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From: Finbar McMullen, FSC
One thing that we should learn from hurricane Sandy is the need to bury all power cables. This needs to be done all along the eastern coast and the Gulf of Mexico. With warmer ocean temperatures hurricanes will have added strength and the season will be longer. Add to this the record number of winter storms that hit New England and the need for buried cables should not be difficult to understand. The cost of doing this every year is beyond folly, but think of the people in New York who are still without power in freezing weather, not to mention gas rationing still going on. Yes, it would cost a great deal of money, but so did the Interstate Highway System. What would the country be like now if we did not have it? Has anyone ever figured out how much it adds to the economy? This reminds me of something similar with the Christian Brothers. We used to have fundraising drives in all of our schools every year to raise money to support our houses of formation. About 60 years ago our Provincial decided that this was not a good way to go, so he told the principals of our schools to send him money by Christmas, $5,000 or more, because he knew they could. He was a wise investor, even featured in a local issue of Time Magazine one year, and built a sizable portfolio that helps us meet our needs to this day. We need the same kind of foresight from our members of Congress, in spite of what it would cost. I have no idea how the utility companies pay for these repairs, whether from government assistance, insurance, or their own money, but there is no reason why the federal government should foot the whole cost. Just get it done.
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