Coburn Has A Point

[Conan71]

I'm glad you can tell that "the posts and supports of the old bridge do not look bad at all". 

Reality is that the bridges are 43 years old and carry a lower structural deficiency rating than the bridge in MN that fell.

The bridge that is being replaced carried an overall rating of 32.1 out of 100 (structurally deficient) with a substructure (the posts and supports) rating of 4 out of 10. Which means "POOR CONDITION - advanced corrosion, deterioration, cracking or chipping. Also significant erosion of concrete bridge piers."

65,000 people a day on that bridge, but to your trained eye it's "not bad at all"

The other 244 bridge has a rating of 36.8 with substructure rating of 4 as well.

http://www2.news9.com/bridgetracker/

Well, hey they could just slap some mortar on it and wrap duct tape around it!

[Townsend]

Well, hey they could just slap some mortar on it and wrap duct tape around it!

Look at the satallite images again.  They did.

[swake]

Well, hey they could just slap some mortar on it and wrap duct tape around it!

You know that's what his 1981 F150 truck looks like. All rust, bondo and duct tape.

[Conan71]

You know that's what his 1981 F150 truck looks like. All rust, bondo and duct tape.

You forgot chicken wire for a tailgate.

[swake]

You forgot chicken wire for a tailgate.

Cardboard for the little wing window

[sauerkraut]

Again you and Coburn apparently are thinking about intercity rail which will indeed likely be a ways out, and not inner city rail.  I believe the new bridge is an integral part of the short range, 5 year, transit plan.  The rail will serve as part of the "foundation network" downtown circulator. 

Coburn was talking about a rail system from Tulsa to OKC and into Fort Worth and currently Tulsa has  no rail plan, nothing and they are going to build a costly new bridge for something that does not exist- I'm sure they could of  milked  a few more years out of the current bridge till they have a rail plan, or something to go with. That's alot of money being spent. Coburn brought up good points and he is against wasting the money. It's just my opinion that they could of re-surfaced the old bridge and fixed any problems and it would of been fine. That current bridge was built in the 1970's. It also seems like constructing that new county justice center for $54 million dollars is a big waste when they can use a un-used school for only $8-$10 Million dollars. Spend, spend & spend! 

[Red Arrow]

It's just my opinion that they could of re-surfaced the old bridge and fixed any problems and it would of been fine.

Obviously, very few if any people agree with you.  Whether or not we needed the bridge we are getting could be another issue but the old one needed to go.

[Hoss]

Coburn was talking about a rail system from Tulsa to OKC and into Fort Worth and currently Tulsa has  no rail plan, nothing and they are going to build a costly new bridge for something that does not exist- I'm sure they could of  milked  a few more years out of the current bridge till they have a rail plan, or something to go with. That's alot of money being spent. Coburn brought up good points and he is against wasting the money. It's just my opinion that they could of re-surfaced the old bridge and fixed any problems and it would of been fine. That current bridge was built in the 1970's. It also seems like constructing that new county justice center for $54 million dollars is a big waste when they can use a un-used school for only $8-$10 Million dollars. Spend, spend & spend!  

Sure glad you're not in structural engineering, or the leader of the DOT.

Can you say "St Paul I35 bridge"?  Thought you might be able to.

[Teatownclown]

Preparing For D-Day: When Congress Takes Your Deductions
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904233404576460151060383010.html
Some people call them "tax loopholes," while others prefer "tax breaks." In Congress, they are often called "tax expenditures."

Whichever term of art you prefer, hundreds of tax deductions, credits and exclusions that taxpayers rely on every year are at risk of being cut.

The debt-ceiling debate cast these benefits into the spotlight when Senate Finance Committee member Tom Coburn, a Republican from Oklahoma, on Monday released a budget plan he calls "Back in Black." Sen. Coburn's $9 trillion, 10-year package of debt-reducing measures includes $1 trillion in reclaimed tax breaks.

Introducing the plan, he sought to reframe the debate as one of cutting wasteful government spending rather than raising taxes. "Tax subsidies are socialism," he declared.

Of course, one taxpayer's senseless subsidy is another's worthy incentive. The low top rate on long-term gains is supposed to encourage investment. The Earned Income Tax Credit helps the working poor, and the charitable donation deduction fosters worthy causes.

Sen. Coburn's move was followed by another. The Senate's "Gang of Six"—three Democrats and three Republicans, including Sen. Coburn—called for cuts in tax breaks, along with spending cuts and lower marginal tax rates. President Obama's reaction was positive.


What matters now: These breaks aren't cheap. All told, the top 10 individual tax breaks will cost more than $3 trillion in forgone tax revenues between 2010 and 2014, according to estimates by Congress's Joint Tax Committee.

By contrast, the top 10 corporate tax breaks will cost only $350 billion over the same period. (This disparity isn't surprising: the individual income tax long has raised far more revenue than the corporate income tax; it currently brings in more than four times as much.)

What happens next is unclear. There has been talk of postponing decisions about tax breaks until next year. Experts say the Aug. 2 debt-ceiling deadline doesn't allow time to enact major new laws, and then comes the summer recess—giving advocates time to organize to fight changes tooth and nail.

On the other hand, the idea of cutting tax breaks is officially "in play." While the Gang of Six's plan doesn't give details, Sen. Coburn's does.

His plan takes aim at many small breaks for individuals and three big ones. He would limit the popular mortgage interest deduction to first homes worth $500,000 or less, while disallowing deductions for second homes and home-equity loans. He would also limit the working poor to five years of the earned-income tax credit.

Instead of allowing open-ended tax-free employer-paid health insurance, Sen. Coburn would institute a tax-free limit of $7,500 for individual premiums and $15,000 for families. He says these are higher than the current averages, and would be frozen for years and then grow slowly after that.

How to prepare? For now, "Taxpayers who rely heavily on these breaks don't need to panic—but they should pay close attention," says Clint Stretch, a tax analyst with Deloitte Tax in Washington. Changes that are enacted usually don't go as far as changes that are proposed, he adds.

Meantime, here is a rundown of the Joint Tax Committee's top 10 tax expenditures, along with their 2010-14 revenue cost. Medicare doesn't appear on the list because Parts A, B, and D are counted separately. Added together, they would be in fourth place.

Health insurance: Employer payments for health care, health insurance premiums, and long-term-care insurance premiums aren't taxed, costing $659 billion.

Mortgage interest: Homeowners may deduct mortgage interest on up to $1.1 million of debt for up to two homes, costing $484 billion for deductions on 34 million tax returns a year.

Capital gains and dividends: Long-term gains and qualified dividends are taxed at a maximum rate of 15%. Total tab: $403 billion.

Pensions: Defined-benefit pension contributions and earnings aren't taxed (although payouts are), for a total of $303 billion.

Earned-Income Tax Credit: Some 26 million low-income taxpayers a year are expected to claim $269 billion.

Donations: Charitable contributions are largely deductible, costing $241 billion for 36 million claims a year.

State taxes: Deductions for state and local income, sales and property taxes will cost $237 billion for 41 million claims a year.

401(k): Contributions and earnings aren't taxed (although payouts may be), for a total of $212 billion.

Capital gains at death: Assets held at death aren't subject to capital gains tax. Total tab: $194 billion.

Social Security benefits: The portion of Social Security and railroad retirement payments that isn't taxed comes to $173 billion from 28 million tax returns a year.

Write to Laura Saunders at laura.saunders@wsj.com


Salutations to Tom Coburn for trying to BRIDGE the gap.....

[BKDotCom]

Sure glad you're not in structural engineering, or the leader of the DOT.

Can you say "St Paul I35 bridge"?  Thought you might be able to.

Again with the "Minneapolis Bridge"...
Via the Myths page on http://www.johnweeks.com/i35w/i35wmyths.html

The I-35W bridge spanned the river between Minneapolis and Saint Paul.

Not true. The bridge was fully inside of Minneapolis. It is 2 miles from any part of Saint Paul, and the bridge runs north and south, whereas Saint Paul is east of the bridge. There are Mississippi River bridges that cross between Minneapolis and Saint Paul, such as the Lake Street Bridge and the Intercity Bridge (on Ford Parkway), but the I-35W Bridge did not.

[guido911]

Again with the "Minneapolis Bridge"...
Via the Myths page on http://www.johnweeks.com/i35w/i35wmyths.html

BK, please do not introduce facts when all that is going on is the cop's obsession with sauerkraut. He displayed the same obsession in a very sincere and candid thread regarding one of our more frequent posters.

From your article, myth No. 6:

The bridge was ready to fall down because it was "structurally deficient".

Not true. The bridge was inspected every year since 1993, and every other year before that. This was not known as a problem bridge or a bridge in trouble. It did have some maintenance items over the years. A key factor with this bridge is that it was an older non-redundant design, which the engineers call "fracture critical". The term "structurally deficient" is an engineering term that can be applied for a variety of reasons. A number of inspections found the bridge to be serviceable, and projected several decades of future service, though none of them would build a bridge like that today knowing what we know since 1967.

You seem rather knowledgeable about bridges. Am I correct?

[Hoss]

BK, please do not introduce facts when all that is going on is the cop's obsession with sauerkraut. He displayed the same obsession in a very sincere and candid thread regarding one of our more frequent posters.

From your article, myth No. 6:
You seem rather knowledgeable about bridges. Am I correct?

You're pretty quick to judge obsessions there.

I'll admit to letting this guy have it until he proves he's a resident.  He hasn't.  I remind him of it.  Much the same way you remind those of us aligning to the left of your utter hatred of our current CiC.  The goofy avatars, the sig line, wave after wave of nonsensical video.

Also your defense when any of us utters a cross word about the half-term governor.

Do you use much a/v in the courtroom?  Have you even seen one lately?

My point was this.  The bridge needed replacing (ours).  That much is indisputable.  Did I know or care if the I35 bridge crossed over in St Paul?  Nope.  I should have said Minnesota bridge I35.

But I'm sure the resident fool would have been in line trying to poke jabs at me because I didn't know what city it was in.  Why?  I was in a hurry.

But I do get a big kick seeing that I get Tony's cankles up, that's for sure.

Take care, there...pardna...

Sincerely

The Sheriff.

[Breadburner]

You're pretty quick to judge obsessions there.

I'll admit to letting this guy have it until he proves he's a resident.  He hasn't.  I remind him of it.  Much the same way you remind those of us aligning to the left of your utter hatred of our current CiC.  The goofy avatars, the sig line, wave after wave of nonsensical video.

Also your defense when any of us utters a cross word about the half-term governor.

Do you use much a/v in the courtroom?  Have you even seen one lately?

My point was this.  The bridge needed replacing (ours).  That much is indisputable.  Did I know or care if the I35 bridge crossed over in St Paul?  Nope.  I should have said Minnesota bridge I35.

But I'm sure the resident fool would have been in line trying to poke jabs at me because I didn't know what city it was in.  Why?  I was in a hurry.

But I do get a big kick seeing that I get Tony's cankles up, that's for sure.

Take care, there...pardna...

Sincerely

The Sheriff.

Later Barney.....

[Hoss]

Later Barney.....

Aaaand...

the frat brother chimes in.

And Tony complains about the "Kirk/Spock" thing?

[Teatownclown]

Aaaand...

the frat brother chimes in.

And Tony complains about the "Kirk/Spock" thing?

He walks on broken glass....the question is: barefoot?