It puts money in the hands of manufacturers of said trash cans. This is STIMULATIVE!!

So?

I want one. I might not want to pay $3600 for one, but I want one.

GoldSpider: It puts money in the hands of manufacturers of said trash cans. This is STIMULATIVE!!

They're in CHINA though.

ghare: They're in CHINA though.

Doesn't matter, all government spending is stimulative. Just ask whidbey.

ghare: GoldSpider: It puts money in the hands of manufacturers of said trash cans. This is STIMULATIVE!!

They're in CHINA though.

RTFA:

"If we were to get a large order for compactors this year, it would create an awful lot of work to make them and install them," Kennelly said, adding much of the manufacturing is done in Massachusetts. The assembly of the rubbish cans occurs at Mack Molding in Arlington, Vt.

i'm about as liberal as they come, and even i think this is an awful use of the stimulus funds; although, i do think it's basically a good idea, if there were money to pay for it.

that said, why can't opponents of this bill be honest about anything? tfa is not about $21 million worth of "trash cans," it's about $21 million worth of "solar powered trash compactors." obviously the tactic is to make the bill seem as wasteful and eeevil as possible, but the continued use of hyperbole and outright falsehood to critique the stimulus makes its opponents look silly.

I worked for these guys several years ago as an electrical engineer.

They manufacture nearly all of it here in Mass, and do final assembly in Vermont. These have already been installed in lots of places around Boston and are successfully reducing the number of pickups (and thus the amount of gas used on those 3MPG trash trucks).

And: yes, it works on cloudy days, when it's raining, or even when there's snow on top.

From TFA: "It's projects like these that make people suspicious of the entire federal stimulus project," said Rep. Vinny M. DeMacedo (R-Plymouth), who sits on the legislative committee designed to oversee how the state's share is spent. "They might be nice, but how are they creating jobs?"

THEY DON'T APPEAR OUT OF THIN AIR YOU F*CKING MORON

I live near Fenway park, and these things really are pretty amazing. After a game, you used to see trash piled up around the cans that was literally 3- to 4 times the volume of the can; now, none of that eyesore. Just the can with an indicator light noting that it should probably be emptied soon.

I live in Mass. These trash cans/compactors WHATEVAR, are fantastic.

They don't stink and they don't get stuffed and overflow. A few of them got put up in Davis Square a few years ago, and there is a noticeable difference in cleanliness.

Is it stimulative? Probably not, because the town doesn't need as many garbage collectors. But, if you believe in the "broken windows" theory of economics, maybe they are. However, these aren't $500 toilet seats or wasteful in and of themselves.

These things are all American built, so while it might reduce trash collecting jobs, the money will be going to an American company with US workers. Seems like a good use of stimulus funds to me, and they seem to make public areas cleaner. And good for the environment because you don't need to pick up the trash as often, reducing the truck mileage (and your trucks will last longer then too, because you don't have to use them as much).

Not to mention I saw a segment on these things on a Beyond Tomorrow episode, and they're pretty badass machines. I think they even communicate that they're close to full and need to be emptied via a radio transmission or something along those lines. And you can fit a hell of a lot more trash in them. Would love to see these things in Chicago too.

So now Republicans are worried about people who pick up trash? What is the world coming to?

Emptying the cans fewer times means fewer sanitation workers. That means lay offs. That's bad.

/except of course they're union jobs, so no one will ever get laid off.

GoldSpider: ghare: They're in CHINA though.

Doesn't matter, all government spending is stimulative. Just ask whidbeyRecall_All_Republicans.

I still say a troll off between Skookum and Recall_All_Republicans would have been epic.

So it creates jobs now (when they're needed), and saves money by costing government jobs in the future (when the economy, hopefully, has picked up).

Sounds sensible to me.

Truncks1: So now Republicans are worried about people who pick up trash? What is the world coming to?

The sound of your mother moaning?

A union leader looking over a quarry site bemoans the fate of his workers. He approaches the quarry owner and says 'If it wasn't for those steam shovels, we'd be employing 500 men with picks.' To which the quarry owner replies 'If it wasn't for your 500 quarry men with picks, we'd be employing 10,000 men with thimbles.'

In other words... you don't stimulate an economy by paying people to do useless work. You pay people to do productive and useful things that otherwise aren't going to get done now, and (hopefully) recoup the cost when the economy revives. You build/repair Interstates so that traffic can move more freely. You build high-speed rail so that freight and passengers can travel more efficiently. You spend the money in ways that circulates many times and that primes the pump for growth.

This state has Boston, so I'm not surprised.

The headline, like the cake, is a lie.

TFA says "may", not "will". Significant difference!

nugz4lunch: Truncks1: So now Republicans are worried about people who pick up trash? What is the world coming to?

The sound of your mother moaning?

haha... wha?

czetie: A union leader looking over a quarry site bemoans the fate of his workers. He approaches the quarry owner and says 'If it wasn't for those steam shovels, we'd be employing 500 men with picks.' To which the quarry owner replies 'If it wasn't for your 500 quarry men with picks, we'd be employing 10,000 men with thimbles.'

In other words... you don't stimulate an economy by paying people to do useless work. You pay people to do productive and useful things that otherwise aren't going to get done now, and (hopefully) recoup the cost when the economy revives. You build/repair Interstates so that traffic can move more freely. You build high-speed rail so that freight and passengers can travel more efficiently. You spend the money in ways that circulates many times and that primes the pump for growth.

And the guys with picks can find something for themselves to do? Do you have any guesses as to what they'll do?

In order to create jobs, Massachusetts will buy $21.8 million worth of trash cans that don't need to be emptied as often

They're called dumpsters.

Fark Me To Tears: In order to create jobs, Massachusetts will buy $21.8 million worth of trash cans that don't need to be emptied as often

They're called dumpsters.

In Massachusetts the elect Dumpsters to congress.

/ I'm here all Week
// Try the Veal
/// Tip your servers

all_arm: i'm about as liberal as they come, and even i think this is an awful use of the stimulus funds; although, i do think it's basically a good idea, if there were money to pay for it.

that said, why can't opponents of this bill be honest about anything? tfa is not about $21 million worth of "trash cans," it's about $21 million worth of "solar powered trash compactors." obviously the tactic is to make the bill seem as wasteful and eeevil as possible, but the continued use of hyperbole and outright falsehood to critique the stimulus makes its opponents look silly.

It still sounds pretty wasteful. What is the expected lifespan of these compactors? I know (hope) that someone has already done the analysis though.

Read TFA expecting to be horrified and incensed at the wasteful use of stimulus money, left feeling like it's a pretty damn good investment.