David Strom: Idiot
Yeah, we already know that Strom of the Taxpayer's League is a moron, but it appears to be getting worse. Via MDE, whose content of late has been pretty sad ("Barack Obama lost an election once!", "Democrats should return money given to them by some people, uh, just because!"), we see that Minneapolis City Hall needs a new roof. A gravel roof will last 20 years and cost $1.2 million; by my math, that's $60,000 per year of life. A "green" roof, which covers the roof with several kinds of plants, will last 36 years and cost $1.7 million; a bit more than $47,000 per year. Plus, the green roof is better for the environment by providing wildlife habitat downtown and reducing storm water runoff. So it's cheaper over the roof's lifespan, nice for the environment...a no-brainer, right?
Well, only if you aren't no-brainer David Strom, who is opposed to it and thinks it is unnecessary, that it's only a gimmick. So, Mr. Strom, why do you oppose this? Do you just hate Minneapolis? Are you incapable of simple math? Did your Magic 8 Ball tell you to say this? What is it?
Allow me to introduce a concept to Mr. Strom called long-term planning. Taxpayer League zealots who only care about cutting taxes as much as possible now, and damn the consequences, may not understand that over the long run a larger up-front expense may be a good thing. But it's how those of us in the reality-based community do our budgets and live our lives! Care to learn more?
posted by MN Politics Guru @ 18:16
11 Comments:
Is now the time to spend $1.7 million on a grass roof?
MDE, would you build a gravel road for less initially, even though in the long run it will cost far more than a road paved with asphalt?
Well, the roof needs to be replaced. So obviously the time is now to replace the roof with something. As a taxpayer, I would be very pissed if the city chose to replace the roof with something that doesn't last as long and cost more per year than the alternative.
But that's just me. I don't believe in the disposable society, where we buy cheap crap with the expectation that we will just throw it away because it doesn't last long.
it is way past time to start investing in our infrastructure in ways that last. Folks like Strom and his "anarchist league" have no interest in the common good as long as government is destroyed and their petty bank account is not touched. Its short sighted nonsense
David Strom has got to get laid. His idiocy must be coming from being fat and incapable of relating to other human beings.
What is most irritating is how cheap bastards like him are unwilling to pay taxes for education, security and the community good then taking the money they get back and becoming a fat glutton. Look at Strom's build, greedy is not the word. How can he think of himself as a citizen or a patriot when he refuses to pay his fair share of taxes. His type is so cheap that not only are they not willing to pay for dinner, a good guess is that he makes his date pay her own busfare. The man is disgusting on so many levels... perhaps it would be better if he did not reproduce.
It is nice to see such reasoned and thoughful posts and comments.
Do you people not know that what you are saying is public? Are you really that dense?
Is this the manner of reasoning that you plan to use to push public policy?
As for the the merits of the roof, you have to look at the expense in terms of both long-term planning and shorter term needs. This city is going on a spending spree for unnecessary, "nice" things, but has neglected necessary things, such as police.
Have you not noticed that people are dying in large numbers on Minneapolis streets, and Rybak has cut police since he first became Mayor?
This city wastes millions on money-losing city-owned theaters, an unnecessary civil rights department (duplicated at both the county and state level, not to mention the feds), has a greenhouse gas policy, but cares so little for its citizens that it lets them get shot in the street.
But that's probably OK. Maybe the victims were fat, ugly, or driving SUVs (one was driving a minivan--a light truck!).
David,
May think they should build a roof? Obviously, one will need to happen soon, so is your suggestion to take the roof money and get more police, then lay them all off next year to get the roof?
David Strom has got to get laid.
Sorry, kiddles; Republicans have better sex lives:
http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/News/story?id=174461
Anecdotally, this is absolutely true.
His idiocy must be coming from being fat and incapable of relating to other human beings.
Dunno, bigfella. I've known Strom a couple of years; he relates just fine.
As opposed to, y'know, another anonymous snarkoblogger. One not fit to carry Strom's cigar case, in this instance.
The original post makes a huge financial error in not calculating the "opportunity cost" of the more expensive roof. In this case, the extra half million dollars, even at a moderate 5% interest, costs an extra $25000 annually, making the grass roof distinctly more expensive than the alternative--even before watering and mowing costs.
Even if it lasted 36 years, which is doubtful; soil & grass will tend to hold moisture near the waterproof barrier and cause freezing damage when it hits 10 below. What the producer has done in Tuscon or Atlanta is not necessarily applicable here.
It is a dang grass roof!
I don't care how much sex you get, that is just plain silly. Why doesn't everyone just make their roof a pool, and when the rain falls, it fills the pool.
Oh yeah, because building have to be built to hold the extra weight of all that crap.
dirt, grass, trapped water.
Was this building designed for this? Or are we going to have to retrofit some extra support structure to support the extra weight?
Oh, and don't forget the safety equipment needed, since we are now inviting 'God's creatures' to an environment that they are not normally accustomed to.
This will require a new city dept. specializing in training animals to this new environment.
etc etc etc
My oh my but David that fat prick seems to be thin skinned too. David, it is useless gasbags who have damaged Minnesota because they are too damn cheap to pay fair and equitable taxes... that the issue. An obvious glutton like David Strom is a symbol of what is wrong with the "I've got mine, and screw everybody else" culture. Being ugly in physical qualities are sometimes and indicator of the ugly psychology of the person. David strom is an example of that.
As Hubert Humphrey once said, "Americans don't want a handout, they want a hand up."
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