Related Links: Biannual Fiscal Survey of States by National Association of State Budget Officers and National Governors' Association As a longtime vocal advocate of smaller government, I am hesitant to ever ask for a tax increase of any kind. However, now is the time for Congress to take unpopular but needed action to raise the gas tax—and not just a little. I'm talking 25¢ or even 50¢ per gallon. There are three reasons why this is clearly the right thing to do.First, there is no denying the rough condition of many roads. Whether you have seen studies by the American
Related Links: ENR's 2012 The Year In Construction Photo Contest Winners ENR Photo Contest Archives Runners-Up This issue of ENR showcases the winners of our 12th annual Year in Construction photo contest. We are delighted to share the results. Delivering the contest winners is like building a fine watch for five months by selecting just 38 pieces from 1,564 parts. We are indebted to this year' judges for crafting this outstanding result.We seat new judges every year to gain fresh eyes. And we seek expertise from inside and outside the ENR staff. The judges have one marathon session in December
Photographer: Martin Chandrawinata Related Links: Construction Photography Reminds Us of What Makes The Industry Great Construction Photography Contest Judging Is Challenging And Rewarding Engineering News-Record photo contest archives Runners-Up Something is changing in construction photography. The pictures are getting strikingly better. That's the only conclusion we could come to after our panel of judges finished reviewing the 1,564 entries to ENR's 2012, The Year in Construction Photo Contest. Not only did the judges give their highest marks to far more images than ever before, but the second- and third-place finishers were almost equally impressive.The photos are evaluated by a fresh
In 2008 I predicted that the recession would be deep and long. I said so in seminars and few people believed it. In questions from the audience at those seminars, staff from sureties asked, “Where are the failures?” I said that the failures come at the end of the recovery. Now we’re starting to see more failures. No one liked the recession, but some contractors and sureties are going to hate the recovery, too. Companies will fail at a faster rate than anything we’ve seen since 2008; inflation will rear its ugly head, too. The construction market recovery is going to be a
Related Links: ENR's 2012 The Year In Construction Photo Contest Winners Construction Photography Contest Judging Is Challenging And Rewarding Photo Contest Archives Runners-Up The moment our appreciation for the role of construction in civilization and society starts to drift, we begin to lose our regard for the resourcefulness that makes the construction world so inspiring. The moment we turn blasé about the wonder of the work, the contributions of all the minds and mighty efforts, we lose our gratitude for the splendid benefits of things as simple as clean running water and a roof over our heads.We value ENR's annual
Related Links: RMF Engineering On January 3, 2012, I received an e-mail from the president of my company, RMF Engineering, with an attached document. My heart racing, I felt like a high school senior about to open the application response letter from his favorite college. I thought, "Is this it? Is this how I get asked to become a partner in the firm?" Nope. So what was it?First, let me paint you a picture.Back in 2001, a few months out of college, I was hired by RMF in Baltimore and have worked there for 12 years.As a mechanical engineer specializing
Related Links: What Keeps Construction Up at Night Over the Fiscal Cliff The Fiscal Cliff and the AEC Industry GROGANPundits, politicians, economists, barbers and taxi drivers all speak of the so-called fiscal cliff as if it were a bad thing. Is it really? Is it really even a cliff?Lets back up a bit and take another look at what is going on. What are the consequences of going over the fiscal cliff? First, that supposed devastating tax hike. Not going to happen!Both political parties are firmly locked into maintaining lower tax rates: the Republicans for 100% of taxpayers and
How bad is the flooding, Joe? That's what I wanted to know during a cell-phone call in the days after Sandy hit. I was talking with a long-term tenant of mine, a retired fire chief, about the condition of the small apartment building I own in Ventnor, a hard-hit New Jersey shore town."Two feet," Joe answered. The building sits on high ground, but when the electricity died, so did the building's sump pump. Two feet of water is one foot beyond the threshold to flood our elevated boiler system, which likely would deprive my tenants of heat and hot water—that
Related Links: ENR: Fresh Hope for Homebuilders ENR Mountain States Multifamily construction is booming despite the slow economic recovery for commercial and single-family markets, but it is a very different market than it was 10 years ago. Like other segments of construction, the increasing number of firms in multifamily has driven profit margins down. As a result, bidding errors or unanticipated project costs, which were once part of doing business and could be absorbed within the contract price, can now wipe out all profits on a project and even threaten a company's overall financial strength.Multifamily's healthy backlog of work has
ENR Research Related Links: Will Proposed Anti-Bullying Laws Bring a Wave of Lawsuits? What Companies Do to Fend Off Abuse Lawsuits The rooftop was getting hotter. All day it was the same with Bob, the chief of our four-man crew, who barked orders for materials: "Nails!" "Shingles!" He yelled at everyone, especially me, the low man. I was a 20-something student on a break from college, earning money for school. We were putting a roof on a suburban home on a hill overlooking Coraopolis, northwest of Pittsburgh. Bob's shouting punctuated the days."Water! Where the hell is that kid with the
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