Is There Anybody Out There?

As I drive down Washington Blvd. in Fremont I am awestruck at the huge bridge and landscaping that is going on at Osgood. The idea is to have traffic drive over the railroad tracks via a bridge. But that means restructuring the whole landscape by demolishing houses and building big hills of dirt, etc. Is it just me that finds the attitude of:  ‘let’s build pretty conveniences instead of helping out the lagging housing market and do it all on an outrageous budget as the economy is falling apart’ a very sarcastic slap in the face? Did someone just decide heck, I don’t like the looks of the old railroad tracks on Washington Blvd. and I don’t like driving over those horrible bumps (railroad tracks) because I spill my coffee?

So, let’s borrow, borrow, borrow like there’s no tomorrow and keep up the façade that everything is okay. Our kids don’t need homes to go to home to or after school sports and music programs when they will have a beautiful new bridge and railroad tracks to admire. I’m sure the bridge will hold up better than the economy right now anyways.And check out the 92/880 interchange construction going on for several years now. Do we really need to rework and rebuild the whole dang thing rather than help all the people who drive on the highways keep their houses? I think not! What has happened to our priorities? It’s almost as if city planners are staging the cities themselves much like one would stage a house that is up for sale, except — the city isn’t for sale (at least not yet). And to liven up the insanity of this project, one day as I was trying to make my way through the narrow passage of the temporary white barricades (I swear they move them in a little each night) I saw one of the orange hat workers carrying two handfuls of dirt from one side of the road to the other. OMG! That’s one way to maintain job security, by lengthening the time it takes to rebuild. Bulldozers move the dirt too fast for him I guess. I know the contractors are suffering a lot in this economy because of the drop in real estate but c’mon – I was laughing so hard when I saw that I almost plowed into one of the temporary barricades (which, by the way, have a disturbing amount of what appears to be tire tracks on them).

And the 880/Mission Blvd. interchange construction going on now is slowly forming into a useless mess. It looks as if they are just using a ‘winging-it’ type of design. Let’s try this – no, let’s try this – no let’s try this. Why can’t we just leave the roads where they are, fill the holes as they happen and put all those millions, no billions into rescuing the economy. I know it may be just a drop in the bucket, but it is still better than a bucket with no bottom at all. I guess I am just very ‘old school’ when it comes to budgeting. I always went on the assumption that if money gets tight you tighten your belt (so to speak) and forfeit even the little luxuries till things get back on track.

I’m just talking about a few cities here in the Bay Area that have lost their ability to prioritize. It’s really scary to think about how many cities in the United States are doing the same thing. In fact, I have yet to find an airport in the USA that doesn’t have some kind of construction going on. Stop buying the filet mignon and get creative with hamburger for a while to get this budget crises taken care of. Focus on the really important things like being able to afford and keep a place to live. I’m concerned, worried, stressed and strangely amused by the insanity — all at the same time.

And one last thought to add to the mania of the falling housing market, what about my bank account? If all these bank accounts are insured by AIG, and we, the taxpayers, just bought AIG, are we now insuring our own bank accounts?