what state of repair the infrastructure is in. and how this massive ribbon of highways across the country was the product of a different america. while we're busy patting ourselves on the backs as the royal nonesuch of history, it's not london bridge that's falling down...
Posted by: wpahnelas | August 2, 2007 12:32 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
Over a lifetime of 65 years, I have watched the Federal government deregulate everything. They deregulated the rail system, and it went sour. But we have air transportation and the highways, they said. The air transportation system was deregulated, and now most carriers are fighting to survive. Today as you drive your car on the highways, you are surrounded by trucks pounding the pavement and our bridges. Yes, deregulation, with competition, made things cheaper, but is deregulation worth the "price"? There is little leadership in this country anymore, and without overall leadership to our transportation systems, we are close to having no transportation system at all.