PA has two Interstate Highways that run east to west I-80 and the PA Turnpike (I-70/I-76). The turnpike runs through Pittsburgh, Harrisburgh, and Philly. I-80 run throught the near empty (except the northeastern part) northern half of the state and is used mostly by large trucks. The state is trying to decide if they should put a toll on I-80, this is the stupidest thing they could do. If this is done it will be impossible to travel on a interstate highway east to west in the state. I know that the money to pay for road work has to come from somewhere. However the folks at PennDOT have proved again and again that they are worthless scum. Rampent credit card abuse, paving over a dead deer, etc.
Here in the western end of the state, a while back a "turnpike extension" was built, Toll 66. Toll 66 runs from Delmont to New Stanton, it is not a terribly long road, the point was to get the tractor trailers out of Greensburgh (the county seat of Westmoreland county). It has failed horribly at that goal. Not because there is anything wrong with the road, it is a wonderful road, wide lanes, it actually has entrance and exit ramps (a rarity here in sw PA, we have many ramps with stop signs at the end of them). The truckers don't use it because the tolls are to high to be practical, And get this the tolls will never pay for the cost of building the road or any work that needs to be done on it, they only collect enough in tolls to pay the toll booth workers. Isn't that wonderful?
And then this thing with the church, just tear it down. The mayor of Pittsburgh uses emanate domain to close down profeitable business, for his repeated revitalization projects which never have worked. Here is a great example, one of his projects brought at Lords and Taylor department store to Pittsburgh, this store was subsidized by the city to the tune of a millions, just a little while ago that story went of business. This thing with the old churches happens all the time here in Pittsburgh when any new road is going to be built. There is some old church that granny used to go to, so it should last forever. People Pittsburgh IS ALL HILLS, if the land is any where near flat it was built on ages ago, so to build anything, anything at all you have to tear old buildings down, that is just the way it works.
Our wonderful Governer Ed Rendell former Mayor of Phillidelphia, Basicly ran his election campaign on the idea that he would not raise the income tax unless he got a reduction in the property tax. (the giant elderly popluation of PA wants this so that they won't have to pay taxes). The fiscal year starts in June(July?) PA did not have a budget until the end of december, and only then did one finally pass because public schools were threating to close because the were not getting any of the state money that they depend on. I know what you are thinking that this is hardly ole Ed's fault. It is the legislator passed a budget (ole Ed even made it up) the idiot vetoed it. This budget that Ed presented to the legislator, was balenced without raising taxes. Ed presented this to the Legislator even though it was not the budget that he wanted, he was going to present that budget weeks later, something that has never been done, and doesn't work.
Another cornerstone of Eds plan to reduce/eliminate property taxes hinged on Slot machines. Someone has managed to convice a great number of idiot pennsyvainians that west virginia is stealling our money because they have taxed slot machines and we don't. Further more the number of projects and promises made on the tax money on the nonexsistent Slots parlors is huge, far larger than the possible revenaue from the slot machines. Thats right as soon as we legalize slot machines PA will fund the second coming of Christ.
[ March 04, 2004, 10:52 AM: Message edited by: luthe ]
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
quote: paving over a dead dear
Oh my goodness, that's TERRIBLE!!
Oh, I get it. DEER.
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
*Is having visions of a deer shaped lump in the middle of the highway*
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
Our apartment walls are lumpy because they've been painted twenty times but never chipped first, so they just keep painting over drips and things.
Posted by skillery (Member # 6209) on :
Eventually the deer decomposes, leaving a deer-shaped pothole.
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