It would cost $461 Billion to fix all the bridges in America. Aren't you glad we spent that money in Iraq?

Question

Brilliant Sweetpea. Our bridges have needed fixing for years. So we're used to it...

It's a simple question, Common Sense, why not just answer instead of getting colicky. This is real money that we're spending in Iraq, and it's money we won't have to spend on other priorities.

Flyover, have you ever heard of the federal Department of Transportation? Guess what they do?

Answer 1

There are a couple of things that I'm upset regarding the infrastructure in the US.
1. Big corporate America laying off people here, and sending manufacturing overseas. Limiting taxes that are collected on the state and federal level that would could be earmarked for general up keep of roads and bridges.
2. I'm not sure what the going tab on the war in Iraq is to date. But I'm sure that the expense of rebuilding what President Bush forced the military to destroy in Iraq, could have paid to replace a couple hundred bridges, repaved some highways, built some new oil refineries, helped out the victims of Hurricane Katrina. And basically been better spent here than over there.
3. And the presidents refusal to come up with a plan to have the troops pull out of Iraq anytime in the near future. Basically he's using his executive privilege to continue to sink the country further into debt. It's pretty crazy from my side of the bus.

Answer 2

It's questions like this that gives educated people in America passion towards wanting to test more children while they're growing up and going through school.

edit:
And I quote:
More than 70,000 bridges across the country are rated structurally deficient like the I-35W bridge, and engineers estimate repairing them all would take at least a generation and cost more than $188 billion.

(more)
The collapsed bridge is one of 1,160 bridges in that category, which amounts to 8 percent of bridges in the state. Nationally, about 12 percent of bridges are labeled "structurally deficient."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070803/ap_on_re_us/bridge_collapse

Answer 3

Need to fix the bridges and fix the Military (90's butchered the Military) remember 9/11/01.

Answer 4

A bridge collapses and NOW your saying we should have used the iraq money to fix all the bridges. How come clinton didn't fix them?

Answer 5

The roads and bridges have been rotting away for fifty years through the administrations of both Dems and Reps. I see the spin shaping up already: No bridges fell down when Bill was President and they'll stop falling down when Hillary is.

Answer 6

Sorry, that number is too low. At least 1 trillion. And yes it does seem sort of stupid that all the driveable bridges are being built in Iraq.

Answer 7

Look on the bright side: fewer Americans were killed in Iraq that day than were those killed by collapsing fairly new infrastructure.

Answer 8

At least spending the money in Iraq keeps us safer at home. Shelling out billions in free medical, food stamps and welfare to America hating ILLEGALS is just ludicrous!

Answer 9

Yes

What I am upset about is the money spent on the Bridge to No-where, and other earmarks.

Answer 10

Federal govt doesn't pay for all those bridges and roads.

Federal govt pays for part of them not all of them. States and cities pay the rest. No 1 group pays for 100% of any road or bridge. Neither of them is involved in paying for war. They were junk long before either trip to Iraq too. The one in Minnesota had problems in 1990.