Posted on 10/10/2019 5:33:26 AM PDT by Kaslin
Many of the stories about the gods and heroes of Greek mythology were compiled during Greek Dark Ages. Impoverished tribes passed down oral traditions that originated after the fall of the lost palatial civilizations of the Mycenaean Greeks.
Dark Age Greeks tried to make sense of the massive ruins of their forgotten forbearers' monumental palaces that were still standing around. As illiterates, they were curious about occasional clay tablets they plowed up in their fields with incomprehensible ancient Linear B inscriptions.
We of the 21st century are beginning to look back at our own lost epic times and wonder about these now-nameless giants who left behind monuments that we cannot replicate, but instead merely use or even mock.
Does anyone believe that contemporary Americans could build another transcontinental railroad in six years?
Californians tried to build a high-speed rail line. But after more than a decade of government incompetence, lawsuits, cost overruns and constant bureaucratic squabbling, they have all but given up. The result is a half-built overpass over the skyline of Fresno -- and not yet a foot of track laid.
Who were those giants of the 1960s responsible for building our interstate highway system?
(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...
Bert, I grew up a few miles from a steel mill that rolled battleship armor for WW II. That mill is gone now, replaced by a strip mall. Is there any mill left in the country that could roll armor like that old mill could? I doubt it.
So who’s fault is that? Greedy unions and greedy management, for sure (I could tell you personal stories about both). But central_va is right. The politicians also deserve a good share of the blame.
Back then, Democrats would sometimes mention the problem in passing. But they did nothing. The Republicans didn’t even mention the problem.
I believe the potential is still there, at least for now. But that potential will diminish over time.
The problem is that we’ve killed all incentive for those who have the ability. A few can manage to do great things, either through luck, radical determination or outsized egos - Trump is probably an example of one or more of those. But we throw up so many barriers to success that even the knowledge that success is a practical possibility can be negated by legal/regulatory/social barriers great enough to obliterate it.
Why even try? And that is the heart of the problem.
Bert is Chinese loving Free Trading Cheap Labor expressing sycophant.
Sparrow Point in Baltimore made steel, ships, cars you name it. Now it is economically nothing, really. And they make fun now that Baltimore is in the crapper. The GOPers are a real scream.
It is depressing, but this five minute PragerU video:
Why Can't America Fill a Pothole?
It is infuriating, discouraging, and depressing. But the short instructional video is, I believe, spot on.
Being jaded and a trade bigot, you misunderstand bert.
bert is an observer who looks at facts and develops a finding.
One exception:
Threaten to move your pro sports franchise out of town, and that new stadium will get built faster than you can say “property tax increase”.
“So who’s fault is that? Greedy unions and greedy management, for sure...”
I give the unions FULL CREDIT for destroying this country. It was the UNIONS who made and keep the Democrats as a viable party, through both money and manpower, while HATING both their employers and their country. From there, management was forced to move offshore, which puts us where we are today. China (and other countries) simply said: “You give this amount of money, we’ll give you a decent product (and our people won’t even spit on it).” Something that, I guess, was beyond the intellectual capability of our unions...and so we have our mess today.
Travelers funded railroads. Now they fund cruise ships. Cities that change populations once or twice a week.
In Seattle we had a similar experience with their highway system. It was around 1959 and the transportation experts were planning the future of the highway system in the metropolitan area. The city had grown up around its most prominent feature, Lake Washington. Approximately 2 miles wide and 22 miles in length, it shaped the city and defined the requirements for travel.
Ambitious engineers had constructed a floating highway across the lake in order to tie Interstate 90 to Interstate 5. That nexus was to take place in the heart of residential Seattle - and the residents were up in arms. They successfully interrupted the construction of the interchange (at a cost of tens of millions of dollars) for almost 20 years.
The RH Thompson Expressway left its “onramps to nowhere” visible to frustrated drivers and residents alike. In this case however, the need outweighed the aesthetics and the engineers prevailed. As inadequate as the final structure is, I shudder to recall the mess that area drivers were forced to endure.
The concept of a union was fine. The problem “as always” was government.
Government wouldn’t let the employers FIRE the employees and replace them if they so wished. THAT is what caused the bigger issue.
I have no issue what so ever with a group of employees coming together and “asking” for something.
That’s fair. If people nominally ‘work for you’, but hate you (the employer) at the same time, they need to be FIRED. They can (try to) take their skills elsewhere.
I spent quite some time working in union steel mills, so I have some insight here. Yes, the union was short-sighted, and greedy. They behaved like spoiled children.
But children become spoiled only when their parents let them. In this case, the “parents” were management, and the government. Management would cave in negotiation after negotiation. Why risk a strike when you can just raise prices? That short-sighted strategy worked until it didn’t.
And the government tilted the field by passing laws that favored the unions. Because that’s where the votes were.
So yes, you can fairly blame the unions. But remember that they had willing enablers.
His youtube talks are highly recommended and so very worth the time invested in them.
This is a great column to read as big chunks of California have sat in the dark without power due to threat of wildfire from a poorly-maintained and -upgraded electric transmission and distribution system.
Traveling south then north on 1/5 in northern California a few years ago I was unpleasantly surprised by the innumerable potholes and overall roughened surface of the freeway.
After environmentalists check for endangered insects (not a joke--there is a list) and species, plus impact on environment and climate. And LGBTQ and People of Color are shown to be represented in all levels of worker and management employment. And china and Russia do not go to the UN and demand this escalation stop.
Then go for it.
These changes are on so many levels. I saw it while teaching high school - teenagers who can’t figure out a percentage, let alone understand what it means. On the household front, we’re getting estimates for replacing our furnace and A/C, which have been running since 1963. We’re told that the replacements will have a useful life of 15 or so years - 20 if we’re lucky. Pathetic. The explanation for the short life of the heating equipment is that the environmental regulations for high efficiency are being met with thinner materials in the heat exchangers, which in turn can’t hold up to the normal expansion and contraction of the heating cycles. I’d happily sacrifice some efficiency for longevity, but the feds have taken away these choices. We had dishwashers that washed (fast and well), toilets that flushed, and heaters that lived for decades based on 1960’s manufacturing. Now we aren’t allowed to produce them . . . sheer idiocy.
Unions enshrine sloth and mediocrity. After 20 yrs at a union job,I went to contracting (employment at will) and tripled my annual income. Get a reputation for completing quality work on schedule and the phone never stops ringing.
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