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Something I read in the News



 
 
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  #1  
Old December 18th 18, 03:58 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
John B. Slocomb
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Posts: 805
Default Something I read in the News

Today's Bangkok Post had an article entitled "US careens towards
government shutdown". From reading the article it seems that the
President wants a 5 billion dollar budget for the Mexican Wall and
Congress doesn't want to give it to him.

5,000,000,000 divided by 1,954 miles is what? $25,588,536.33 a mile
(that may be wrong as I'm not used to working with really big numbers)
but even for the largest economy in the world that seems a tiny bit
expensive, doesn't it?

cheers,

John B.


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  #2  
Old December 18th 18, 04:38 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Frank Krygowski[_4_]
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Posts: 10,538
Default Something I read in the News

On 12/17/2018 9:58 PM, John B. Slocomb wrote:
Today's Bangkok Post had an article entitled "US careens towards
government shutdown". From reading the article it seems that the
President wants a 5 billion dollar budget for the Mexican Wall and
Congress doesn't want to give it to him.

5,000,000,000 divided by 1,954 miles is what? $25,588,536.33 a mile
(that may be wrong as I'm not used to working with really big numbers)
but even for the largest economy in the world that seems a tiny bit
expensive, doesn't it?


That can't be true! When he was campaigning he promised Mexico was going
to pay for the wall! I heard him say so!

That darn Bangkok Post must be pushing fake news.

--
- Frank Krygowski
  #3  
Old December 18th 18, 05:57 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Jeff Liebermann
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Posts: 4,018
Default Something I read in the News

On Tue, 18 Dec 2018 09:58:10 +0700, John B. Slocomb
wrote:

Today's Bangkok Post had an article entitled "US careens towards
government shutdown". From reading the article it seems that the
President wants a 5 billion dollar budget for the Mexican Wall and
Congress doesn't want to give it to him.

5,000,000,000 divided by 1,954 miles is what? $25,588,536.33 a mile
(that may be wrong as I'm not used to working with really big numbers)


It's easier with exponential notation:
$5 billion = 5*10^9 dollars.
5*10^9 / 2*10^3 = 2.5*10^6 = 2.5 million dollars / mile

but even for the largest economy in the world that seems a tiny bit
expensive, doesn't it?


That's fairly close to what it would cost to build a 2 lane undivided
rural road:
https://medium.com/@TimSylvester/i-agree-it-sounds-astronomical-but-i-actually-understated-the-costs-according-to-artba-2e8baeac2a46

"Copying Israel's wall would cut Trump's price nearly in half"
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/copying-israels-wall-would-cut-trumps-price-nearly-in-half
Actually, the construction contract will probably go to one of the
major US construction companies, who will then subcontract the actual
work to smaller Mexican companies.


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D
http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
  #4  
Old December 18th 18, 06:11 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
[email protected]
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Posts: 2,041
Default Something I read in the News

On Monday, December 17, 2018 at 8:58:15 PM UTC-6, John B. Slocomb wrote:
Today's Bangkok Post had an article entitled "US careens towards
government shutdown". From reading the article it seems that the
President wants a 5 billion dollar budget for the Mexican Wall and
Congress doesn't want to give it to him.

5,000,000,000 divided by 1,954 miles is what? $25,588,536.33 a mile
(that may be wrong as I'm not used to working with really big numbers)
but even for the largest economy in the world that seems a tiny bit
expensive, doesn't it?

cheers,

John B.



What Jeff said. $2.5 million per mile of fencing. Not $25. Given the cost of everything the government buys, $2.5 million for a mile of fence doesn't really sound too extreme. We pay $10-20-30-40-50 Billion for every airplane or boat we buy for the military. So $2.5 million per mile is change we could find in the couch. Of course the fence could just be a single strand of electric fence with a stake stuck in the ground every 100 yards. All put up by some Mexican illegal immigrants paid below minimum wage. And the contractor could be laughing at how he made out like a bandit stealing money from the government as he jets off to Hawaii for vacation. That sounds far more reasonable. And of course this crook will make a $2.5 million donation to the Republican party and his buddies.
  #5  
Old December 18th 18, 07:56 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
John B. Slocomb
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Posts: 805
Default Something I read in the News

On Mon, 17 Dec 2018 22:38:54 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 12/17/2018 9:58 PM, John B. Slocomb wrote:
Today's Bangkok Post had an article entitled "US careens towards
government shutdown". From reading the article it seems that the
President wants a 5 billion dollar budget for the Mexican Wall and
Congress doesn't want to give it to him.

5,000,000,000 divided by 1,954 miles is what? $25,588,536.33 a mile
(that may be wrong as I'm not used to working with really big numbers)
but even for the largest economy in the world that seems a tiny bit
expensive, doesn't it?


That can't be true! When he was campaigning he promised Mexico was going
to pay for the wall! I heard him say so!

That darn Bangkok Post must be pushing fake news.


NO, the Bangkok Post prints only the Truth!

That is a bit of a tongue in cheek as the Post has never, in the
history of the paper, printed anything that was derogatory to the
government in power at press time :-O

Actually the Post quoted the AFP - Agency France Press - for that
tidbit.

I wonder why the U.S. doesn't follow Thailand in matter of illegal
immigrants. Here the only individuals that qualify for government
assistance of any sort are citizens , or, in some cases, legal workers
who pay taxes. Illegal immigrants are liable to jail terms but are
usually just extradited to their home country. AND, those who employ
illegal workers are liable to a 1 year jail term and a large fine. I'm
not sure about it but Thai law usually assigns one penalty per crime
committed, i.e., two illegal workers equals two years and double fine,
etc.

While finding that one will be hanged in a fortnight is said to
concentrates the mind wonderfully I also find that "no food unless you
earn it" tends to ensure that most people will be gainfully employed
:-)

cheers,

John B.


  #6  
Old December 18th 18, 08:20 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
John B. Slocomb
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 805
Default Something I read in the News

On Mon, 17 Dec 2018 20:57:54 -0800, Jeff Liebermann
wrote:

On Tue, 18 Dec 2018 09:58:10 +0700, John B. Slocomb
wrote:

Today's Bangkok Post had an article entitled "US careens towards
government shutdown". From reading the article it seems that the
President wants a 5 billion dollar budget for the Mexican Wall and
Congress doesn't want to give it to him.

5,000,000,000 divided by 1,954 miles is what? $25,588,536.33 a mile
(that may be wrong as I'm not used to working with really big numbers)


It's easier with exponential notation:
$5 billion = 5*10^9 dollars.
5*10^9 / 2*10^3 = 2.5*10^6 = 2.5 million dollars / mile


Well as I said, I don't do really big numbers :-) But still 2.5
million a mile is (unless I make another mistake) is 2.5 million
divided by 5,280 comes to $473.48 a foot, or in more precise terms
$39.45 an inch.


but even for the largest economy in the world that seems a tiny bit
expensive, doesn't it?


That's fairly close to what it would cost to build a 2 lane undivided
rural road:
https://medium.com/@TimSylvester/i-agree-it-sounds-astronomical-but-i-actually-understated-the-costs-according-to-artba-2e8baeac2a46

"Copying Israel's wall would cut Trump's price nearly in half"
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/copying-israels-wall-would-cut-trumps-price-nearly-in-half
Actually, the construction contract will probably go to one of the
major US construction companies, who will then subcontract the actual
work to smaller Mexican companies.


Mexican labor rates seem to be in the neighborhood of US$3.00 an hour
while U.S. rates are what? $10.00 an hour? Certainly labor is not the
only costs involved but even so, at $39.45 an inch a chap might be
able to make a buck or two :-)

And yes, the major U.S. construction companies will be standing in
line to get their fingers in that pot.


cheers,

John B.


  #7  
Old December 18th 18, 08:36 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
John B. Slocomb
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 805
Default Something I read in the News

On Mon, 17 Dec 2018 21:11:04 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

On Monday, December 17, 2018 at 8:58:15 PM UTC-6, John B. Slocomb wrote:
Today's Bangkok Post had an article entitled "US careens towards
government shutdown". From reading the article it seems that the
President wants a 5 billion dollar budget for the Mexican Wall and
Congress doesn't want to give it to him.

5,000,000,000 divided by 1,954 miles is what? $25,588,536.33 a mile
(that may be wrong as I'm not used to working with really big numbers)
but even for the largest economy in the world that seems a tiny bit
expensive, doesn't it?

cheers,

John B.



What Jeff said. $2.5 million per mile of fencing. Not $25.

Given the cost of everything the government buys, $2.5 million for a
mile of fence doesn't really sound too extreme. We pay
$10-20-30-40-50 Billion for every airplane or boat we buy for the
military. So $2.5 million per mile is change we could find in the
couch. Of course the fence could just be a single strand of electric
fence with a stake stuck in the ground every 100 yards. All put up by
some Mexican illegal immigrants paid below minimum wage. And the
contractor could be laughing at how he made out like a bandit stealing
money from the government as he jets off to Hawaii for vacation. That
sounds far more reasonable. And of course this crook will make a $2.5
million donation to the Republican party and his buddies.

Yes, as I said, I don't work well with really large numbers but
then... there are such things a "cost overruns". The San Francisco
bridge was originally estimates at $250 million and actual costs were
about $6.5 billion. At that rate the 5 billion might just be a drop in
the bucket.

Re the $10-20-30-40-50 Billion. President Eisenhower, in his farewell
address warned about the potential influence of the "military -
industrial complex". Did anyone listen?

cheers,

John B.


  #8  
Old December 18th 18, 09:22 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
[email protected]
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Posts: 2,041
Default Something I read in the News

On Tuesday, December 18, 2018 at 1:36:22 AM UTC-6, John B. Slocomb wrote:
On Mon, 17 Dec 2018 21:11:04 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

On Monday, December 17, 2018 at 8:58:15 PM UTC-6, John B. Slocomb wrote:
Today's Bangkok Post had an article entitled "US careens towards
government shutdown". From reading the article it seems that the
President wants a 5 billion dollar budget for the Mexican Wall and
Congress doesn't want to give it to him.

5,000,000,000 divided by 1,954 miles is what? $25,588,536.33 a mile
(that may be wrong as I'm not used to working with really big numbers)
but even for the largest economy in the world that seems a tiny bit
expensive, doesn't it?

cheers,

John B.



What Jeff said. $2.5 million per mile of fencing. Not $25.

Given the cost of everything the government buys, $2.5 million for a
mile of fence doesn't really sound too extreme. We pay
$10-20-30-40-50 Billion for every airplane or boat we buy for the
military. So $2.5 million per mile is change we could find in the
couch. Of course the fence could just be a single strand of electric
fence with a stake stuck in the ground every 100 yards. All put up by
some Mexican illegal immigrants paid below minimum wage. And the
contractor could be laughing at how he made out like a bandit stealing
money from the government as he jets off to Hawaii for vacation. That
sounds far more reasonable. And of course this crook will make a $2.5
million donation to the Republican party and his buddies.

Yes, as I said, I don't work well with really large numbers but
then... there are such things a "cost overruns". The San Francisco
bridge was originally estimates at $250 million and actual costs were
about $6.5 billion. At that rate the 5 billion might just be a drop in
the bucket.

Re the $10-20-30-40-50 Billion. President Eisenhower, in his farewell
address warned about the potential influence of the "military -
industrial complex". Did anyone listen?

cheers,

John B.


I made a terrible mistake. The F15 US jet is ONLY $30 million each in 1998 dollars. Given 20 years of escalating costs, that is probably $50 million today. So we could get 20 miles of fence for one F15 jet.
  #9  
Old December 18th 18, 09:30 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
John B. Slocomb
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 805
Default Something I read in the News

On Tue, 18 Dec 2018 00:22:06 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

On Tuesday, December 18, 2018 at 1:36:22 AM UTC-6, John B. Slocomb wrote:
On Mon, 17 Dec 2018 21:11:04 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

On Monday, December 17, 2018 at 8:58:15 PM UTC-6, John B. Slocomb wrote:
Today's Bangkok Post had an article entitled "US careens towards
government shutdown". From reading the article it seems that the
President wants a 5 billion dollar budget for the Mexican Wall and
Congress doesn't want to give it to him.

5,000,000,000 divided by 1,954 miles is what? $25,588,536.33 a mile
(that may be wrong as I'm not used to working with really big numbers)
but even for the largest economy in the world that seems a tiny bit
expensive, doesn't it?

cheers,

John B.


What Jeff said. $2.5 million per mile of fencing. Not $25.

Given the cost of everything the government buys, $2.5 million for a
mile of fence doesn't really sound too extreme. We pay
$10-20-30-40-50 Billion for every airplane or boat we buy for the
military. So $2.5 million per mile is change we could find in the
couch. Of course the fence could just be a single strand of electric
fence with a stake stuck in the ground every 100 yards. All put up by
some Mexican illegal immigrants paid below minimum wage. And the
contractor could be laughing at how he made out like a bandit stealing
money from the government as he jets off to Hawaii for vacation. That
sounds far more reasonable. And of course this crook will make a $2.5
million donation to the Republican party and his buddies.

Yes, as I said, I don't work well with really large numbers but
then... there are such things a "cost overruns". The San Francisco
bridge was originally estimates at $250 million and actual costs were
about $6.5 billion. At that rate the 5 billion might just be a drop in
the bucket.

Re the $10-20-30-40-50 Billion. President Eisenhower, in his farewell
address warned about the potential influence of the "military -
industrial complex". Did anyone listen?

cheers,

John B.


I made a terrible mistake. The F15 US jet is ONLY $30 million each in 1998 dollars. Given 20 years of escalating costs, that is probably $50 million today. So we could get 20 miles of fence for one F15 jet.


And, at the time I was in the Air Force the A.F. bought jet engines
without a grantee at a cheaper price then the airlines paid for
theirs. I had thought that was silly but I was told that as they had
the parts in normal stock and they had the trained mechanics already
in place it was cheaper to do their own repairs.

As for $30 million airplanes I wonder whether that is for a bare
airplane or whether that is for an airplane and a bunch of spares?

The Army here just got damned for "paying too much for helicopters"
and it turned out that the Army's price included spares and training
for the pilots.

cheers,

John B.


  #10  
Old December 18th 18, 10:45 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
news18
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Posts: 1,131
Default Something I read in the News

On Mon, 17 Dec 2018 20:57:54 -0800, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

Actually, the construction contract will probably go to one of the major
US construction companies, who will then subcontract the actual work to
smaller Mexican companies.


Aaah, economic trickle down for the local population, which was
alledgedly one of the reasons for building the various Great Walls of
China. Donald is probably annoyed that he can't specify the same
foundation method.



 




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