Ahhh yes -- the conservative utopia of no business taxes and no business regulation in all of it's John Q. Public screwing glory:
The sharp increase in heavy traffic from a historic oil boom has damaged many farm-to-market roads in South and East Texas. The damage related to energy development has become so extensive that state and local authorities lack the funding to make all the repairs. Last month, the Texas Department of Transportation announced plans to convert more than 80 miles of paved roads to gravel. The conversions are expected to start Monday, TxDOT officials said. But the plan has been met with criticism from lawmakers and some of the farmers and ranchers who live near those roads.
"Since paving roads is too expensive and there is not enough funding to repave them all, our only other option to make them safer is to turn them into gravel roads," TxDOT spokesman David Glessner said.http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/john-galt-lives-texas
Yes - that's right dear readers - the conservative/Texan version of technological advancement is to convert paved roads into gravel roads because they cannot afford the maintenance and repaving of those roads.
What's next? Replacing street lights with oil lamps? Replacing Replacing modern fire fighting vehicles with horse-drawn, hand pumpers? A return to hanging suspected horse thieves from the nearest oak tree without a due process trial by jury . . .? (The Gadfly will stop there lest the Texas GOP get any new ideas).
Steve Benen points out the obvious issue here:
The larger context of this is important.
On the one hand, Gov. Rick Perry (R) believes Texas' economy is amazing, and he's managed to strike the perfect balance between meeting the public's needs and keeping the private sector happy. Every other state, the governor assures us, should be following Texas' lead -- after all, thanks to the energy sector, the Lone Star State has plenty of money.
On the other hand, thanks to wear and tear from the oil companies, which have made themselves remarkably rich from Texas' resources, Texas can no longer afford to pave many of its roads, and will instead transition from pavement to gravel.http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/08/19/20092412-a-different-kind-of-stone-age?lite
Until The Gadfly is presented with credible evidence refuting him, he stands steadfastly by previous assertions stating that the modern day, conservative movement is hell-bent on turning the progress clock so far back that the eventual outcome is that America becomes the world's most prolific, third world banana republic.
----TFG
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