goverment rant

[Rockinthecasbah]

so I paid my $3.5..something a gallon to fill up my car today and i was thinking about how gas tax is supposed to go into road repair as I ran over a huge pot hole...click.. where is all the money going? I know around my house on the 91, the freeway is a mess. When I was driving to vegas saturday the 15 was a nasty mess until the state line, where it smoothed out and was in good conditon. Does anyone else feel like theyre getting screwed in Cali?
Then too top it off in my area of corona where me and chewi live. The city had a tax bill voted down, to try and make a point they sprayed all of our parkways down with grass killer and turned off the sprinklers saying they couldnt afford to have grass. A coupe of neighbors havent watered there grass since b4 xmas and they still have bright green lawns. BS i say BS

[el_d00der1n0]

i think they're just trying to make it more fun to ride the full squish on the road...

[Rockinthecasbah]

yeah my 7 point has about enough travel

[Pain Freak]

Yeah, it truly is amazing how other states with far less revenue have roads that put ours to shame. I've seen roads in West Virginia that were dirt, that were better to drive then some of the stuff around here.

Last year when I did the Tour de Tucson, I was astounded at the smoothness and the overall great road riding in this area. I've road all over CA and I know of no place that compares to southern AZ.

[bighit8]

Oh ricky I have so much to say, but dont want the bleeding hearts to chastise me!

[Rockinthecasbah]

yea i know what you mean bighit,

I think dirt roads would be far superior to out "paved" roads as long as it wasnt muddy.

[dirtmistress]

I called 311 today to get some HUGE potholes fixed on the street where I work. They'll get filled soon. L.A. city jumps on it fast!
I called about a dumpster at a construction site in the alley behind my house. It had graffitti all over it and some little no-lifes had tagged some fences in my alley. For some reason the dumpster attracts taggers. So I called my councilmans office, Rosendahl, and the assistant told someone and the dumpster was gone in 3 days. Turns out it was illegal to park there anyway. Then I painted over all the tagger garbage.
Today when I got home from work, the dumpster was back and so was a tag on a fence. Tomorrow I'll call again and I think the construction people will now get fined. Meantime, gotta go paint a fence again.
The city of L.A. is also GIVING AWAY trees. I had a jacaronda planted on my parkway and got another in my front yard! You just need to be DWP customer! They have a variety of trees!

http://www.ladwp.com/ladwp/cms/ladwp000744.jsp
It was totally worth filling out a simple form.
Now I'm going to get my neighbors to sign a form to get more trees on more parkways. I heard trees can up property values by about 10 grand.
If you have young kids, they dig watching trees grow.
I still see a tree I planted 25 years ago and it still gives me a thrill. Otherwise, yeah! The roads suck big time!!

[Chewyeti]

rick...

i have a general understanding of the city thing. Money got mismanaged, and prices went up since the last assessment. Gotta pay more to get the same service.... the way it was handled on the other hand sucked balls.

Roads/streets improvement. Tell people to stop moving here! Gas tax pays for some of the road improvements, but it also pays city agency engineers.

Now slight tangent....
stop spending money on the war = money for roads.
Stop paying services on 'undocumented' immigrants = money for roads.
collect taxes from the illegals, and you have some more money.

not saying its THE answer, but saying it would be a start.

[CeeDubb]

Originally Posted by dirtmistress

...I heard trees can up property values by about 10 grand...

[soapbox]Not in this market...

Besides, it's the buyer that determines if they'd pay a $10k premium over another similar house without the same tree.

Trees/landscaping will indirectly add value to a home by making it more attractive over other similar houses.

Keep in mind that someone may not want a tree that sheds it leaves all over the yard every fall. It could work against you.[/soapbox]

But if that sucker is big enough to build a tree fort in it, I'd be all over it!!

[Abui]

Originally Posted by dirtmistress

The city of L.A. is also GIVING AWAY trees. I had a jacaronda planted on my parkway and got another in my front yard! You just need to be DWP customer! They have a variety of trees!

http://www.ladwp.com/ladwp/cms/ladwp000744.jsp
It was totally worth filling out a simple form.
Now I'm going to get my neighbors to sign a form to get more trees on more parkways. I heard trees can up property values by about 10 grand.
If you have young kids, they dig watching trees grow.
I still see a tree I planted 25 years ago and it still gives me a thrill. Otherwise, yeah! The roads suck big time!!

On one hand they're giving away trees, on the other hand they say there's a drought - save water.

1. Use only as much water on your lawn as you need to. Studies show that the average homeowner uses more than 4 times the actual amount of water needed to keep a lawn healthy and green – wasted water that runs off of property and into storm drains. Use the watering calculator and watering index found at www.bewaterwise.com to learn just how much you should water. Saves 750 to 1,500 gallons a month.
2. Fix leaky faucets, plumbing joints and your sprinkler system. Saves 20 gallons a day for every leak stopped.
3. Replace your showerhead with a new high efficiency showerhead; install water saving faucet aerators in your bathroom and kitchen. Free showerheads and aerators are available at any LADWP customer service center. To find a location near you, click here: Customer Service Centers
4. Install a new “smart” sprinkler controller that applies just the right amount of water for your landscape based on your plants and garden, and local weather conditions. In one study, these new controllers were shown to save 40 gallons per day.
5. Replace a portion of your lawn with beautiful native and California Friendly plants. Saves 1,000 to 1,800 gallons a month depending on your climate.
6. Replace your old washing machine with a new, high-efficiency model. Saves 20 to 30 gallons per load. Learn how you can receive a $250 rebate from the purchase of a new eligible high efficiency clothes washer by clicking here.
7. Run only full loads in the washing machine and dishwasher. Saves 300 to 800 gallons a month.
8. Use a broom instead of a hose to clean driveways and sidewalks. Saves 150 gallons or more each time.
9. Shorten your showers. Every minute of your shower uses 2.5 gallons of water. So, a one- or two-minute reduction can save up to 375 gallons per month.
10. Don’t water the sidewalks, driveway or gutter. Adjust your sprinklers so that water lands on your lawn or garden where it belongs–and only there. Saves 500 gallons a month.
11. Don’t use the toilet as a wastebasket. Saves up to 200 gallons a month.

Originally Posted by Pain Freak

Yeah, it truly is amazing how other states with far less revenue have roads that put ours to shame. I've seen roads in West Virginia that were dirt, that were better to drive then some of the stuff around here.

Last year when I did the Tour de Tucson, I was astounded at the smoothness and the overall great road riding in this area. I've road all over CA and I know of no place that compares to southern AZ.

On my last visit the roads around Sacramento seemed smooth. Is that a coincidence?

[0gravity]

I've heard both federal and state gas taxes haven't been raised in decades so there is relatively less cash every year for road work even though populations and infrastructure needs are constantly rising.

People piss and moan about taxes, but they're essential to support some basic societal needs. I would prefer, however, if the taxes could be levied against oil/gas company profits, and not passed along to driver. (FYI, Exxon made $40 billion in 2007, the most any company has ever made, ever). But unfortunately, those companies have a lot of influence on how our laws and tax codes are written so I doubt that would come to pass.

Our infrastructure is slowly crumbling. It's symbolic of our country's slow decline in global standing.

[G-Ride]

The 91 is particularly bad because the toll road agency made a deal with the state to not improve/widen the 91 for 50 years or something like that, to encourage use of the express (toll) lane. This particularly burns my butt, and reeks of government corruption.

[Abui]

Originally Posted by 0gravity

(FYI, Exxon made $40 billion in 2007, the most any company has ever made, ever).

Want to get rich? Get yourself a slice of those billions by buying Exxon stock. You might be disappointed to earn 1.65% per year. Oh well.

Exxon plans to spend $25 billion a year on capital investment so we can continue to have our gas.

[CeeDubb]

Originally Posted by 0gravity

I've heard both federal and state gas taxes haven't been raised in decades so there is relatively less cash every year for road work even though populations and infrastructure needs are constantly rising.

People piss and moan about taxes, but they're essential to support some basic societal needs. I would prefer, however, if the taxes could be levied against oil/gas company profits, and not passed along to driver. (FYI, Exxon made $40 billion in 2007, the most any company has ever made, ever). But unfortunately, those companies have a lot of influence on how our laws and tax codes are written so I doubt that would come to pass.

Our infrastructure is slowly crumbling. It's symbolic of our country's slow decline in global standing.

Originally Posted by Abui

Want to get rich? Get yourself a slice of those billions by buying Exxon stock. You might be disappointed to earn 1.65% per year. Oh well.

Exxon plans to spend $25 billion a year on capital investment so we can continue to have our gas.

Why Is Gas So Freakin' Expensive

This is the best article I found a while back on why gasoline is the way it is. It's not just the oil companies.

Supply and demand is a factor here. A portion of our oil is being diverted to help the "war." Less oil for us stateside = higher prices.

We could try to refine more oil, but there are far less refineries that there were in the past. And many refineries are privately owned so they want to make a profit on their efforts.

This article is a great read and I used it to try and illustrate to someone that the US doesn't have a reliance on foreign oil. So Desert Storm and the current silliness in Iraq were never about the oil.

Though it's crazy cash these oil companies are netting every year, I don't blame 'em. We're a capitalist nation and I'm all for making all the money you can. If you had the opportunity to make an extra $25K this year, would you say, "That's okay. Just give me $10K and you can use the other $15K for something else." Probably not...

[dirtmistress]

Originally Posted by Abui

On one hand they're giving away trees, on the other hand they say there's a drought - save water.

1. Use only as much water on your lawn as you need to. Studies show that the average homeowner uses more than 4 times the actual amount of water needed to keep a lawn healthy and green – wasted water that runs off of property and into storm drains. Use the watering calculator and watering index found at www.bewaterwise.com to learn just how much you should water. Saves 750 to 1,500 gallons a month.
2. Fix leaky faucets, plumbing joints and your sprinkler system. Saves 20 gallons a day for every leak stopped.
3. Replace your showerhead with a new high efficiency showerhead; install water saving faucet aerators in your bathroom and kitchen. Free showerheads and aerators are available at any LADWP customer service center. To find a location near you, click here: Customer Service Centers
4. Install a new “smart” sprinkler controller that applies just the right amount of water for your landscape based on your plants and garden, and local weather conditions. In one study, these new controllers were shown to save 40 gallons per day.
5. Replace a portion of your lawn with beautiful native and California Friendly plants. Saves 1,000 to 1,800 gallons a month depending on your climate.
6. Replace your old washing machine with a new, high-efficiency model. Saves 20 to 30 gallons per load. Learn how you can receive a $250 rebate from the purchase of a new eligible high efficiency clothes washer by clicking here.
7. Run only full loads in the washing machine and dishwasher. Saves 300 to 800 gallons a month.
8. Use a broom instead of a hose to clean driveways and sidewalks. Saves 150 gallons or more each time.
9. Shorten your showers. Every minute of your shower uses 2.5 gallons of water. So, a one- or two-minute reduction can save up to 375 gallons per month.
10. Don’t water the sidewalks, driveway or gutter. Adjust your sprinklers so that water lands on your lawn or garden where it belongs–and only there. Saves 500 gallons a month.
11. Don’t use the toilet as a wastebasket. Saves up to 200 gallons a month.



On my last visit the roads around Sacramento seemed smooth. Is that a coincidence?

Thanks. We are going to be landscaping soon so I cut and pasted this.