I knew it would only be a matter of time before Democrats and their left-wing communist voting base were politicizing the collapse of the Interstate 35W freeway bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, MN, in yet another pathetic attempt to press for tax increases.
“We need to raise taxes,” is the tired refrain from the “Bankrupt America Now” crowd. Democrats act like there is an endless supply of money ripe for the picking and taking it will not interfere with the economy one iota. That just isn’t true.
Democrats always insist that more money be spent on education, but when you tell them that districts that spend the most per student like Washington DC (about $13,348 per student in 2005) have significantly lower student test scores than much lower spending places like Utah ($5,216) or North Dakota ($7,829), they just don’t comprehend the point you are making. All they want is more tax revenue because the more money they have to spend the more power they have. That is the extent of a Democrat’s understanding.
The same applies to roads.
Everywhere you look, left-wingers are pinning the blame for this tragedy on a lack of funding for transportation. Representative Jim Oberstar (D-MN) criticized the Bush administration saying the following at a news conference the day following the collapse:
This administration failed to support robust investment in surface transportation and the funding to accompany it.
When asked if under funding by the Bush administration was responsible for the bridge collapse, Oberstar replied:
No. But the needs are immense. And if we don’t fund the program properly, then necessary bridge inspections can’t be conducted.
Another Democrat lie. The bridge was inspected in 2006, and has been inspected annually for the past several years. The 2007 inspection started, but was interrupted by construction work and was to continue later this fall.
So, under funding wasn’t responsible for the bridge collapse, the bridge was inspected regularly, yet somehow we are to believe that we need more spending and corresponding tax increases?
Democrats would be more convincing if they weren’t so easily caught in lies.
It so happens that there were serious concerns about the safety of this bridge due to cracking in the steel support structure. There was sufficient money to pay for repairs of this bridge and ensure the safety of the public. But the department of transportation decided against making the repairs, opting for closer inspections instead. Why? Who knows.
If the bridge was found to be unsafe, it should have been closed. Then nobody would have been on it and nobody would have been a victim of this tragedy. As part of the federal interstate system, it is very likely that federal funding for replacement of the bridge would have been available, at least a signifcant portion of the cost.
But it wasn’t found to be unsafe by inspectors to the extent that it was unusable. No amount of additional transportation spending or tax increases will change the fact that it was deemed safe. This, sadly, is a case of human error and not a case of insufficient transportation funding.
No matter which way the wind blows, Democrats will be pushing for tax increases. Always.
Star Tribune article about bridge safety concerns, cracking of support structure
Star Tribune editorial from left-winger arguing for tax increases