Tag: Tunnel

To hear MDOT talk, the proposed Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) is not so much a bridge as a yellow brick road to eternal prosperity.  This image appeals to your Wizard, of course, but I am more concerned about whether the image is based in reality or merely the result of a bump on the head.  Why the DRIC instead of a private second span put up by the Ambassador Bridge (AB) people?

The case for DRIC goes something like this:  (1) we need a second bridge to accommodate the tremendous growth in traffic we will see in the future, (2) the good witch of the north (Canada, for those of you not following my Oz analogy) has offered us a $550 million loan to get started, and (3) we can turn that $550 million into another $2 billion from the federal government to put toward our roads.  Ultimately, the DRIC is supposed to generate thousands and thousands of jobs and enable our manufacturing and agriculture industries to thrive.  The Canadian loan, the cost of the project, and all future costs would be paid or repaid out of bridge tolls.

Let's set aside the "jobs" and "thriving industries" justifications for now.  Whether the bridge is built through a public-private partnership or by the AB folks, those benefits should still accrue, so those justifications favor neither approach.  And, if we need a second bridge, we need a second bridge, regardless of who builds it.

So, based solely on media coverage (a dicey proposition, I know), the case for DRIC appears to boil down to the fact that Canada has offered its loan for a public bridge, and we can use that loan to leverage federal highway funds.  Let's look at these issues in some more detail:

After examining the EPA's proposed regulatory framework to limit Ozone to 60 ppb from its current 75 ppb, the Manufacturer's Alliance has presented its estimate of impact on Jobs and the economy.  Their initial impact assessment shows:

• The annual attainment cost is estimated to be $1.013 trillion between 2020 and 2030 (in 2010 dollars). This is equivalent to 5.4 percent of projected constant dollar gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020. The present value of attainment costs over this period amounts to $7.1 trillion (based on a discount rate of 7 percent).
  
• GDP would be reduced by $676.8 billion in 2020 (in 2010 dollars), an amount that represents 3.6 percent of projected 2020 GDP in the baseline case.
  
• Together, annual attainment costs and reduced GDP in 2020 total $1.7 trillion.
  
• Total U.S. job losses attributable to a 60 ppb ozone standard are estimated to rise to 7.3 million by 2020, a figure that is equal to 4.3 percent of the projected 2020 labor force.
  
• The marginal cost of attaining the primary ozone standard rises rapidly as the ozone standard becomes more stringent.

Governor Granholm has been in lock step with this type of green activism by the executive types, and has eagerly supported the damaging eco-legislation by congress for years. In fact I believe the term "blown away" refers to the results of her posture on manufacturing, which was once upon a time THE Domain of Michigan entrepreneurial activity.

Michigan conservative Congressional hopefuls need to strap on the koohonies if they don't come naturally however.  About the ONLY WAY to stop this damaging process, is to A. Get elected, and B. Agree to DE-FUND the EPA in its entirety.  Take away its money 100%.  Eliminate its ability to survive and act. Destroy it.