Politics, not policy, will drive transportation money
Georgia has a long, unfortunate history of making transportation decisions based on the needs and whims of politicians rather than the data-driven advice of transportation professionals.
With his appointment of Toby Carr as the state’s transportation planning director, the most important transportation job in the state, Gov. Nathan Deal has made it pretty clear that tradition isn’t going to change anytime soon.
Carr may be a fine person. However, he has no training in transportation engineering or planning. His professional background and area of expertise is in politics instead.
According to a short bio provided by the governor’s office, Carr has served as executive director of the state Republican Party. He was also executive director of Deal’s transition team.
In 2008, he was campaign coordinator for the House Republican caucus, and he also worked as a political consultant. He has bachelor degrees in finance and agricultural engineering. His only apparent background in transportation has been his service since January 2011 as Deal’s transportation policy adviser.
According to Deal spokesman Brian Robinson, that makes Carr a good pick for the job.
“The position is the governor’s advocate within the [Department of Transportation], which is governed by a separate board,” Robinson said. “Toby is very well qualified for such a job. He knows what the governor’s priorities are and he can work toward them at the DOT.”
In effect, he’s saying that the governor views the job of transportation planning director as a political rather than a policy job. And under the job description provided by Robinson, Carr is indeed well-qualified to serve as “the governor’s advocate within the DOT.”
However, that’s not how state law describes the job. Under state law, the duties of that position are far more extensive and require far more knowledge and experience in transportation planning that Carr possesses.
Statutorily, the director of transportation planning is charged with “developing the state transportation improvement program and the state-wide strategic transportation plan and coordinating transportation policies, planning, and programs related to design, construction, maintenance, operations, and financing of transportation.”
I don’t think running the state Republican Party prepares you for all that.
In addition, the director is charged with developing a statewide transportation asset management program, an asset improvement program and a local maintenance and improvement grant program. Under the Transportation Investment Act of 2010, he or she also plays a critically important role in the drafting of regional project lists to be funded with the proposed 1-percent regional transportation sales tax.
Carr’s predecessor, Todd Long, left the job a month ago to become deputy transportation commissioner. From the outside, it’s now pretty apparent that he was pushed out to make room for Carr.
And unfortunately, the contrast between the two is significant: Long has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in civil engineering from Georgia Tech, plus almost two decades of experience in transportation and transportation planning. His background and the credibility that it gave him were valuable as he worked with regional officials around the state to draw up project lists for the July T-Splost.
The decision to appoint Carr, on the other hand, doesn’t exactly boost voter confidence that politics won’t dictate how their transportation dollars will be spent. The revenue from that particular tax can be spent only on the projects already approved, but in general it’s not an encouraging sign.
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439 comments Add your comment
Jm
April 27th, 2012
9:03 am
Usinuk
That’s probably your expertise….
I find prediction to be overly risky, and results in higher type 2 error
(ir)Rational
April 27th, 2012
9:03 am
ty – That could be turned around and be just as true. I think what should be said is: both parties elect unqualified people, and both parties appoint them.
ty webb
April 27th, 2012
9:05 am
and Bookman’s peanut gallery anoints them.
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
April 27th, 2012
9:06 am
JohnnyReb
April 27th, 2012
8:52 am
OK, let’s cut to the chase on this piece. Jay and you Moonbats only have your panties in a wad over this because Republicans are in charge. If the governor was a Democrat, you would be finding ways to defend him against any criticisim – just as you do for the loser in chief.
Piffle
Donovan
Piffle with nuts
JohnnyReb
April 27th, 2012
9:06 am
(ir)Rational – I confess to not knowing the details of the job responsibilities. Jay writes:
Statutorily, the director of transportation planning is charged with “developing the state transportation improvement program and the state-wide strategic transportation plan and coordinating transportation policies, planning, and programs related to design, construction, maintenance, operations, and financing of transportation.
Time will tell if Deal’s decision was a mistake. However, I don’t see the state transportation director spending time ensuring the correct concrete mix goes into each road/bridge. There is staff for those tasks. A supervisor, coordinator and deal maker may prove the best.
Whahema
April 27th, 2012
9:06 am
I just. Threw up in my mouth.
Does Bookman think that politics does not drive MARTA?
Jm
April 27th, 2012
9:06 am
Prediction causes gamma error too
USinUK
April 27th, 2012
9:08 am
Jm – 9:03 – meh – I’m a youngest – from birth, I’ve always been a “where are we going? oh. okay.” roll-with-the-punches kinda gal …
that’s why I have always hated the “where do you see yourself in 5 years” question in interviews – most of the best places I’ve wound up have been things that I NEVER would have predicted
(ir)Rational
April 27th, 2012
9:08 am
JohnnyReb – Your point being? That you’re doing exactly what you said Jay would be doing had the parties been reversed? Time may prove me wrong, but I suspect that this was a mistake.
TaxPayer
April 27th, 2012
9:09 am
I reviewed a recent proposal for a little bypass and could not help but ask myself who owned select pieces of land in key spots because that had to be the primary consideration behind the final layout. Naw! That would never happen! That would be like politicizing transportation efforts for monetary gain. Naw! Tell me it ain’t so.
JohnnyReb
April 27th, 2012
9:10 am
Road Scholar
April 27th, 2012
9:01 am
Johnny Reb: Are you saying that Tom Moreland and Hal Rives and the present Commissioner Keith Golden are incompetent because they are engineers?
_____________________________
No, I’m not stating that, but in a way Jay did. He wrote – Georgia has a long, unfortunate history of making transportation decisions based on the needs and whims of politicians rather than the data-driven advice of transportation professionals.
Sounds like to me trying a different approach may be in order.
Finn McCool (Class Warfare === Stopping Rich People from TAKING MORE of OUR MONEY)
April 27th, 2012
9:11 am
Newt who?
Road Scholar
April 27th, 2012
9:12 am
Johnny Reb: What does this man know and have experience in addressing Federal and state transportation Regs, Air quality standards, planning models, transportation history and legislation, etc? Staff and consultants do much of the work. But experience is what sets qualified managers of planners apart.
JamVet - Stay ignorant, my friends...
April 27th, 2012
9:12 am
By the way…the similarities between Obama and Jimmy Carter are so close in retrospect that it is scarey.
Jimmy Carter was Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln all rolled into one compared to your hero – George (W)orst ever Bush.
Carter had Camp David. George had Abu Ghraib.
Jeez. Open a book, now and then, huh?
GWBush was a consummated and deadly failure. And if you ever did look (HA!) you’d soon find out that he is down near the very bottom of every list of presidents. Every single one. While JC is somewhere between half way mark and two thirds down the list.
Only willfully uninformed GOP hacks even dare try to make a comparison…
carlosgvv
April 27th, 2012
9:14 am
Donovan – 8:57
But not to worry!! We can look forward to that “stand by your core issues” Romney and our bought and paid for Tea Party Congress to provide honest competent leadership for America.
Right, Elmer?
USinUK
April 27th, 2012
9:15 am
“By the way…the similarities between Obama and Jimmy Carter are so close in retrospect that it is scarey.”
okay, I’ll play.
list ‘em.
rightwing troll
April 27th, 2012
9:16 am
No surprises there… you get the government you voted for, and this is exactly what the wingnuts vote for time and time again. Three of the most powerful men in the state have bankrupted and/or defaulted on millions of dollars in loans without taking one whit of personal responsibility. Yet the wingnuts scream HARDER… FASTER…
rightwing troll
April 27th, 2012
9:16 am
USinUK,
Asking for facts or details is pointless, either they have none or they refuse to share.
JohnnyReb
April 27th, 2012
9:17 am
One other comment, then its off to do some work.
Georgia’s Transportation policy does seem to be FUBAR. Let’s face it, using TSPLOST funding for the Beltline is just like the Obama crony capitalism on green energy.
Will Deal and Carr fix things? Doesn’t sound like it. The best message to politicians to get their act together would be a defeat of TSPOST.
I know some of it is needed and many of you think it’s do or die, but its not. If it’s defeated the governments might actually get their act together and do what is best.
Adam
April 27th, 2012
9:17 am
Anyone notice gas prices have been going down? I wonder what the conservatives have to say when people suddenly go “Thank you, President Obama!!!!”
Road Scholar
April 27th, 2012
9:18 am
Johnney Reb: “No, I’m not stating that, but in a way Jay did. He wrote – Georgia has a long, unfortunate history of making transportation decisions based on the needs and whims of politicians rather than the data-driven advice of transportation professionals.
Sounds like to me trying a different approach may be in order.”
Over the past 15 years, the governor’s and other politicians control over the Department has increased immeasurably. Each year the governor’s intrusion into the Board elections was more obvious. Now with placing people inside GDOT as managers of the Money (not just transportation) reeks of control. Remember Gena and her gang of 7( treasurer, lawyer, added upper management positions, etc.) tried a coup that even the Board couldn’t stand!
USinUK
April 27th, 2012
9:19 am
RWT – “Asking for facts or details is pointless, either they have none or they refuse to share.”
which is why I call them on their BS every flipping time.
Soothsayer
April 27th, 2012
9:23 am
“The Presidency tends, year by year, to go to such men. As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”
– H. L. Mencken ~1930
Mencken has foretold the presidency of George W. Bush.
Normal Free, Plain and Simple
April 27th, 2012
9:24 am
Adam
April 27th, 2012
9:17 am
I’m not sure why anyone would thank President Obama for low gas prices anymore as why they would blame him for high gas prices. Not a thing he can do without nationalizing the oil industry. He’s just the easiest to blame by the uninformed. Think about it…uninformed people…the GOP secret weapon. Ignorance, the other right wing meat…
Finn McCool (Class Warfare === Stopping Rich People from TAKING MORE of OUR MONEY)
April 27th, 2012
9:24 am
For the last year or two, Europe has been implementing, in real time, exactly the policies that Romney and congressional Republicans fervently believe are the best strategy for boosting economic growth. It’s called “austerity,” and it means cutting deficits, slashing spending, and chipping away at all those goodies the social welfare state provides.
And guess what? It’s not working. Compared with the United States, Europe is in shambles. Unemployment is rising across the continent. Just this week, the United Kingdom, which has pursued an austerity regime so severe that it makes House Republicans drool with lust, slipped back into recession. In France, the socialist candidate for president (and likely winner), François Hollande, has been campaigning against austerity. Italy’s prime minister, Mario Monti, is expressing qualms. The latest news out of Brussels, according to the Daily Telegraph, suggests “a major shift in economic strategy” as fears spread “that excessive fiscal tightening will inflict unnecessary damage on a string of eurozone countries.”
http://www.salon.com/2012/04/27/mitt_the_real_european/
Finn McCool (Class Warfare === Stopping Rich People from TAKING MORE of OUR MONEY)
April 27th, 2012
9:26 am
The evidence keeps amassing. Maybe, just maybe, John Maynard Keynes was right: Cutting government spending in the face of a weak economy is a recipe for further decline. In a startling turnabout, political leaders all over Europe are questioning the merits of austerity and calling for more stimulative policies.
You can see the problem Romney faces, and why he might suddenly be reluctant to utter the word “Europe.” The facts are uncomfortable: Under Obama, the United States has recovered more quickly from the Great Recession than has Europe. Economic growth is steadier, and unemployment is falling faster. But if Romney wins the White House………..
USinUK
April 27th, 2012
9:27 am
Finn – 9:24 – but didn’t you see the Kylie article that dB so kindly pointed us to???
they haven’t done TRUE austerity … only Greece has …
and look how well that’s doing for them!!
JohnnyReb
April 27th, 2012
9:27 am
Adam
April 27th, 2012
9:17 am
Anyone notice gas prices have been going down? I wonder what the conservatives have to say when people suddenly go “Thank you, President Obama!!!!”
______________________________________________
Adam – I post a good bye for now; see the BS above and can’t resist. OMG, you are hopeless.
Obama and his supporters can’t go around stating he has little to no control over gas prices, then when the prices drop praise Obama.
Mr_B
April 27th, 2012
9:27 am
April 27th, 2012
8:13 am
James Thomas
April 27th, 2012
8:05 am
Hmmmm..I wonder if the same thing can be said about someone who has never served in the military being commander in chief.
I dunno… Might want to ask one the these guys:
John Adams
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
Franklin Roosevelt
Woodrow Wilson
and a few others.
USinUK
April 27th, 2012
9:29 am
So, Donovan … we’re waiting … all these billions of ways that Obama is like Carter … what are they??? we’re all dying to know …
Soothsayer
April 27th, 2012
9:30 am
The mainstream media is a platform for the lies of their corporate sponsors. Each TV network or newspaper spouts propaganda that supports the financial interests and ideology they are beholden to. Does anyone think they are obtaining the truth from Paul Krugman, Chris Matthews, Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh? Evidently the answer is yes. The upcoming presidential campaign will be a nightmare of endless negative advertisements created by Madison Avenue maggots and paid for by rich powerful men attempting to herd the mindless sheeple towards their ultimate slaughter.
The purpose of those who wield power is to keep the masses dumbed down and paranoid regarding terrorist threats and artificial enemies. By convincing the dense public that acquiring material goods on credit was a smart thing to do, they have trapped them in a web of debt. By making life an inexhaustible bureaucratic nightmare or rules, regulations, forms, ID cards, registrations, and red tape, those in power maintain control and accumulate power.
Common Sense
April 27th, 2012
9:32 am
I am not voting for any more taxes that let grown adults build their pet train projects. The roads sit underutilized the majority of the day.
Time shifiting of demand is a much less expensive solution. But then you cannot help your buddies get rich, nor create a lifetime position for yourself doing that, can you?
Steve - USA (I support "None Of The Above")
April 27th, 2012
9:34 am
Back on topic. That was a pretty pathetic choice.
GDP TwoPointTwo
April 27th, 2012
9:34 am
Anyone notice gas prices have been going down? I wonder what the conservatives have to say when people suddenly go “Thank you, President Obama!!!!”
Obama Strategy
Make things really bad.
Improve things slightly.
Take Credit
Recon 0311 2533
April 27th, 2012
9:37 am
2.2% GDP first quarter down from 3% GDP fourth quarter last year. So, we’re heading in the right direction?
USinUK
April 27th, 2012
9:39 am
“2.2% GDP first quarter down from 3% GDP fourth quarter last year. So, we’re heading in the right direction?”
um. yes. it’s still good, solid growth.
sheesh.
Adam
April 27th, 2012
9:40 am
You guys fall for bait way too easily.
Of course he has no control over gas prices. But you guys only give lip service to this argument, usually, by pretending that when gas prices are going up that Obama had something to do with it. And when they go down? Silence. No one on the right wing radio or shows is talking about gas prices right now because they are going down. They like to lay blame on Obama when things are bad, even though they themselves will admit when a right wing President is in power, that the President has no control over gas prices.
So no, JohnnyReb, I wasn’t actually serious. But if you really believe that the President has nothing to do with gas prices, you should call out your comrade GDP TwoPointTwo for saying that Obama has made things bad, improved things, and is taking credit for the improvement.
USinUK
April 27th, 2012
9:41 am
Underlying stats of GDP:
Household purchases increased 2.9 percent, exceeding the most optimistic projection. Homebuilding grew the fastest in almost two years.
it was held back by a decline in government spending
I would have thought that this would make some people happy … but noooooooooooooooo …
TaxPayer
April 27th, 2012
9:42 am
The solution to the gridlock is company-owned housing. You move in to a furnished unit provided by the company and the cost is included as part of your compensation. Who needs a car. If you leave the company, you lose the housing in order to make room for another employee. Hey! It worked back during the heyday of Georgia’s peonage system. And we’re already well on our way to getting that company-provided education system in place. I can see a revival of lost arts including brick-making.
Recon 0311 2533
April 27th, 2012
9:42 am
“um. yes. it’s still good, solid growth.”
Evidently math let alone basic economics is not your strong suit.
USinUK
April 27th, 2012
9:42 am
The rise in household consumption followed a 2.1 percent gain in the prior quarter and exceeded the 2.3 percent median forecast in the Bloomberg survey. Purchases added 2 percentage points to growth.
A job market that’s improved since the end of 2011 is underpinning demand. Employers increased payrolls by 635,000 from January through March, the biggest quarterly gain since the first three months of 2006, data from the Labor Department show. At the same time, the jobless rate has been above 8 percent for the past three years.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-27/economy-in-u-s-expands-at-2-2-annual-rate-less-than-forecast.html
USinUK
April 27th, 2012
9:43 am
Recon – 9:42 – it’s a lot stronger than yours, since you’re ignoring the underlying data in your rush to say “Obama suuuuuuuuuuuuucks”
Doggone/GA
April 27th, 2012
9:43 am
” The roads sit underutilized the majority of the day”
But that is not the fault of the politicians. That has more to do with the standard “business day” than anything to do with politics.
Adam
April 27th, 2012
9:43 am
USinUK: it was held back by a decline in government spending
But but but… the government can’t do ANYTHING to affect the economy directly. They can only “create an environment,” like a test tube.
Seriously though, arguments like that make me think of kids in science class who think the teacher doesn’t know what they are talking about, and then proceed to perform amateur science in a petri dish or on a bunsen burner and then blow something up.
Kid: OOOO PRETTY LIGHTS!!!
Teacher: “By the way kid, you got an F.”
USinUK
April 27th, 2012
9:44 am
you know, that’s such a nice phrase, I think I’ll post it again …
A job market that’s improved since the end of 2011 is underpinning demand. Employers increased payrolls by 635,000 from January through March, the biggest quarterly gain since the first three months of 2006
USinUK
April 27th, 2012
9:45 am
Adam – 9:43 – austerity.
s’all I’m saying.
TaxPayer
April 27th, 2012
9:45 am
Contrary to conned math, 2.2% is a positive growth.
ty webb
April 27th, 2012
9:45 am
ah yes, hypocritically contradicting one’s self to point out other’s contradictory hypocrisy…go ahead, you got’em right where you want’em.
Adam
April 27th, 2012
9:47 am
Here’s what the cons are really afraid of: That people will actually LISTEN to facts and evidence that show that things are getting better. Why? Not because the President has had a direct hand in most of it, but because they have spent the last FOUR YEARS trying to make it seem like President Obama is directly responsible for the economy, even parts of the economy that were tanking before he took office. If people actually start to believe that the economy is getting better, and are convinced of that, it unravels years of talking points.
And it’s just so GD hard to come up with new ones that stick, doncha know
USinUK
April 27th, 2012
9:47 am
http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article8292.html
if you scroll down to the GDP chart, you’ll see that average GDP since 1992 is right around 2.something-ish … so, yeah, 2.2% is nice, decent, solid, respectable growth.
Recon 0311 2533
April 27th, 2012
9:48 am
“Contrary to conned math, 2.2% is a positive growth.”
However, unacceptable it is to a recovering economy.
JohnnyReb
April 27th, 2012
9:49 am
Adam – the president does have something to do with gas prices. And, if you would watch news other than networks-in-the-tank-for-Obama you would see that energy/gas prices are being discussed.
The latest flap is over a regional EPA official giving a briefing on how he makes things tuff on energy producers. And, how a large gas field finding was shutdown over fracking that proved to be of no consequence.
Your champion’s energy policies are more than partly respoinsible for high gas prices.
Adam
April 27th, 2012
9:49 am
USinUK: “Now, some of you may be science majors in here. …. I like that. We need more scientists, need more engineers. Now, I was not a science major myself, but I enjoyed science when I was young. And if I recall correctly, if an experiment fails badly …. you learn from that, right? Sometimes you can learn from failure. That’s part of the data that teaches you stuff, that expands our knowledge. But you don’t then just keep on doing the same thing over and over again.
….
You go back to the drawing board. You try something different. But that’s not what’s been happening with these folks in Washington.”
Guess who said it?
USinUK
April 27th, 2012
9:49 am
“However, unacceptable it is to a recovering economy.”
unacceptable to people who are cheering for the collapse of the US under Obama’s leadership, more like.
Today’s Headlines | Streetsblog Capitol Hill
April 27th, 2012
9:50 am
[...] In Georgia, DOT Chief Job Is a Political Favor, Not a Merit-Based Appointment (AJC) [...]
Recon 0311 2533
April 27th, 2012
9:50 am
“so, yeah, 2.2% is nice, decent, solid, respectable growth.”
but not for a post recession recovery.
USinUK
April 27th, 2012
9:50 am
Adam – 9:49 – hrmmmmmmmmm … give us a hint
Adam
April 27th, 2012
9:52 am
ah yes, hypocritically contradicting one’s self to point out other’s contradictory hypocrisy…go ahead, you got’em right where you want’em.
Frankly I just enjoy imagining all of you twisting yourself into knots inside, trying your hardest not to scream out “BUT THE PRESIDENT DOESN’T CONTROL GAS PRICES!!!” only to stop yourself when you realize that, though true, it won’t work for your narrative and would be used against you later when you make the false argument that he DOES. And then you hit that backspace button a few times when you realize it.
It’s even more fun when one of you can’t resist typing it out and hitting submit
Recon 0311 2533
April 27th, 2012
9:52 am
“unacceptable to people who are cheering for the collapse of the US under Obama’s leadership, more like.”
more like people blindly cheering Obama in spite of his failures as president.
getalife
April 27th, 2012
9:53 am
del,
The key word is positive .
No recession for us like Europe.
Adam
April 27th, 2012
9:53 am
JohnnyReb: Adam – the president does have something to do with gas prices
Oh really? So is that why gas prices are going down now? Or does the effect the President has on gas prices only apply when they are going up?
USinUK
April 27th, 2012
9:53 am
Recon – 9:50 – yes, actually ,it is ideal – it’s positive without being so rapid it causes the economy (and corresponding inflation) to overheat
getalife
April 27th, 2012
9:54 am
del,
Please name the failures.
Thanks.
TaxPayer
April 27th, 2012
9:54 am
However, unacceptable it is to a recovering economy.
Is that Yoda speak. Do tell us how unacceptable it would be to a recovering economy to cut government spending since it contributed to that lower but still positive GDP.
They BOTH suck
April 27th, 2012
9:54 am
Adam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzEnKdBAb_o
Tune into Fox….. especially this clip from 08 and listen to what the “real” news station was saying about gas prices
hahahahahahaha
Proud to be me
April 27th, 2012
9:55 am
Politics has ALWAYS driven EVERYTHING on ALL levels of government in this country . . . so what is new about that!! And, the left is just as guilty (i.e., Obama!!!).
Adam
April 27th, 2012
9:55 am
Recon: more like people blindly cheering Obama in spite of his failures as president.
What a comeback. *slow clap*
Seriously dude, that was weak. It would be best for you to simply admit that you are cheering for the US to collapse just because you want this President out of office. The first step to recovery is to admit your addiction.
And by the way, what has he failed at? Got any specific examples?
USinUK
April 27th, 2012
9:56 am
Recon – 9:52 –
dude.
I’m an ocean away and I can smell your desperation flop-sweat from here.
Obama has turned the economy around from heading over a cliff to positive growth – and positive job growth, he has been taking out AQ and steadily taking the fight to the terrorists, he redirected the focus to taking out Osama,
you want to back Mittens, feel free… just get used to the feeling of losing
Adam
April 27th, 2012
9:56 am
They BOTH suck: I love that clip. I am at least, oh, 80% convinced that most of the people blaming Obama for gas prices are doing so because they feel butthurt that their hero, Bush, was blamed for them. It’s not about the “media being hypocritical,” it’s about revenge.
ty webb
April 27th, 2012
9:56 am
Adam,
let me guess, all the mirrors in your house are one-way?
Recon 0311 2533
April 27th, 2012
9:58 am
“The key word is positive ”
getalife, unfortunately, the key word is inadequate.
“No recession for us like Europe.” we’re pursuing Europe’s mistakes, so there’s no guarantee that we won’t fall back into a recession not unlike Europe.
Adam
April 27th, 2012
9:58 am
let me guess, all the mirrors in your house are one-way?
What’s that supposed to mean?
Adam
April 27th, 2012
9:58 am
getalife, unfortunately, the key word is inadequate.
Unfortunately for the cons, that keyword is not actually applicable outside the bubble.
Adam
April 27th, 2012
9:59 am
we’re pursuing Europe’s mistakes
Like what?
getalife
April 27th, 2012
10:00 am
The gop house decided to cut food stamps to keep military spending at record levels.
Then they pretend to be Christians.
USinUK
April 27th, 2012
10:00 am
“we’re pursuing Europe’s mistakes”
I wish you guys would get your stories straight …
either we’re making the same mistakes, or we’re not.
Europe and the UK have embarked on a shoot-yourself-in-the-foot exercise of austerity which as caused a double-dip
yet, you say that the US’s mistake is spending like Europe
so, which is it???
They BOTH suck
April 27th, 2012
10:00 am
Adam
It is funny when someone says……. the problem is that you are watching the stations that are in the tank for Obama….. that is why you don’t know the Pres can impact the price
Fox News the station they hold up had numerous broadcasters and commentators saying Pres has no impact in 08
All sides play politics………. some just don’t elect to see it
getalife
April 27th, 2012
10:02 am
del,
We know he will never be good enough for you.
There are no guarantees in politics.
Who do you think they are?
Quicken loans?
Recon 0311 2533
April 27th, 2012
10:02 am
Jousting with those desperately trying to defend the indefensible isn’t the best use of time. Y’all have fun
TaxPayer
April 27th, 2012
10:03 am
I think about 25% of the GDP is due to government spending so if government spending is reduced while businesses, etc., fail to pick up the slack, then GDP would decline.
They BOTH suck
April 27th, 2012
10:04 am
Adam and getalife
I guess providing specifics in terms of numbers wasn’t going to be Del’s forte today……….
Gator Joe
April 27th, 2012
10:04 am
[Statutorily, the director of transportation planning is charged with “developing the state transportation improvement program and the state-wide strategic transportation plan and coordinating transportation policies, planning, and programs related to design, construction, maintenance, operations, and financing of transportation.”]
In this case all the “Director” needs to know is which of Deal’s political cronies to funnel the projects to (i.e. white/Republican contributors). While I believe in improving and maintaining transportation infrastructure, I will not vote to put money into the hands of this Governor and his cronies.
For the bashers of the President, your ignorance and bigotry are pathetic.
USinUK
April 27th, 2012
10:04 am
see ya, flop-sweat
Doggone/GA
April 27th, 2012
10:05 am
“Jousting with those desperately trying to defend the indefensible isn’t the best use of time. Y’all have fun”
aka: I’m gonna take my ball and go home
Adam
April 27th, 2012
10:06 am
They BOTH suck: True, very true. And when we realize the difference between the truth and the lies, that SHOULD help most people actually go for a guy that better represents their interests in a realistic way. And realistically, I can see only one major benefit to voting for Romney: Tax cuts on the top earners and capital gains and whatnot. He will also rubberstamp anything a Republican Congress sends him, I am pretty sure. Obama will essentially keep fighting to maintain or expand safety nets and cut the military. If Republicans would start coming to the table again, and Obama is re-elected, I could see great strides being made in deficit reduction without suffering to the least of us. What do you think?
USinUK
April 27th, 2012
10:07 am
“aka: I’m gonna take my ball and go home”
considering the sum-total of his argument was “no, it isn’t”, what else did you expect??
Adam
April 27th, 2012
10:07 am
Recon: Jousting with those desperately trying to defend the indefensible isn’t the best use of time
Crap! They want me to actually name a failure…. Uh… I had better leave!”
Donovan
April 27th, 2012
10:07 am
Thought I would check back in before I go make a living. You guys just hang out here like those Occupy Movement types without jobs.
Are you kidding? Your community organizer mirrors JC in unemployment, gas prices, Big Oil condemnation, foreign policy appeasement, economic failures, etc.
Reading books? Give me a break JamVet. The history books are full of his failures. What library do you visit? The liberal ones that have purged all of the Carter failures?
Look. You seem very upset with Georgia and the GOP. I’m guessing that you were drafted for Viet Nam against your will. You took a grenade frag to the head and built up a mental defect against Nixon and the Party. My perscription is to take a liberal lollipop and go suck on it in Vermont or California.
Got to go.
Brosephus™
April 27th, 2012
10:07 am
It’s funny reading how someone can find a way to blame Obama on a topic that’s about local transportation issues. Everybody wants to be a comedian nowadays.
For those who voted for Deal, you’re getting what you voted for. Corruption in… corruption out. Georgia isn’t ranked almost dead last in transportation spending just by accident. When you see an obviously political apointee going to a positition where he has the usefulness of a football bat, you know things are effed up. Yet, I see some of the same “Defenders of all things GOP” trying to make things sound good.
There’s even a deflection attempt to GDP. So predictable… Just as predictable than not one conservative here will call out something done by their own that’s obviously effed up.
They BOTH suck
April 27th, 2012
10:07 am
“aka: I’m gonna take my ball and go home”
Bingo………. You notice how asking for specifics was equated to “desperately defending”?
hahahahahaha
Steve - USA (I support "None Of The Above")
April 27th, 2012
10:08 am
“we’re pursuing Europe’s mistakes”
I wish you guys would get your stories straight …
either we’re making the same mistakes, or we’re not.
Europe and the UK have embarked on a shoot-yourself-in-the-foot exercise of austerity which as caused a double-dip
yet, you say that the US’s mistake is spending like Europe
so, which is it???
_______________________________________________________________
You assume that all countries arrive at crisis points all at the same point. They don’t
They didn’t choose to go the austerity route they were forced to do it because they simply didn’t have they money to pay their bills. Greece doesn’t have the ability to print their own money like we do.
Now the fight in the US is how much free crap do we want to give our citizens and how high do we allow our debt to go.
williebkind
April 27th, 2012
10:08 am
JamVet – Stay ignorant, my friends…
April 27th, 2012
7:53 am
JamVet is showing off his edumucation again. He should be a jounalist because they write a lot about nothing.
USinUK
April 27th, 2012
10:08 am
Doggone – who knew that Monty Python did their impression of Recon 30 years ago
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQFKtI6gn9Y
They BOTH suck
April 27th, 2012
10:09 am
Bro
Good morning……… If you haven’t done so, check out some of the comments downstairs after you signed off last night…..
Good for a few chuckles
Off to get my jog on……….. catch up later
Adam
April 27th, 2012
10:09 am
Donovan: The liberal ones that have purged all of the Carter failures?
One question: After reading that, why should ANYONE take you seriously?
Doggone/GA
April 27th, 2012
10:09 am
“considering the sum-total of his argument was “no, it isn’t”, what else did you expect??”
Not much, but it was fun to watch it play out!
stevie ray..Clowns to the Left and Jokers to the Right..here I am...
April 27th, 2012
10:09 am
ADAM,
BO failed on his promise not to allow lobbyists to control agenda in DC, failed to take responsibility for anything, failed to lead divided congress instead blaming obstructists, hope, change, guantanamo, taking on telecom, fighting and prosecuting wall street..pushing a HC bill majority don’t want than likely won’t stand court scrutiny…failed energy policy…
getalife
April 27th, 2012
10:10 am
del and facts are not friends but he is free to voice his opinion.
I think the numbers are still good .
williebkind
April 27th, 2012
10:10 am
It’s funny reading how someone can find a way to blame CONSERVATIVES on a topic that’s about local transportation issues. Everybody wants to be a comedian nowadays.
There, I made you the owner of your intentions.
EJ Moosa
April 27th, 2012
10:11 am
“unacceptable to people who are cheering for the collapse of the US under Obama’s leadership, more like.”
One does not have to cheer. It is collapsing on it’s own.
On the positive side, this is the largest economy in US history.
Feel the economic boom? Because this is as good as it gets for the rest of 2012.