America's crumbling infrastructure

For the record, it's not like buildings don't break down or become dangerously unsafe in Canada, it's just that Canadians actually keep and eye on that stuff, and we won't hesitate to order emergency evacuations the minute a building is found to be unsafe.

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/a-brief-history-of-condo-evacuations-in-alberta

Seriously, there have been "you have five minutes to get out, maybe you'll be able to come back for your stuff later" type evacuations when it's been deemed urgent enough, and that's good thing.

I once came home in -40 weather to find out my apartment building had a water main break that flooded the basement and forced them to turn off the power. The Red Cross was already there with heated busses where we could register as residents of the building, after which they put us all in cheap hotels and gave us meal vouchers for the Chinese restaurant in the lobby for the three days it took the buildings owner to get it habitable again.

I bet in America they'd just tell you to pull yourself up by the bootstraps.

For the Americans on the board, understand that anyone who lives in Edmonton is batshit crazy.

-40C (which converts to -40F) is a warm summer day in northern Alberta.

So, I had to google Glenda Gotrocks. Still not sure how it applies to me.

First item on search list is a twitter handle glendagotrocks. Her bio describes her as a Southern Belle. Former wife of magnate JR Gotrocks. Wealthy but not snobby. Enjoyer of life. Best alter ego ever.

Not really sure what that has to do with me as I'm not wealthy. Nor was I ever married to someone wealthy.

The second search result, and ..., actually, the first one I opened because ...



And, while still not sure what it has to do with me, it does explain @Prufrock's username. I'm sure others already knew it, but I'm not a fan of poetry, so ...

One does not negate the other simply for feeling more righteous and sympathetic.[/quote]

No. But, neither does the other just because you say so.

Wealth redistribution is a real thing. It's just not what you think it is.

Wealth redistribution is workers losing 3.7 trillion in 2020, but corporations gain that amount in 2020. THAT is what wealth redistribution is. Despite what corporate propaganda puts out.

Actuaslly, there are similar problems with SFHs in florida HOAs. My dad is on a board where they are responsible for keeping the houses at a certain level in the community. The community is about 20 years old which means time for new roofs down here. Already portions of the roofs are leaking in multiple areas. This is not just a problem with collapsing, but the mold down here from the water entry can be actually poisonous. It can actually mean you have to gut your house of the wood and walls to eliminate the mold from the leaks that will spread.

OMFG the old people pitch a god damned fit over the HOA making a deal with a roofing company for a discount on all the community putting in new roofing. These cheap ass elderly shitbags would rather have their homes full of mold and leaks making it unsellable than spend for the home maintenance required by any SFH owner. You do not wand to live in a florida neighborhood next to a condemned or collapsing home. You live right on top of people already, and the insects and rats do not give a fuck about a 2 meter walk from your neighbors condemned home to your house.

This is why the HOA has to be complete assholes to people. Because you are always going to have some fucker who does not want to pay for home improvements to their condos or SFHs. I don't give a fuck some grandmother does not want to pay 40k to update the concrete in her highrise. Pay it or GTFO. I do not want to be pancaked because some cheap ass republican trump cunt thinks god is going to keep the high rise from collapsing and science does not mean shit. I do not want to live next door to a condemned mold and insect filled SFH because some old trumpian shitbag lived in there with their leaking roof because they were not going to be told what to do. If you want to do that there are plenty of places outside the HOA structure where you have every right to infect the neighborhood with your diseased filled shithole.

Don't overthink it. Just laughing at you dumping on $200 as Trivial.

Did they require blood donations before giving you your hotel room and Chinese food?
"Type O Negative? You get the jacuzzi suite.
"B Positive? Awfully optimistic for someone whose flat is currently uninhabitable, aren't you?"

It depends on what that $200 is for. If it's your only source of income, in the US in 2021, and you still need to buy food, pay rent, etc., then yes, it's nothing. If all other expenses are covered, and $200 is your "entertainment" fund, then sure, it's not an insignificant sum.

This makes me feel a bit nervous. I live in a pretty old two story condo complex in FL. There are no regulations on the HOAs having to hold money for obvious future repairs. So really massive repairs would end up being a loan situation which the HOA would have to vote for and then up fees to pay off over time. That sounds like a lovely reason to put off expensive needed structural repairs.

I look at my grandmother's building in the same area, and across the street a woman did damage to the load bearing areas of the outside of the two story complex next door. No one is requiring her to fix it. The apartment above might have structural damage that makes their out door porch room unsafe and they are just leaving it. I saw the results of the woman smashing her car into the building and it took out some supports and degraded the concrete which is the floor of the second floor apartments.

This is the lack of regulations that has exisated for a long time in floriduh and that means this is just the first building to fall. There is no money waiting to fix these older buildings, and the owners are either going to have to spend big dollars on remodelling or they will keep them until they collapse.

Get a fucking room.

Jesus fucking christ, it is not like sucking a microdick takes that long. Just append this to the pillow talk so we do not need the visuals.

That depends entirely on the State and the Municipality. Our Fire Marshal's Office and Building Inspector's Office inspect every business license holder every year. In addition, any modification to a structure requiring a permit also results in an appropriate inspection, whether it be Fire, Building, and/or Health (Food Safety).

The difference between here and Miami is more than superficial or legal. These Offices actually care about their mission and are appropriately staffed to accomplish that mission.

Your tax dollars at work, friend.

Of the ass

It's really very simple, you just have to look behind the curtain.

The right and much of the middle of our political universe is directed by Oligarchs. The "libertarian" crowd (Kochs, Mercers, etc) allied with the religious nutters (Devos family and others) fossil fuel crowd (some overlap here with the others) the heirs of the Birchers (also some connections to the previous groups, there are not hard divisions among all these) and, lately, the "new money" people like Bezos, Gates, and etc.

The Oligarchs own the Republicans straight out, and they have a lease on people like Manchin and other "moderate" Dems.
BUT
You can survive as a political party if you openly, obviously, serve no purpose except to enable the oligarchs to exploit everyone and everything else for more wealth. At some point the exploited sort out the con and the guillotines come out. At a minimum you lose elctions and then you have no puppets to do your bidding. What to do?

Distract them.
That's why the proto-theocrats have so much power on the right - not because most of the Oligarchs give a fuck about abortion or gays or whatever (a few do) - but religion is a very convenient vehicle for provoking the rabble to fear and anger. The Church has been running that con for centuries. So co-opt conservative religion and give them money to spread their bullshit, they are no threat to you but they keep the rabble distracted.

For the less religiously motivated, there are other distractions, whether it's outright xenophobia and bigotry ("Immigrant caravans!" Trannies in the bathroom!" whatever) or fictional oppression "They are coming for your guns!" Now they want to ban Doctor Suess and Mr. Potato Head!"

The Oligarchs give ZERO fucks about ANY of that shit. They care about PROFIT. Fuck everything else (including the environment, they have the wealth to save themselves from whatever happens when the earth burns, or they'll be dead by then). The fastest path to profit is distracting the rabble with fighting about bullshit and lies so they never recognize who the ACTUAL predators are. SO...

The Oligarchs want:
No taxes.
No regulation.
No obligations.

So requiring you to actually maintain your shit? Hurts the bottom line!
Requiring you to build shit right in the first place? WAY too expensive!
Requiring you to be environmentally responsible in your business? What the fuck have we been giving you billions for 50 years for if not for you to ignore that impact and let us profit?

When Reagan said "the government is not the solution to our problems, the government IS the problem" THAT is what he was talking about.

for 40 years we haven't changed the oil, now the motors gonna blow up and no way we have the bank account to have it fixed.
But hey, small government and shit, right?

Maybe try making a point for once, you fucking blowhard.

I did. Dicknuckles up there just thinks it's cute to clip things out around the naughty words he doesn't like.

The parts I clip aren't exactly gonna cure cancer or unlock transwarp drive.
Shit, they wouldn't so much as make a baby smile.