More News Of Interest

So many interesting tidbits of news

IN DEFENCE OF NEPOTISM

Parliamentary expert Ned Franks, professor emeritus at Queen's University stated:

• "...the hiring of family members is still a common practice in the public service, he says, and it's not surprising that it happens on the political side of government, where the hiring process is largely unregulated.
  
  "A good case can be made that you want to get people who have the same beliefs as you, and who you know and trust."

If you cannot trust your relatives and friends, then who can you trust right?

Next thing we will hear is that "honest graft" is ok too, just like with Tammany Hall:

• "Honest Graft and Dishonest Graft"
  Very Plain Talks on Very Practical Politics
  by Senator Plunkitt of Tammany Hall
  
  "EVERYBODY is talkin' these days about Tammany men growin' rich on graft, but nobody thinks of drawin' the distinction between honest graft and dishonest graft. There's all the difference in the world between the two. Yes, many of our men have grown rich in politics. I have myself. I've made a big fortune out of the game, and I'm gettin' richer every day, but I've not gone in for dishonest graft - blackmailin' gamblers, saloonkeepers, disorderly people, etc. - and neither has any of the men who have made big fortunes in politics.
  
  There's an honest graft, and I'm an example of how it works. I might sum up the whole thing by sayin': "I seen my opportunities and I took 'em."
  
  Just let me explain by examples. My party's in power in the city, and it's goin' to undertake a lot of public improvements. Well, I'm tipped off, say, that they're going to layout a new park at a certain place. I see my opportunity and I take it. I go to that place and I buy up all the land I can in the neighborhood. Then the board of this or that makes its plan public, and there is a rush to get my land, which nobody cared particular for before.
  
  Ain't it perfectly honest to charge a good price and make a profit on my investment and foresight? of course, it is. Well, that's honest graft.
  
  Or supposin' it's a new bridge they're goin' to build. I get tipped off and I buy as much property as I can that has to be taken for approaches. I sell at my own price later on and drop some more money in the bank.
  
  Wouldn't you? It's just like lookin' ahead in Wall Street or in the coffee or cotton market. It's honest graft, and I'm lookin' for it every day in the year. I will tell you frankly that I've got a good lot of it, too."

BORDER JOBS FOR MICHIGAN

What would the Bridge Co's Enhancement Project mean for Michigan. Aside from enhancing its trade and economy, in the short-term it means thousands of jobs. The $250M Ambassador Gatgeway Project will create about 2,800 jobs by the time it is done.

I saw this story which interested me about the Michigan Governor moving forward on road projects to create needed employment:

• "Governor Granholm announced that 34 road projects across Michigan will be accelerated from the 2009 construction season to 2008, creating 2,100 new jobs in Michigan. The announcement is one piece of the governor's economic stimulus package that she unveiled in her recent State of the State address. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is accelerating almost $150 million in road and bridge projects, creating jobs in planning, engineering and construction."
  
• "The original 2008 program for road and bridge improvements in the Metro Region will provide $148 million in repairs to 125 miles of pavement and $70 million to rehabilitate 65 bridges. The 2008 program includes an additional $88 million for seven projects advanced from future years as part of Governor Jennifer M. Granholm's economic stimulus package. Statewide, MDOT is accelerating nearly $150 million in road and bridge projects that will create an estimated 2,100 jobs. About 1,200 of those jobs will be created in the Metropolitan Detroit area."

Clearly the DRIC project will produce jobs in Michigan if it goes forward. However, if the privately-funded Enhancement Project goes forward, Federal matching grants will produce extra billions of dollars of grants from the Federal Government that can be used for road projects in Michigan. If $150M produces 2,100 jobs, think of how many $2B will produce!

Something for a Michigan legislator to consider.

GOVERNMENT PROJECTS

Isn't it great when there is a Government surplus. All of the hugely expensive projects that can be undertaken. However, when times are tough and a Government is being asked to put out $1.6B for the most expensive road in Ontario...

The game is the same on the other side too:

• "34% Cut In Federal Highway & Bridge Funding Coming To All 50 States Unless Congress Acts, New Ad Says
  
  Washington, D.C.—The Highway Trust Fund is facing a firstever deficit, falling $3.7 billion short of being able to meet SAFETEALU’s highway investment guarantees. Unless Congress acts, every state will suffer a 34 percent cut in its highway and bridge funding, beginning October 1, 2008."

THANK GOODNESS FOR A PRIVATE ENTERPRISE BRIDGE

Can you imagine, the City, the owner of the Tunnel, cannot pay for the Tunnel Improvement project costs. I guess they did not charge enough for tolls. I just wrote about the Peace Bridge needing $90 Million from the US Governments on top of what it received from Canada. Now this:

• "Bridge Plaza master plan ready to go; Now it needs money, Rowswell says and pitches for multi-modal
  
  A master plan for a new $40-million Canadian customs facility at the International Bridge in now in place.
  
  The next step is to get the Canadian government to foot the bill, a daunting task that Mayor John Rowswell says is necessary to the Northern Ontario economy's success.
  
  Critical infrastructure improvements are necessary in the North in order to develop its economy and to help out the province, Rowswell said.
  
  The Sault has continuously made its pitch to higher levels of government that its location is ideal to establish itself as a multi-modal hub.
  
  A new customs structure is necessary to replace the 45-year-old facility and to bring Canada Border Services Agency up to standards in order to inspect commercial traffic appropriately.
  
  The move to create a multimodal hub would also serve to increase manufacturing jobs in the area and divert traffic from more congested border crossings such as Port Huron and Windsor-Detroit.
  
  It would also serve to help international businesses that must ship out their goods.
  
  Earlier this month it was recently announced that Canadian and U.S. government officials are poised to approve a final plaza and bridge location between Windsor and Detroit.
  
  The project, which links the two communities over the Detroit River, is expected to cost about $5 billion. Construction on that facility is expected to begin in 2009 and be completed in 2013.
  
  Phil Becker, of the Joint International Bridge Authority, said the problem is that under Canadian law, it is the bridge owner's responsibility to pay for a new building.
  
  But the JIBA receives the majority of its money from tolls and doesn't have the money to fund the project."

I told you that the Windsor border is just the latest example.