Tag: politics: Page 9

Construction Equipment

Caterpillar CEO talks up prospects of highway bill, says U.S. has a lot to learn about public-private partnerships

What are the prospects for the federal government passing a multi-year highway bill soon? Doug Oberhelman, Caterpillar chairman and chief executive officer, says he was extremely encouraged by President Barack Obama’s recent proposal for a $302-billion, multi-year highway bill. “We have been pushing hard for that at Caterpillar and our customers have been pushing us […]

March 4, 2014

Business

Obama proposes $302 billion, 4-year transportation bill, announces $600 million in competitive grants

President Barack Obama has proposed a $302 billion, four-year transportation reauthorization bill with the aim of avoiding the Highway Trust Fund’s looming insolvency as well as providing a much-needed boost to the infrastructure improvements he promised during 2013’s State of the Union address. Through a White House announcement, Obama also announced that the U.S. Department of […]

February 26, 2014

ConExpo-Con/Agg

How a beaten-up 1949 Hudson barely made it across the country to spread the Gospel of Infrastructure

What’s more American than a round-the-country road trip in a vintage vehicle? Fifth-generation roadbuilder Dan McNichol has been driving a rusty, 1949 Hudson from Massachusetts to the West Coast and back with the goal of bringing attention to the dire state of roads and bridges in this country. The all-original Hudson, more than 60 years […]

February 26, 2014

Business

UAW defeat in Chattanooga ought to be a wake up call for unions: This ain’t Germany

Last week when factory workers at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga, Tennessee, facility voted against forming a union, the headlines characterized it as a “devastating” loss for the United Auto Workers. The vote was fairly close, 712 to 626. If it were a football game this would be more like a score of 21 to 18. Hardly devastating. […]

February 20, 2014

Business

Trucking company owner parodies Van Damme’s “Epic Split” to demonstrate the dangers of Obamacare

A few weeks ago, an ad by Volvo Trucks took the Internet by storm. It featured action star Jean Claude Van Damme performing an “Epic Split” between two Volvo FM trucks in reverse. And now, unsurprisingly, it has been parodied. But parodies of viral videos don’t usually come from the owners of trucking companies. Especially […]

December 9, 2013

Business

Ken Kesey, Obamacare and you

With the holidays approaching, the construction season winding down and the federal government flailing about trying to take over 1/6th of the nation’s economy, now would be a good time to revisit a classic novel from the 1960s. Ken Kesey’s Sometimes a Great Notion is the story of an independent logging family in Oregon facing […]

December 6, 2013

Business

New bill would nearly double the federal gas tax to better fund transportation

While one duo of Congressmen contends that the gasoline tax should reduced by 80 percent and federal transportation funding eliminated altogether, another lawmaker has introduced a bill that would nearly double the gas tax, according to a report from The Hill. In a little more than a two week span we’ve seen just how differing […]

December 5, 2013

Business

Slumping productivity, political football drive down Q4 Nonresidential Construction Index

For the first time in five months, two of which brought its highest marks ever, FMI’s Nonresidential Construction Index (NRCI) fell 2.9 points in the fourth quarter to 57.4. The good news is that despite the drop from last quarter, any mark above 50 on the index indicates growth and this quarter is still 1.9 […]

December 4, 2013

Business

Building permits up in October, but government delays housing starts data for second month due to shutdown

Though the Commerce Department won’t release data on housing starts and completions until next month, it reports that building permits saw a sizable gain in October. Placing blame on the 16-day partial shutdown of the federal government during October, the Commerce Department says it won’t have the data for home starts and completions for the […]

November 26, 2013

Business

Fast Train to Nowhere: 5 reasons why high-speed rail is the next Obamacare

California is chugging along in it’s crusade to build a high-speed rail system linking Los Angeles and San Francisco. How many ways is this wrong? Let us count: 1. California already has a high-speed transportation network. Its called the airlines. They’re not going to build a train that can outrun a Boeing 737. Some 16,000 people […]

November 22, 2013

Business

Bill calls for the elimination of federal transportation funding

While most are trying to figure out a way to free up more federal funding for transportation, two Congressmen have introduced a bill that would cut it altogether. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rep. Tom Graves (R-Georgia) have filed the Transportation Empowerment Act (TEA), according to our sister site Better Roads. The bill calls for […]

November 18, 2013

Business

The RINOs charge: Republicans’ return to the middle signals hope for infrastructure funding

With Chris Christie easily winning his second term as governor of New Jersey and Bradley Byrne winning his first election to the House of Representatives from Alabama’s District 1 yesterday, pundits on the left are hailing the resurgence of what they see as moderate republicans. If this is the beginning of a trend, it may […]

November 6, 2013