REPAIR the US infrastructure NOW. More jobs & our country is falling apart.

[trueblue2007]

REPAIR / cleaning up the US infrastructure.


America’s publicly owned infrastructure is falling apart. One in nine bridges in the United States is “structurally deficient.” There are 240,000 water main breaks each year. Thirty-two percent of America’s roads are in “poor or mediocre condition.” Amtrak’s Acela (which I am riding right now) is on time only 65.2 percent of the time, and runs at a top speed well below that achieved by fast trains overseas. Then there are the failings of airports like New York’s LaGuardia, which Vice President Joe Biden rightly likened last month to “some third-world country.” To add insult to injury, our long, harsh winter has only added to the long list of infrastructure repairs needed across the United States. So it’s not surprising that the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave the United States a D+ on its latest report card for America’s infrastructure.

The consequence of a fraying infrastructure is a less productive economy, which means fewer jobs and less wealth, and the hassle of taking longer to do less. It also slowly erodes the wellsprings of U.S. influence abroad. National power isn’t independent of the domestic economy; it rests on a vibrant economy. And the weakness of America’s infrastructure opens up the possibility of events that could dramatically change life as we know it. By some accounts, the destruction of as few as nine power substations could cause the entire U.S. electric power grid to collapse—and to stay down for months.


Repairing America’s infrastructure will cost billions. And as anyone who owns a house knows, putting the fix off only means a steeper final bill.

http://blogs.cfr.org/lindsay/2014/03/24/how-do-we-pay-to-repair-americas-decaying-infrastructure/

[trueblue2007]

1. THIS IS SCARY ..... like the tv program Revolution.

from the article:




the weakness of America’s infrastructure opens up the possibility of events that could dramatically change life as we know it. By some accounts, the destruction of as few as nine power substations could cause the entire U.S. electric power grid to collapse—and to stay down for months.

[NYC_SKP]

2. There's been more infrastructure spending under Obama in six years that during Bush's eight, by far.

We've had big highway projects that were long overdue and several city projects, none of which were happening before Obama's election.

More to do? You bet there is.

[TreasonousBastard]

3. There's nothing new here-- it's been known for decades, but...

The population rarely pushes for things it can't see as an immediate problem. Wait for a bridge to fail then scream and point fingers. And fix it or build a new one at 10 times the original cost of fixing it.

Politicians never, ever push "maintenance programs". There's just no advantage in it. They'll proudly build a new bridge somewhere, and be at the ribbon cutting ceremony bragging about jobs and progress, but fixing an old one brings no political rewards. Besides, fixing things often lead to the nightmare of finding more problems underneath, so the best plan is often to just hope nothing blows until the next guy takes over. Then, if he's in a different party, you can pile the blame on him.

The bid process is horrible. Going for the lowest bid doesn't always save money, but does often insure lousy work. Since everyone knows what a mile of road or a bridge should cost, once the design is approved, European governments do a different type of bidding-- "We'll pay you 20 million Euros for that stretch of road. Now, who's going to give us the most for that 20 million?"

[MindMover]

4. This is not irrational enough ... please remember we are in the twilight zone ...

[kelliekat44]

5. kick! nt

[Exposethefrauds]

6. The Republicans know full well that the US Infrastructure is falling apart and they want it that way

so nothing will be happening, hell they even created the problem in the first place.

Large infrastructure programs create JOBS, good jobs, jobs that spur the economy, hence the black dude in the WH can't get credit for any jobs and Pubs must block.

When the Pubs allow infrastructure, Republics do everything they can to undermine the project to use it a payola for their friends.

If the Democratic Party had any sense what so ever they would be pushing large public infrastructure projects in the mid terms and 16, it is a winning issue hence they won't do it.

Have people stopped paying attention?