City Needs More Money To Fix Roads

Perhaps the city could start with not actually building more roads? Nah... thats too easy of a concept.

I wish they could go back in time, and take all the federal and provincial money used for the CMHR, and spend it on infrastructure.

Ahh, give that horse a rest for Christ's sake. The infrastructure deficit is 7 friggen billion dollars plus.

Let's go back in time and capture every goddamn discretionary cent ever spent. Let's take back the federal and provincial monies spent on the MTS Centre; CanWest Park; Canad Stadium; the Art's; other Museums; Federal & Provincial Parks; Pan Am, Universiade and Olympic Games; Movie and TV tax credits; etcetera...

There must be a balance between what is absolutely needed and what is nice to have.

We don't seem to have been able to reach that balance obviously.

Giving it a rest doesn't change the fact we cannot afford the thing, and we continue to pretend there is no elephant in the room.

Obviously? Maybe. Probably. Let's draw the line then. Stop all discretionary funding until the deficit is reduced to... What? Is a zero deficit the right number? $1 billion? $5 billion? Can we ever realistically eliminate such a deficit?

I am certainly not ignoring the elephant. It may very well be an imprudent spend. But who gets to decide what is prudent and what is imprudent?

Don't like the museum? Fine. Go tell someone that can do something about it. Fricking harping on it in this forum does nothing at all to change that fact.

Roads, sewers, water, fire and police.
vs.
park benches, new logos, middle managers

It actually is easy setting priorities Mr. Dion.

Stop ALL discretionary spending then?

Not another cent until the deficit is done?

Too late to do that. Now we just have to cut-back on foolish things we cannot afford. The museum tops my list. Nothing personal.

Out of curiosity what have sandboxers personally done to make Winnipeg, Manitoba and Canada better?

Personally I've volunteered in each of the last Winnipeg municipal, Manitoba provincial and federal elections. I'll likely volunteer in future elections. I'd also like to play a role in developing a new party that will change Canadian politics.

grumpy old man wrote:Obviously? Maybe. Probably. Let's draw the line then. Stop all discretionary funding until the deficit is reduced to... What? Is a zero deficit the right number? $1 billion? $5 billion? Can we ever realistically eliminate such a deficit?

I am certainly not ignoring the elephant. It may very well be an imprudent spend. But who gets to decide what is prudent and what is imprudent?

Don't like the museum? Fine. Go tell someone that can do something about it. Fricking harping on it in this forum does nothing at all to change that fact.

so we are to stop talking about things that we cant change by discussing in this forum?
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JTF wrote:Too late to do that. Now we just have to cut-back on foolish things we cannot afford. The museum tops my list. Nothing personal.

I can accept that the museum tops your list. So let's ignore everything behind us. Going forward shall we drop every discretionary NEW spend?

How will we define "foolish"?

Deank wrote:so we are to stop talking about things that we cant change by discussing in this forum?
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Fine line between discussions and constant harping don't ya think? You know I won't advocate any kind of censoring. If someone has something to say, say it. But I get annoyed at such gratuitous shots. Especially nonsensical ones.

I sure wish you would quit harping on that point

grumpy old man wrote:Out of curiosity what have sandboxers personally done to make Winnipeg, Manitoba and Canada better?

Personally I've volunteered in each of the last Winnipeg municipal, Manitoba provincial and federal elections. I'll likely volunteer in future elections. I'd also like to play a role in developing a new party that will change Canadian politics.

I've volunteered with the Manitoba Mood Disorder Association, Fringe Festival, and West Broadway community centre. It's a start...

Dig wells.
If you don't find oil, you'll find water.
Sell the water to the arabs, in exchange for oil.
Sell the oil to the Americans.
Taddah!






Could somebody make an estimate on the cost of my Arlington CP Yards Underpass project?


If the city gets that done, it will be a great step in the right direction, on how to smoothen traffic to and from north-central Winnipeg.




With global warming coming, there'll be alot of extra money going around for the scarcity of snow plowing, especially in July and August.
:@@@:

/end daily rant.

You know what is probably bullcrap?? The $7.4 Billion dollar figure.
This is a government figure, probably computer enhanced and seasonally adjusted.
Anyone know what the cost per foot for doing roads?

Electrician wrote:/end daily rant.

why are you ranting? you don't even live here .

rosencrentz wrote:Anyone know what the cost per foot for doing roads?

Yes. Apparently it adds up to $7.4 billion dollars.

grumpy old man wrote:Out of curiosity what have sandboxers personally done to make Winnipeg, Manitoba and Canada better?

Personally I've volunteered in each of the last Winnipeg municipal, Manitoba provincial and federal elections. I'll likely volunteer in future elections. I'd also like to play a role in developing a new party that will change Canadian politics.

When it was open, I volunteered Saturdays to hand out refurbished surplus goverment computers to mostly Aboriginal people but also poor and new immigrants, at the Aboriginal Centre. Also gave training sessions to these folks, many of whom were new to computers.

Good for you volunteering during elections.

grumpy old man wrote:Obviously? Maybe. Probably. Let's draw the line then. Stop all discretionary funding until the deficit is reduced to... What? Is a zero deficit the right number? $1 billion? $5 billion? Can we ever realistically eliminate such a deficit?

Can we ever become a "have" province or should we just go along with EvilDoer economics and try to stay a "have-not" province?

grumpy old man wrote:I am certainly not ignoring the elephant. It may very well be an imprudent spend. But who gets to decide what is prudent and what is imprudent?

Classic statement. Everyone knew something smelled funny when this first ever private-public partnership for a new national museum very curiously did not have any evidence of a mandate to be created with any tax dollars. No plebiscite. No independent poll that did not ask its question in a way to influence the outcome. No analysis in the mainstream media of what all other spending priorities were at the time and how having a new one would delay others, making them cost millions more in the future. No analysis of declining attendance estimates (essentially ticket sales) and how they would affect the business plan. Hell, no public seen business plan until just recently, in which they are now begging for $45M more. No analysis of the annouced $45M shortfall and whether or not they are taking into consideration the estimated $1.5M - $2M monthly increase in construction costs. The longer it takes to raise $45M, the more they have to raise again, just to keep on top of monthly construction cost increases.

grumpy old man wrote:Don't like the museum? Fine. Go tell someone that can do something about it. Fricking harping on it in this forum does nothing at all to change that fact.

Are you clueless about how politics works? Asper-type wealth buys access to political power. Average joe wealth buys squat, except the privilege to pay for a new, ever-growing sinkhole for tax dollars. And since when does discussing anything on this forum have to result in immediate change? Keep drinking the Asper kool-aid and pass it around to others who don't mind careless spending 'cause we already have a decifit, eh? Let's keep throwing good money after bad because other politicians did so before and that is enough justification to do more of the same.

grumpy old man wrote:I can accept that the museum tops your list. So let's ignore everything behind us. Going forward shall we drop every discretionary NEW spend?

If it's going to have to be a NEW white elephant, then let's drop it and perhaps revisit it later during economic boom times. Sound resonable?

grumpy old man wrote:How will we define "foolish"?

Foolish? If it must be a white elephant, then its fcuking foolish. And if it's forced upon us, then it's fcuking totalitarian.

Unions are to blame for our shoddy infrastructure. And if you need me to explain why then you too are a part of the problem.

LivingDead wrote:Unions are to blame for our shoddy infrastructure. And if you need me to explain why then you too are a part of the problem.

As much as I am not a fan of unions , it is not their fault. People in Winnipeg have priorites, they want parks, libraries , city owned golf courses and rec centres instead of good roads.

I prefer going to the Y , private golf courses instead of crappy roads.