Can the US afford both to repair the many bridges that are now accepted to be in urgent need of repair?

Question

....AND continue its illegal and vastly expensive occupation of Iraq? Which would you choose to spend your country's money on if the government can afford to do only one?

Answer 1

We cannot afford the continued occupation of Iraq even if we DIDN'T repair our roads and bridges.

That's why we're running up over a trillion dollars in additional debt every year.

Answer 2

Do we really have a choice?
The bridges that are deemed to be dangerous must be repaired. Obviously, it is totally unacceptable to allow our country's infrastructure to collapse.
And our troops in Iraq - that too, as evidenced by the new congress's reluctance to withdraw our troops, is pretty much an expense that isn't going to go away any too soon.
Perhaps the many pork barrel and earmark spending programs, along with programs which aren't so urgent (global warming research, universal health care, new roads or bridges which aren't directly replacing the older ones, ethanol research, etc...) could be trimmed back or eliminated temporarily. It's pretty much a problem of setting priorities and cutting back on spending that can be implemented at a later date if needed. Now may be a good time to look at the billions of dollars being sent out of this country and the real costs of our ineffective policies of dealing with illegal immigrants, for instance.
Simply put, congress can no longer afford to spend money like a drunken sailor.
In answer to your question, I believe the Islamic terrorists' threat to this country is extremely serious - and if it isn't properly addressed, new bridges may turn out to be a pretty fool hardy way to spend our money instead of assuring our safety and security first.

Answer 3

Why is it that you libs bring everything that happens back to the war? The bridge collapse was a tragedy but it has NOTHING to do with the war. Nor does the fact that repairs were not made linked in any way to the war.
We are not spending ENOUGH on the war. And the money for city maintenance is not connected to the money spent on protecting out troops. Cities have budgets to maintain structures, why don't you contact the mayor or city planner and find out where they have spent their budget over the last ten years before you start griping about the money being spent on the war. Let me know what you find out, that is if you are interested in actual facts over blindly complaining without the facts to back it up.

Answer 4

It would be easy. Cut out the government entitlement programs and get rid of the ILLEGAL ALIENS. You fail to mention the billions that are spent on all of the pork that comes out of Washington. Nobody has explained how the war in Iraq is illegal. They have their same old talking points. The state of Mn. had a 2.3 billion dollar surplus. There was no reason for it not to be replaced. **** happens. All this goes back the victim mentality. Everyone is a victim.

Answer 5

If we immediately stopped the war we could not cover the expenses needed to put all our infrastructure in proper shape, it comes from decades of neglect to the upkeep of it. But I am sure democrats will again find a way to blame Bush for a problem that was there before he was even born. And guess what the war is not illegal because there is a congressional vote that all of you can look up giving the president the authority to conduct this war.

Answer 6

Get out of Iraq and repair the bridges here at home. A good trade off, I think.

Answer 7

the 'occupation' you refer to has been sanctioned by the democratically elected government of Iraq. It follows that your premise is only another way to bash the President and his policies.

***
The sole problem with poorly maintained highways in America is lack of political will ... mostly at the state level.

A recent study by the Highway Safety Institute determined that over 60% of the wear and tear on highways is caused by heavy trucks -- and that heavy trucks contribute less than 40% of the (currently inadequate) highway maintenance funds.

This is a political payoff to the Teamsters Union and independent truck drivers by your Congress and Legislature. There are far more voters employed by trucking than by alternative means of shipping goods [principally railroads] and so the whole field has been skewed to buy votes every two years.

oh

Answer 8

Yes if we (1) leave Iraq (2) stop all the pork spending on wasteful projects that Congress continuously approves. Art exhibits, sports arenas, bridges in Alaska going to nowhere, why are taxpayers paying for this crap?

Answer 9

What we are doing in Iraq is not illegal. Do some homework. You need to also talk to your states in regards to the highways. A bridge collapsing is hardly anything new.

Answer 10

If they did not already waste so much of the tax payers money, they would have enough to do both. I only hope they don't increase the tax on gas to pay for all of the repairs.