So, yiu're upset because they ARE maintaining the roads?
..riiiggghhhtt.....
Plus. you are lumping the Turnpike, which is an "authority" road, in
with other highways.
Not really comparable, in many ways.
Gus / Steve is an expert on the subject - he gets paid by (as opposed
to working) for NJ DOT. Nice scam if you can pull it off. Steve -
are you getting paid to post on rmr today? I'm jealous.
Phil
Not upset here Gus. Just discussing the facts.
The slight decrease in fuel costs is far outweighed by toll costs and
monopolistic channeling of that huge and lengthy tract of real estate, let
out at a tiny fraction of the real value.
I have travelled in and through every state in the nation (except Alaska),
and almost without exception, the controlled tollways are a real pain. And
the pike was one of the biggest pains, regularly.
I have driven on almost every major highway in the US. I personally rank
the pike in the bottom 10%, for many reasons. What I was noting was not
maintenance, but the appearance of maintenance while bottlenecking several
miles of roadway with cones during daytime hours. That is both my personal
experience, and also on the drivers we had to dispatch through troubles
there.
So what you are implying is that we all just got caught on the bad days...
every time...
"> ..riiiggghhhtt....."
And I most definitely compare it with all major highways in the US... which
is why we agree on at least this point:
"> Not really comparable, in many ways."
Cheers!
~ Duane Phillips.
I'm not arguing with you, just trying to shed a little light on the
subject of how highways are financed.
Actually, very little of the money used to finance the NJ Tpk. comes
from taxes.
That is not the case with non-Authority roads.
92% of the Turnpike's revenue is derived from tolls, 35% of which is
from out of state traffic.
No State Tax money is used to fund the Turnpike. In fact, $12 million
dollars of Turnpike funds are contributed to the State Transportation
Trust Fund annually.
So, if the turnpike were NOT a toll road, it would have to compete for
available funding with every other transportation need out there. In a
major corridor state like New Jersey there are always FAR more needs
than there is money to address them.
That's life in the big city.
"It would have to compete..." vs. "enjoy the leisure of a monopolistic
function".
The only noteworthy point above is the "35%" out-of-state traffic (your
numbers... I don't have the actual statistics). But that is a double edged
sword: by your numbers, 65% are Jersey residents who now pay triple "taxes"
(call it what ever you desire) on the major roadway though New Jersey... but
hey, the gas is cheaper (sort of).
So you've just brought it back full circle. In my opinion, the decrease in
fuel prices due to less State additive taxation is only a token decrease in
State fuel taxes, and does not compensate for the crammed up piece of taxing
roadway that showcases the pike authority. In the end, the money still
comes from the people, only now we also pay for terminus, overhead, and
access control, with excesses of $12 million (your numbers) and finally a
product of a roadway that never seems to be free of construction, and takes
longer to pass through than at least 95% of other major highways in the US.
That's not "life in the big city", it is just one way to pay for the roadway
(and then some), with a method that actually costs the people more in the
end.
However, that is both my experience, and my opinion. I don't agree with
toll-based roadways. That type of system just flows to easily with the
following (bad) logic:
"If it moves, tax it. If it still moves, tax it more. If it keeps moving,
regulate it. If it stops moving, subsidize it." ~ author unknown (I think
Reagan quoted something like it, in jest).
Cheers!
~ Duane Phillips.
Yesterday - Regular 2.419 / gallon full service wahoo. To bad I
didn't need gas while I was there.
Phil
On Mon, 11 Sep 2006 10:53:32 -0600, "Duane Phillips"
Today, a block from my house...$2.26 full service (its rare to find
full service, and this is one of the cheaper ones around)
I filled up. :)
-Aaron
Philip Stein wrote:
I bought SpaceCad and there was supposed to be a Rocksim importation
feature. Your Rocksim files could be imported into SpaceCad.
It doesn't work.
Kurt
I use RockSim 7.0 and I have an earlier version that you can have free
if you want. It's v. 4.0 and is on two 3-1/2" diskettes. I would
think it still works.
Please let me know if you're interested. I'm in AZ.
Larry Lobdell Jr.
Sorry I just removed a post, because I meant to say:
Larry,
I know beggars can't be choosers, but could you tell me the big
difference between V4 and V7?
Larry Lobdell Jr. wrote:
I can't tell you the exact differences but they're on the apogee
website.
I upgraded because an upgrade was available, but I didn't need to. V4
worked fine even for designing my larger 2-stage so I think it'll work
for you. I think V7 has a 3D view of the rocket but I never use it.
Begging seems to be a feature of advanced rocketry; it's worked pretty
well for me when I've needed it :) Thank you friends.
Larry Lobdell Jr.
BTW, you may want to check the license for the software. Most packages
do not allow for the resale of a license.
Lets say "user A" buys a legit copy of version 4.0, but upgrades to
version 5.0, under a deal for version 4.0 users. (cheaper price)
"User A" then sells the version 4.0 disks to "User B". This violates
most software licensing, as "User B" will often request an "upgrade
price" when buying version 5.0.
When software is bought, it's often a "license" to use that software,
and is not transferable. If you buy the disks from a 3rd party, you are
in reality, committing a crime.
Larry Lobdell Jr. wrote:
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