Unintended Consequences

[IlPadrino]

I've been think about the Minneapolis Bridge collapse and all the knee-jerk reactions. I'm convinced we need to keep a level head and not react to the sensationalism of the this single event. Talk of raising gas tax to pay for better bridge maintenance strikes me as counter-productive if we live in a world of limited resources. There are certainly better ways we can spend our money to make our lives safer.

I'm reminded of something a read a long time ago about the airline industry prohibiting the long-time practice of having infants sit on a parents lap instead of buying a ticket for the car seat. The cynic in me believes they did it to sell more tickets, but the industry was adamant it was about passenger safety and the need to reduce the number of children injured or killed. Can anyone guess what happened? Yeah... because it was too expensive, more passengers opted for car travel, which actually increased the number of children injured and killed because car travel is much more likely to end in an incident than air travel.

So... I think we should calmly let the investigation run its course. I've heard it said that the NTSB is the *BEST* government agency in the country. Let's hold off on the knee jerk reaction because we don't have enough resources to apply them ineffectively.

Oh, and I also read something interesting about global warming in Discover this month. During the summer of 2003 when thousands of people died in Europe due to the heat wave, the public complained that global warming was already killing us. Funny they never bothered to look at the other side: about ten times the number of people died of the cold that year. Global warming might help save lives! Who'd've thunk it?

 

[sceriana]

I agree IlPadrino ... it definitely seems like it is a knee jerk reaction and they are making it seem like every bridge throughout the US is in danger of collapsing. The night of the collapse, a local news channel here in Florida was in front of a couple of bridges and almost shocked that there wasn't anybody checking the bridge.

In the end, the inspection and findings will tell us a lot. It can range from blatant poor engineering to something that a seasoned engineer inspector could have never spotted.

I think it is great that we live in a country where reaction and response is quick and efficient. Having lived in Italy, the country's infrastructure is a true disgrace. I remember when a bridge collapesed because of floods (or something related to nature), that bridge was not fixed for I don't know how long.

A knee jerk reaction can be extreme but I guess it is better than the extreme opposite of doing nothing.

 

[Guest]

I've been think about the Minneapolis Bridge collapse and all the knee-jerk reactions.

I have been in the tank a bit myself lately as well, which prompted by outburst for MB Part 2 - I am tired of hearing people who have spent five minutes listening to a news story act as if they are suddenly subject matter experts and in fact KNOW the real underlying cause. Well .. my level of annoyance with the people who KNOW the cause is actually a very close second to those people who believe it was act perpetrated by the government as part of a larger conspiracy.

I think you are absolutely correct - part of the issue is a knee-jerk reaction prompted by a tragic event without fully understanding the circumstances behind the event or even the contributing factors. However, instead of looking at contributing factors as 'consequences', I consider them outcomes because at the end of the day there is a framework in place to assist with the decision-making. There are many different factors within this framework and certainly a budgetary criteria/constraint is most certainly weighed heavily, but the weight of each of those factors and the decisions that arrive from those factors ultimately have outcomes - some are positive, some are not as positive. Each of use have different filters that interpret the 'good' or 'bad' of those outcomes whether they are direct or indirct.

Reconciling the outcomes on a person-by-person basis is what has become a matter of grave concern for me because it takes a little work and digging to appreciate all of the factors and outcomes. Instead, many are listening to a five-minute news broadcast and letting the story serve as thier guiding light for establishing thier understanding of decision-making and outcomes.

I think the political cartoon sums my previous statements above best.

This concern also stems, in part, that a greater degree of our society has become what I consider to be the video-game generation. They can't stay focused for very long to complete a task or try to understand a complex issue. The greater sense of pressing a button to achieve an immediate result for satisfaction carries over into many other facets of life and that in turn fuels the need for these people to turn to a newscaster or political pundit for thier 'fix' of information. In this way they are achieving a sense of mastery without exerting the effort or discipline necessary to wade past the opinions and hubris to arrive at an independent conclusion based on the facts.

I could wax eloquently for days about other contributing factors like the general lack of respect or trust individuals have for thier elected officials and government officers or minimal partcipation in voting and other civic duties, but I think I would completely lose the point of my aforementioned statements.

In closing, I think the new culture that is creeping up on our country is Public Enemy #1 for the very reason that it leads to the very knee-jerk reactions that you described in the onset of your thread. :2cents:

JR

 

[Road Guy]

Tax cuts for the Rich? Hah not if you read my Hybrid tax cut thread!

Someone pointed out that Minnesota spent something like >$10 Million on a ball stadium.

Peoples priorities in general are farked!

Take for example the federal gas tax, why dont states get 100% of the money that is paid into? Why should a state only get back 90 cents on the dollar from the gas tax paid by motorist in that state in stead of getting dollar for dollar?

 

[Slugger926]

Tax cuts for the Rich? Hah not if you read my Hybrid tax cut thread!
Someone pointed out that Minnesota spent something like >$10 Million on a ball stadium.

Peoples priorities in general are farked!

Take for example the federal gas tax, why dont states get 100% of the money that is paid into? Why should a state only get back 90 cents on the dollar from the gas tax paid by motorist in that state in stead of getting dollar for dollar?

I watched a baseball game at the Metro dome in Minneapolis a few years ago. It was great for watching a game. I don't know why every city wants to build a new stadium with an indoor water park and amusement park for when the crowd gets bored of the game. GEEZ. There are better things to be spending $$$ on like public safety, and required infrastructure.

BTW, I got one of Rickey Henderson's last homeruns at that game.

 

[FusionWhite]

I watched a baseball game at the Metro dome in Minneapolis a few years ago. It was great for watching a game. I don't know why every city wants to build a new stadium with an indoor water park and amusement park for when the crowd gets bored of the game. GEEZ. There are better things to be spending $$$ on like public safety, and required infrastructure.
BTW, I got one of Rickey Henderson's last homeruns at that game.

I saw my first MLB and first NFL game in the Metro Dome. I dont really understand the fascination with new stadiums either. Yes stadiums get run down after half a century but a 25 year old stadium looks about the same as a 5 year old stadium. Theres still gum under the seats and theres urinals still smell like piss.

 

[kevo_55]

I watched a baseball game at the Metro dome in Minneapolis a few years ago. It was great for watching a game. I don't know why every city wants to build a new stadium with an indoor water park and amusement park for when the crowd gets bored of the game. GEEZ. There are better things to be spending $$$ on like public safety, and required infrastructure.
BTW, I got one of Rickey Henderson's last homeruns at that game.

The city/NFL/MLB just wants to attract a more "upscale" crowd.

Take the Minnesota Wild (Excel Energy Center) for example. When the EX was built, it just became the classic story of the have and have nots for hockey. I've been to a few games but only because I got the tickets for free. Every time I spent over $50 for beer/food. It's really expensive!!

I personally like the EX though. I just don't like the whole change in stadium & totally restructure the ticket prices/food deal that owners like to pull.