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Pete Buttigieg forced to explain that lead is poisonous to obtuse Republican (www.lgbtqnation.com)

submitted 8 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/politics@lemmy.world

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Drinking lead can damage people's brains, but Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach opposes a plan to remove lead water pipes.

…

In their letter, the attorneys general wrote, “[The plan] sets an almost impossible timeline, will cost billions and will infringe on the rights of the States and their residents – all for benefits that may be entirely speculative.”

Kobach repeated this nearly verbatim in a March 7 post on X (formerly Twitter).

Buttigieg responded by writing, “The benefit of not being lead poisoned is not speculative. It is enormous. And because lead poisoning leads to irreversible cognitive harm, massive economic loss, and even higher crime rates, this work represents one of the best returns on public investment ever observed.”

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[-] Nudding@lemmy.world 39 points 8 months ago

The Brookings Institution, a social policy think tank, noted that the actual cost of replacing all of the nation’s lead pipes is closer to $47 billion. The Biden administration originally requested $45 billion for the project, but congressional Republicans negotiated the amount down to $15 billion. The institute also noted that replacing pipes in crowded urban cities like Chicago could take 40 to 50 years.

[-] themeatbridge@lemmy.world 22 points 8 months ago

So it is underfunded, because Republicans didn't want to fully fund the effort.

Also, when they talk about "homeowners" replacing their lead pipes, what they really mean is "landlords." Homeowners have an interest in replacing lead pipes because there will be an ROI when they sell, and also the improved quality of life (not spending money on lead filters or bottled water, no cognitive impairment, etc).

The losers in this situation are the corportate slumlords for whom it will cost more to replace water pipes, and who will not see most of the benefit. They'll have a hard time justifying raising the rent by saying "now the water is no longer toxic."

[-] mosiacmango@lemm.ee 1 points 8 months ago

Sounds like a great project to get started on now.

this post was submitted on 13 Mar 2024

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