a very good read about Crumbling Infrastructure or not Stop Bleating About Crumbling Infrastructure Stop Bleating About Crumbling Infrastructure davidstockmanscontracorner.com/stop-bleating-about-crumbling-infrastructure/ By David Stockman5/18/2015 The Amtrak tragedy has predictably elicited another round of jawing about the allegedly “disgraceful” condition of America’s “infrastructure”. If Washington only had the “courage” to spend and borrow itself silly—-why the nation could leap out of its growth and jobs rut in a single bound. Or so goes the claim of mainstream politicians and pundits. A recent jeremiad by one Philip K. Howard is par for the course. The latter is a lawyer and founder of a lobby group sporting a name—“Common Good”—–which is reason in itself to be wary. But almost every category of U.S. infrastructure is in a dangerous or obsolete state — roads and bridges, power generation and transmission, water treatment and delivery, ports and air traffic control. There is no partisan divide on what is needed: a national initiative to modernize our 50- to 100-year-old infrastructure. The upside is as rosy as the status quo is dire. The United States can enhance its competitiveness, achieve a greener footprint and create upward of 2 million jobs. That entire paragraph is pure hogwash. The overwhelming share of the nation’s infrastructure is not obsolete or dangerous; is not being starved for dollars; and has virtually nothing to do with the dramatic trend-line of decline in main street growth, investment, good jobs and real living standards. In the above quoted passage, Howard attempts to throw in everything but the kitchen sink in his list of purportedly crumbling infrastructure, but that’s a ruse to deflect from the giant flaw at the center of the case. Namely, 98% of US infrastructure is either the responsibility of the private business system or state and local government." much more at the site
The article is over a year old. That does not invalidate it in the least, just calls for followup confirmation. That said, the bleating hasn't stopped.
But, But, Didn't Obummer tell us just a few years ago, that if we passed his Jobs Plan, all these "Shovel Ready" Projects would fix all this stuff??? Where did all that MONEY GO?
All the infrastructure improvements out here are bike paths, green bike boxes and special bridges that cars cant use. Also lots of light rail connecting felony flats areas and places full of victims. Otherwise it's pothole heaven. Light rail? yes Bicycles? Absolutely Pedestrians? Gotcher back Cars? You effing racist planet destroyer!
But, but, but, congress wouldn't give me the money. It's Bush's fault, he poisoned the well!!! (Not to mention the giveaways like zero care I needed to spend on. That's Bush's fault to.)
More war, and nuclear power plants, they are good for you. Just ignore the rot of the Interstate highway system, consume to stay in debt, and watch lots of TV.
It would be interesting to see what the expenditures would be if the "real" users had to pay for the bridges and roads. Here in New Hampshire we are replacing culverts on small brooks that cost a few thousand dollars with 200,000 dollar bridges due to the new weight limits and sizes of the trucks. The damage done to lightly built roads and bridges by heavy trucks is unbelievable and we are rebuilding the local roads and bridges to handle the new loads. Then it also takes years to build new roads as every stream, bog, wet land, forest, etc must have engineering studies and permitting processes that take years to complete and cost a fortune and the people contesting the process are often from out of state. The new Luddites are the enviornmentalists who wish to stop a local project, eg a pipeline, in order to stop fracking 400 miles away. Right or wrong, it stops infrastructure improvements, increases cost and drive away jobs. No easy answers and I really don't know how to balance the differing goals. We build millions of dollars of roads, air ports, canals, dams, etc and then refuse to fund light rail. I have no idea where things will end, but it doesn't bode well for the long run.
let it all fall down I'm ready to go back to my childhood. it was a simpler time.to go to bed with the chickens and get up with the rooster crowing.
Remember, that was to the tune of just under a cool TRILLION and not a word. No one in Washington seems to be nosing around about it or even asking dumb questions. Vapo money - we had to borrow it, which means we the taxpayer are on the hook for it, and now it's just...gone! How does this happen?
