Smaller is better Non-government is better

The partial article that I posted below explains how the highway system can be handled better at a smaller government level or by private enterprise.  Imagine if this same principle was applied to medical research , space exploration , food safety and more.......

99guspuppet

The Road to Better Highways

What should the federal government do about the nation's highways? On May 17, Independent Institute Research Fellow Gabriel Roth addressed this question at a hearing on financing twenty-first-century infrastructure convened by the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance. His recommendation: the federal government should fund no transportation infrastructure at all, and the federal Highway Trust Fund should be phased out.

Getting rid of federal financing would encourage state and private-sector funding, Roth argued. In addition to describing the current role of the private sector in road transportation--and why that role should be enlarged--he sketched a fascinating picture of what a high-tech private road system might look like. One alternative would use a payment system based on GPS technology.

Here's how it might work: Every vehicle would contain a device--an in-vehicle unit--that would record the vehicle's data about miles traveled, locations, and times, and the owner would submit some of that data (distances traveled, for example) to a billing agency. The biller would debit the vehicle owner's account and credit the road owners' accounts. This way the privacy of the vehicle owner would be guaranteed. Also, mobile inspectors could ensure that vehicles that use the new charging system carry the right equipment and that it operates property. The use of surveillance cameras could be minimized. "Payment could be made directly to road providers (in the public or private sectors) with no need to send them to the federal government," Roth writes. Science fiction? Hardly. More than 900,000 vehicles in Germany and Slovakia have utilized a GPS-based payment system.

Now guys don't have wonder ,,, no more pregnancy russian roulette

The article below suggests that men can take control of the gamble that goes along with screwing around.  Now a man can guarantee they won't be leaving developing babies  in their wake.  Now if there was a pill to enforce responsibility... we would be set.   It would also help to have a quickie test for male fertility.   Hmmmmmmmmm ...........

99guspuppet



A promising new birth control method for men that's more easily reversible than vasectomy has been developed in India. Called RISUG (Reversible Inhibition of Sperm Under Guidance or Vasalgel in the U.S) the method is claimed to be 100 percent effective in trials, doesn't contain controversial hormone therapy and it lasts a minimum of 10 years.
The procedure involves injecting a non-toxic polymer (gel) above the scrotum, rather than making an incision as is done in vasectomies. The polymer then acts as a security system, coating the inside walls of the vas deferens (the passage way for sperm above the scrotum) which chemically incapacitates the sperms as they go past, making them unable to fertilize an egg.
"Within an hour, the drugs produce an electrical charge that nullifies the electrical charge of the spermatozoa, preventing it from penetrating the ovum," says Dr. Guha, who developed the contraceptive at IIT Kharagpur in India.
The results are similar to a traditional vasectomy but with added advantages of it being simple, pain free (after the injection part!) and easily reversible. If a patient wishes to restore fertility, after months or years, the polymer can be simply flushed out of the system with another injection.
After testing RISUG on over 250 volunteers, Dr. Guha reported little or no side effects other than slight scrotal swelling in some men immediately after the injection, which dissipates after a few weeks.
Inexpensive to manufacture and simple to administer, RISUG could offer a cost effective solution to unwanted pregnancies in developing countries. In developed nations; it would give women a safe long-term option, free from the many risks associated with long-term birth-control-pill use, whilst also potentially reducing the number of abortions. It would give men a more comfortable and hassle free solution from condoms and an attractive option over having a vasectomy.

The EPA crushes people living in the USA .... again

I did a little math based on the content I found and posted below my "green" comments ......

Divide 10.9 Billion dollars by 17,000 lives saved ==> $640,000 per person ........  I hope I got the math right ....    Is that a good expenditure of money ?  I doubt it.  First you have to believe that the EPA is NOT being overly optimistic.  Next you have to believe that $640K per person is a good way to spend money to "save" people.   I can think of better uses for the money.   More bang for the buck.

99guspuppet

EPA Rules on Mercury Will Cost Billions, ‘Do Nothing’

The Environmental Protection Agency has issued nearly 1,000 pages of new rules ordering American power plants to significantly reduce their emissions of mercury and other air pollutants, a move that will reportedly cost electricity producers $10.9 billion a year.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson claims the rules will save 17,000 lives and generate up to $140 billion in health benefits, but “there is no factual basis for these assertions,” two experts maintain.

In an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal, Harvard University scientist Willie Soon, an expert on mercury and public health issues, and Paul Driessen, senior policy adviser for the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, point out that the United States currently emits only 41 to 48 tons of mercury per year.