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RE: Public Investment

in #discussion7 years ago

Should NOT? I would say to add to lists. I would like the government to be not paying for long term welfare. Heck even short term for those who can't pass a drug test. If you are not able to be hired, then you are not able to rejoin the workforce and therefore are not eligible for unemployment benefits.
I would say NOT paying for special insurance that has been taken away from most of the country so that those in government and their extended families are forced to live with what they determined was good enough for the rest of the country.

Government should stick to the major responsibilities it was entrusted to in the beginning. Protecting the citizens who make up this great nation. The most urgent items being infrastructure, Renewable energy, military. Those three items could make this country so prosperous we could go back to being the best nation and send more aid to those in need etc.
I would love to help other countries get out of their economic mess, but I am true to myself and know that when your home is going broke, you have to cut off any expenses that dont help you get back to having a surplus. Without a surplus there is no money for the ice cream truck, for the neighbors, or for the special interest projects of those who would like to try to make this country better.

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Hi @moneymanmike

The most urgent items being ... Renewable energy...

I have had direct involvement with this. I was the city superintendent for a small town who had windmills connected directly to their electrical grid. Enough to run the entire town.

  • The problem was windmills produced exactly opposite of when the town needed it to.
    • They produced more at night,
      even though the town used more electricity during the day.
      • They produced more spring and fall,
        even though the town used more electricity summer and winter.
  • If it were not for government pushing alternative energies, we wouldn't have windmills polluting our landscape.
    • It's not that they ever really wanted alternative energy to succeed. The government promoting alternative energies was nothing more than a scam you could label crony capitalism.
      • Most of the billionaires who run the world made their fortunes from big oil. They won't give up that golden goose easily. (The rest of the power brokers made their fortunes creating "money" out of thin air and charging interest on it...)

...when your home is going broke, you have to cut off any expenses that dont help you get back to having a surplus...

Right on ✌

You do not use fossil fuels at night, or in the spring or fall? The fact that you reduce the need on the lower end does not mean it is useless. If you can burn less fossil fuels, and/or increase battery capacity, then you will gain in the long term. In Indiana, we have windmills, they are beautiful. We have factories that work 24/7 so the power being created is being used. This is allowing the state to slow down and use the finite power sources for peak need, not for all need.
If your city built too many, maybe that is a problem, but then you should sell the power to other cities. Or work on storage facilities to harness a power source that will last for a great many years.
How long ago were the windmills installed? I am curious to learn about their efficiency, their longevity, and the cities ability to utilize them to their full potential.

Here is the original announcement from MPUA, the company that Rock Port purchases their electricity from.

It did save the city a few thousand dollars in wheeling fees, since the wind generators were connected directly to the city distribution. (There were no transmission charges...)

  • I have attended many meetings, am a journeyman lineman, a electrical generator operator and have been a utility superintendent. I have much hands on experience with all forms of electrical generation. The wind turbines would not be here, if it weren't for government subsidies. They just were not profitable.
    • On the other hand solar power is just now coming into it's own as a viable alternative energy source that does not require government subsidies. The government subsidies are making it very profitable for a few big promoters of solar power, but solar power technology has advanced enough that it would maintain it's market without government subsidy.

Some links for you to check out...

I will read them. I am glad the city has savings. I view wind as the 3rd best of the 3 major renewables. I plan to build a house and want to have geothermal ran through my floors for radiant heat/cooling as well as temperature stabilization for my pool, water heaters etc. If done correctly, should reduce energy demand by up to 75%. I would then add solar to offset the remaining. Add in a Tesla battery back or 2 and I will be able to be off the grid completely. Lastly, I would back up the entire house with a gasoline powered generator so that I could have a few hundred gallons of gas delivered, and use it to fuel up my mowers, cars etc. and just in case there is a time I don't generate quite enough.
I wish your city the best, and hopefully as prices of electricity continue to rise, the savings will therefore increase, and you will be proud of the decision.

That sounds like a good plan for your home! Best of luck with those projects.

60K a year is great savings for a little town. The problem is that they planned for 125% of the cities need, and the company that owns the windmills has the rights to sell the power to others, not your city. This is a flaw in the leasing and why I turned down that option when offered it here. If I am going to attempt to create extra capacity, I am not going to let someone else reap the benefits. the city should have planned for 75% of need, and added a solar farm at the airport like Indianapolis Airport did, or on top of government building etc. Create some power during day for when wind is slower. This sounds like it was someones pet project, or relative who was paid for the project, so they went all in without thinking about the consequences.

most urgent items being infrastructure, Renewable energy, military
you got one out of three right..

Which of those 3 are not right?
Renewables help reduce our dependence of foreign fossil fuels, and will save this country billions. That will help put this country back on a path to prosperity.
Infrastructure, maybe the most questionable, is part of the interstate commerce clause, and therefore should be partially covered by government.
Military is the main function of the government, although in the beginning each state had a militia, but I understand times have changed and we need a larger and more cohesive force.

ONE of those three is right.
guess which one.

I challenge you to explain which are not. Have some insight and share your own opinions instead of just asking others to argue with themselves.

you're no fun.
"how about you and him fight...I'll make popcorn'
but if you insist.
of the three listed only the military (and of that only the navy) is authorized by the constitution.

Maybe the only one authorized. But the Federal Gov spends millions if not billions on power. Why not spend some, and give them free power, and save our future tax dollars?
Without good infrastructure, this country will fail. Ideally this should be corrected by the states and the companies doing business in them, but without government, I guarantee wal-mart and costco would not be paying for our roads. There are some things that this country needs, and if they are done right, they are short term investments for long term payoffs. If the government only provided a Navy we would no longer be the United states of America. We need more, but you are correct in that the Wasted outnumbers the Useful in terms of their use of our taxpayer money that they take from us.

you make some assumptions.
think outside the box.
suppose we are not 'helped' by government but rather held back (regulations don't you know)
suppose that our degree of economic advancement is not BECAUSE of government but rather in spite of it.

Roads?
Why do we need roads?
Back in the day Autogyros, private planes, AirShips and other forms of aviation were..

...pretty much brought to a stop by the FAA...
wonder why that happened?

The Navy would do an adequate job of defending our shores...what other purpose does the military have?