Offering frequent news and analysis from the majestic Evergreen State and beyond, The Cascadia Advocate is the Northwest Progressive Institute's unconventional perspective on world, national, and local politics.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Public infrastructure (like storm drains) costs money to maintain and repair

A few local conservatives are putting up stupid headlines after an analysis and eyewitness accounts indicate that dysfunctional storm drains on East Madison Street may have caused the death of well-known voice-over actress Kate Fleming, who unfortunately drowned in the basement of her house.

"Government incompetence kills again", eh?

Government in general is both an attack target and a favorite scapegoat of conservatives when something goes wrong. Isn't it interesting how the right wing is so in favor of tax cuts and deregulation, but then is so swift to blame the government for something that goes wrong - when they're not (mis)managing it?

We have to put up with Paul Guppy and Tim Eyman whining about careful investment of the state's budget surplus, which is all a jar of nickels and quarters compared to the poorly written federal budget - which Democrats are going to have to tackle when they pick up the gavels in January.

Why don't these ultra right wing zealots focus their energies on ending the war in Iraq, since that is costing us such a fantastic amount of money?

Just look at the ever increasing Cost of War counter.

It's because they're not really in favor of fiscal responsibility. They want to defund public services and destroy government, but when their fellow Republicans are in charge they conveniently overlook abuses and contradictions.

It's the government's fault because Seattle isn't run by a bunch of wingnuts.

As far as the storm drains itself, what happened is extraordinarily regrettable. This is the kind of thing that happens when you don't have enough money for infrastructure. Roads and drainage systems don't just cost money to build, they also cost money to maintain and repair when they get broken.

I've driven on a lot of streets in Seattle and the number that are cracked and bumpy is staggering. It's easy to imagine the additional problems that aren't so visible, like faulty storm drains.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has asked the city for records regarding the East Madison Street drains, but Andy Ryan, spokesman for Seattle Public Utilities, said utility officials wouldn't comment or release the records until they have reviewed them. The utility is hiring a hydrological firm to investigate the incident, Ryan said.

"This was an extraordinary hydrological event," he said.

It is possible the storm was so large it simply overwhelmed the capacity of the drains, and Seattle's old storm water system, experts said.

"It is difficult to speculate in any particular situation. Someone needs to go out and do the things you've started to do, backtracking what happened, and looking at it from an engineering standpoint," said Steven Kramer, a geotechnical engineer at the University of Washington.
(Emphasis mine). Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure.

Anyone who has ever played SimCity knows that when you decrease the transportation budget, potholes start appearing in the roads and all kinds of problems start happening that hamper mobility and lead to other mini-disasters (for example, fire trucks can't put out fires because they can't reach the blaze).

A significant number of the individuals who are tsk, tsking about "government incompetence" at this very moment are the same ones who campaigned in favor of right wing proposals like Initiative 776, which destroyed funding for infrastructure improvements in four of Washington's 39 counties.

Tim Eyman's own hometown of Mukilteo, in fact, lost $160,000 from street maintenance funding in 2003 due to I-776 and had to cut back on popular events such as the Lighthouse Festival. Eyman apparently doesn't care since he lives in an affluent development which is reportedly gated.

In Lake Forest Park, King County, $120,000 in street funding was axed. And thanks to Initiative 776, an estimated $40,000,000 of the state's two-year highway budget was lost. Just a few examples.

Infrastructure...costs...money. Just like your home. Over time your roof wears out, and you have to replace it. Over time, your appliances break and they need fixing. Over time, your sinks may start leaking and you may need to call a plumber to get the pipes repaired. Often these things are unexpected, but it helps to budget and anticipate them. Seattle hasn't really been doing that.

The people who told us to vote for I-776, again, are many of the same people who are now talking about "government incompetence". They have zero credibility. Their insulting comments are an unwelcome postscript to this tragedy.

<< Home