A year or so ago (probably longer, after I turned 33 I rather lost track of time’s passage) I started a little group here called Transportation Kos. The reason was to talk about Transportation infrastructure---Sanders and Clinton both had released ideas for rebuilding (and expanding) the nation’s infrastructure.
Flash forward to now where, well, we all know.
Over the weekend, it became clear after diary after diary appeared complaining about the temporary timeout of one man that many of y’all need something constructive to do. Therefore, I’m reintroducing my little group and expanding it to go far beyond transportation.
See, Trump’s got some kind of infrastructure plan in mind although we haven’t a clue as to what it will really look like. It does seem to entail much use of “public-private partnerships” and “tax credits”. It seems almost certain current Federal law and rules on tolling is going to be on its way out (somewhat restricted, except under certain conditions). Privatization in other areas seems almost guaranteed. I doubt Amtrak will survive the Trump Administration, for example, especially if he appoints John Mica to it. There are lots of already existing private entities who will directly benefit from the free-for-all that I suspect will come out of this $1 trillion bill he’s proposed such as:
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much of the electrical grid,
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water delivery systems already privatized (which is a great crime, in my opinion),
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ports (many of which are already self-supporting, and some of which are managed by private entities),
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airports (which are a mix of public and private and “it’s complicated” ownership nationwide, many operating under “government owned, private contractor operated”),
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oil and gas pipelines,
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the internet (trump wants this “locked up”) and other telecommunications,
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experimental transportation methods such as Hype(r)loop, various weird monorails, entities who want to build bullet trains that circumvent current Federal rules, private passenger railroad efforts (there are a few), and so on,
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the vast private infrastructure consultancy sector who actually does much the building, which globally is busy consolidating,
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and railroads (the vast majority of the US rail infrastructure is—and for the most part always has been save the period when Conrail operated railroads in part of the nation-- privately owned).
We need to keep track of all of the above and more such as if the current Federal rules on tolling are changed or outright thrown out. I’m sure I've left quite a few out. So, that’s where you all come in.
I’m looking for writers for the group who have an eye for detail and want to learn more and enjoy researching stuff. I’m looking for people who can add a little more detail than just a blockquote from an article they read (no, I’m not looking for longreads although they're very welcome!) . I actually don’t expect expertise (it’s welcome btw!), but if you want to write and learn about infrastructure whilst you do it, hop on the train!
When whatever infrastructure bill emerges, I’m hoping we can get deep into the nitty-gritty in a way I don’t expect most media mainstream or otherwise to do so. That bill needs to be picked to pieces, every line analyzed, so people know how much and to what extent the theft will be. We need to know how they’ll farm the funds out to the states, or if this will be an unprecedented centralization of Federal control (managed, owned, and run by corporations).
Learn how your state typically does infrastructure and report back (for transportation, a good place to start is your Statewide Transportation Improvement Program or STIP). If you suspect a shady deal, dig deeper. If the shady deal requires public input, give your input and report how it went. There’s going to be a lot of these, and I’m not so sure that most media’s up to the task, even those who exclusively cover infrastructure issues, because this incoming admin seems to use the “Fire hose full of bullshit” approach, an approach many authoritarians globally have been and are fond of using.
I’m looking to move the group far beyond transportation, although when you think about it, an electrical grid transports electricity, a water delivery system transports water and sewage, and so on from there. You hear about a merger between railroads? Utilities? Write’er up here. If and when privatization gets underway and a state chooses awards some corporation something? Dig into that. That’s the sort of thing we should have been doing all along and it’s the sort of thing we have to do now.
I’m hoping in the new year, when the new regime comes in, there are lots of efforts here at Dkos to track every corrupt atrocity they come up with. This is my way to help with that. Now, I would have created a tracking effort if Clinton had won (ok, she did win, just not in the 3 states where it mattered) too. Taxpayers deserve transparency when their money is used, and traditionally infrastructure construction hasn’t been very transparent (for example, the $4 billion new PATH hub in Lower Manhattan, and more than a few interstate highways). The difference with hers and his is I highly doubt hers would have involved what appears to me will be a straight-up giveaway.
Send me a Kosmail if you’re interested. I’ll add you to the group and make you a moderator. In addition, I’m really bad at organizing and managing people—ask my weather center folks!—so self-starters are a really good fit for the group.
We all need something to do, whether we’re out there in the streets organizing and resisting or tracking every single penny they’re going to loot, or better yet, both. Let me know (and I hope this is okay with site management. Hopefully encouraged too.)
Also looking for someone who can design a header for the group. I’m not sure if I’m allowed to pay someone for this, but I can pay a small amount via paypal if management says this is okay.