Winter Storms Breaking Records and Budgets

(CBS)  From Massachusetts to Arkansas, some schools didn't even wait for the first snowflake. They cancelled for the week.

In Virginia, there are still places that haven't dug out from the last storm that started on Friday, reports CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson next to a snow-buried house and driveway.

This budget-sucking series of storms has brought every state in its path to its knees.

"The budget is destroyed. It is gone," said Joan Morris of the Virginia Department of Transportation.

Virginia has sopped dry its $79 million dollar snow-removal budget. Maryland figures this storm will put them $33 million in the red.

"I'm waiting for my roof to collapse. That's the next thing," said a grocery store customer.

But for the lucky few, there's an upside.

"We have sold approximately 2,000 shovels in the last week and a half," said a hardware store owner.

And there's nothing like the feeling of getting the last bag of salt.

At the grocery store, people come for milk - but only find cream.

"Ain't no need to get frustrated cause you can't do anything about it," said one customer.

And where's the beef?

"It's all gone, all gone" a customer said.

Actually, it's in the frozen section of farms - waiting to be fed.

"Just deal with it. Just deal with," one farmer told Attkisson of the threat of more snow.

With residents wondering how they can handle another foot-plus of snow, there is one bit of good news.

Forty thousand tons more salt just arrived at the Port of Baltimore.

Washington, D.C. normally only gets about 16 inches of snow in a whole year. The last two storms each surpassed that and this one might, too.

[chevyhotrod]

Does anyone believe that the states were not in the red before the storm?

Really? Using the storm to try and increase taxes, which in turn will decrease revenues.

[Lickedy]

I guess we can all open a can of super power and kick back and watch the reruns of the Lunar Lander.....someday people will open their eyes to the Lord.

[newsterl]

"The budget is destroyed. It is gone," said Joan Morris of the Virginia Department of Transportation."


LOL, awwwww what a shame :)

[CBSisCommunist5]

Global Warming...Global Warming...Global Warming...

[askagain]

People are fickle. In the winter, we are convinced of global cooling. In the summer, we are convinced of global warming. Now the preferred term is climate change. How novel. It has been going on for millions of years and Suddenly, it has become a problem.

[newsterl]

by askagain; It has been going on for millions of years and Suddenly, it has become a problem."

Yes it has, because millions of years ago there were no humans living here, so the USA could have frozen over solid and it wouldn't have mattered onebit, the forests could have all burned to a crisp after years of drought, and that wouldnt have made any difference either, but NOW we got over 305 MILLION mouths to feed, plus half the 3rd world, and all it will take to cause SEVERE economic upheavals, stock markets crashing, food prices soaring out of control, famines and worse is for a very few BAD crop years, a couple of bad years of natural disasters, droughts, wildfires and little else, and you'll watch the food fly off supermarket shelves, that $5 box of cornflakes going to $20, food banks for the poor drying up or being totally unable to even put a dent in the problem and far far more with panic buying, huge price increases and gouging, huge widespread shortages and more.
So YEAH, now climate change is a big problem, especially if the productive corn belt becomes UN-productive or crops almost ready for harvest get wiped out by some major weather event like a hard freeze. Think it cant happen? it already did in the early 1800's when a volcano erupted and the resulting ash caused dramatic temperature drops in New England where it was known as the year there was no summer, crops were wiped out by snow in July, replacement crops almost matured were wiped out too with another snowstorm shortly afterwards.
Thousands of people starved, large numbers of people had to migrate elsewhere.

But back in 1800 they could go out and just take over land, not today, all land is owned by someone!




"The budget is destroyed. It is gone," said Joan Morris of the Virginia Department of Transportation.

[cidaia]

We need to get into outer space, we are close to being technologically advanced enough that we could build our own worlds. If you care about how many mouths we have to feed here, getting off the planet is the ONLY viable/realistic/plausible solution, other than traumatic depopulation.

[leftcoastconservative]

blame algore, global warming and all that. go hug a polar bear.