Thode: Voters Disgusted at Government's Misplaced Priorities

Earlier this week, I pointed to the anemic turnout in our Presidential Primary and posited that voters really have pretty much no choice, which is pretty sad on every level of government. I suggest a real need for both open primaries and term limits. Some readers suggest age limits and campaign spending limits as well. Steve Thode, who is only slightly older but a lot smarter than I, sent me an essay that mainly looks at traffic patterns here in the Lehigh. He believes government has misplaced its priorities, and I pretty much agree. Here's his opinion:

Julie and I vote almost every primary and general election - just as we did last week. I think I have missed just two elections in the last 50 years. Both times because I was called out of town unexpectedly just before the election.

However, I am growing increasingly pessimistic.

I have a few suggestions for you. Take a drive across the Valley on US 22. Stay in the right lane and drive at the posted speed limit. See how many vehicles you pass. Not many. And see how many vehicles pass you going 10-20 miles over the posted speed limit. Lots and lots. Some will angrily honk at you for daring to observe the speed limit. Those who pass you cannot all be climate change deniers!

Speed enforcement is largely a joke. PennDOT recently announced it is going to continue to use photo radar in highway construction zones. However, speeders will face no sanctions whatsoever unless they are speeding more than 10 miles over the posted limit. And, those photo radar units are brightly colored and easily seen at a distance. We all pay for speed limit scofflaws through much higher auto insurance premiums as speeding is a primary cause in most accidents. Why should the public take the government seriously when the government doesn't take itself seriously?

While on your drive, note that the last "upgrade" to US 22 was 25 years ago and only covered the area between the Lehigh River and Schoenersville Road. Virtually all other interchanges are nearly identical to their original configurations in 1954. The PA 191 interchange is a hot mess. And, the cloverleaf merges at interchanges are substandard and dangerous. Drive north on Center Street and try to merge on to US 22 or drive north on PA 309 to merge on to US 22 West or drive east on US 22 to merge on to PA 33 North.

I haven't heard one word about widening US 22 to three lanes each direction. Most weekday afternoons, US 22 West is a parking lot from Center Street to Airport Road. Likewise, US 22 East is a parking lot from Cedar Crest Blvd to the Lehigh River.

Next, take a drive at night along US 22. Note how many overhead lights are either burnt out or non-functional at interchanges. For example, if you are heading east on US 22 and exit at Center Street all of the overhead lights along the entire exit are non-functional and have been for more than 18 months.

I-78 in Northampton County is in terrible shape, especially going east from PA 33 to Exit 75. No significant resurfacing has occurred on this section since the highway was built more than 35 years ago. Millions of loaded semis headed to NYC have beaten the crap out of it. Heaven help a person with dentures who gets stuck in the right lane.

Congress passed the laughably named $1 trillion "Infrastructure" bill last year. Billions in subsidies for windmills, EVs, and non-existent (so far) EV charging stations. But, apparently, little for roads and bridges.

Also note the public employee pension funding crisis in so many states. A State of New Jersey pensioner who retired 14 years ago has never received a Cost of Living Adjustment. Using the CPI as a gauge, that pensioner would need a COLA of more than 40% to achieve the same level of purchasing power they had the day they retired. And, there is no expectation that State of NJ pensioners will receive a COLA anytime soon because the legislature deliberately underfunded New Jersey’s pension obligations for decades.

At the national level, neither political party dares to engage in a conversation about the Social Security/Medicare funding crisis that is less than a decade away.

Many of us are cynical about our elected leaders because, although they spend money like drunken sailors, when it comes to making tough choices like adequately funding roads and bridges, public employee pensions, and Social Security and Medicare, they kick the can down the road. Instead, they craft spending bills that reward special interests at the expense of the general public. Interest payments on the federal debt – alone – consume more than 40% of all personal income taxes. The Treasury Department projects that interest on the federal debt will exceed $1 trillion this year. And, it has taken a bipartisan effort to achieve those startling numbers.

Why should voters believe in the government? I'd like to hear someone make that case.