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The House approved an 11 billion dollar short term fix for the federal highway trust fund. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers in their 2013 Infrastructure report card ASCE | 2013 Report Card for America's Infrastructure which gave our roads a "D" grade, the "Federal Highway Administration estimates that $170 billion in capital investment would be needed on an annual basis to significantly improve conditions and performance." So that 11 billion is just enough to keep us limping along for another year without much improvement to our highway system.
Every year our infrastructure falls further and further into disrepair. I'm not going to pick the report into pieces, you can do that for yourselves but we are headed into dire territory. Our water supply lines are close to 100 years old, many our dams which were built as low hazard are considered high hazard due population growth.....with an average age of 52 years, nearly 5% of our 84,000 dams are considered deficient. Capital investment is our sewer and wastewater systems is estimated to be nearly 300 billion over the next 20 years and the list goes on and on.
Even if we take the ASCE's estimates as high (naturally they are pro infrastructure, like defense contractors are pro war) we are still in some serious trouble. Once, when working a highway job, I had a chance to talk with a bridge inspector and he informed me that if most people could see what he sees on a day to day basis, they'd never drive over a bridge again. So, where is the money going to come from? How will we finance these multiple repair needs?
One answer might be national service. Not the kind of service Charles Rangel proposed in H.R.748 but a mandatory 2 year civil service for everyone between the ages of 18 and 25. We train them and put them to work rebuilding the infrastructure. There could be provisions built in for free college education in the fields where necessary with a payback of service equal to educational investment. There's the possibility that such service could instill discipline in young people and teach them a work ethic in addition to a trade which would fill the gaps left behind should we ever fix our immigration problem. These people could also be exempt from military service once their time is completed and while their time is being served.
Don't beat me up too much for the national service idea, I haven't given it a lot of thought but at first look, it seems like the most cost effective way to get to work on America. I like to hear any other suggestions as to how we're going to tackle our infrastructure problems when we're already carrying a national debt in the multiple trillions. Cut foreign aid to zero? Reduce defense spending by getting rid of the trillion dollar F-35 boondoggle? An across the board gas hike is a good start but it's just a drop in the bucket compared to what's needed. It seems like every Congress and every President for the last 30 + years has ducked this issue because solutions will no doubt be unpopular........but the longer we wait to take action, the higher the cost.
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Originally Posted by Catdancer
Don't beat me up too much for the national service idea, I haven't given it a lot of thought but at first look, it seems like the most cost effective way to get to work on America. I like to hear any other suggestions as to how we're going to tackle our infrastructure problems when we're already carrying a national debt in the multiple trillions. Cut foreign aid to zero? Reduce defense spending by getting rid of the trillion dollar F-35 boondoggle? An across the board gas hike is a good start but it's just a drop in the bucket compared to what's needed. It seems like every Congress and every President for the last 30 + years has ducked this issue because solutions will no doubt be unpopular........but the longer we wait to take action, the higher the cost.
I don't know about trashing the F-35 program at this point but I certainly hope the contractors and not the taxpayers are footing the bill for all the reworks needed. How about we start by making the sure function of the DoD actually [b]IS[/BO for which there's no accountability? It's about time the CIA is restricted to gathering/analyzing intelligence and nothing more.
Call me a pessimist if you will, but I have serious doubts that a bunch of 18-25 year olds building a bridge or highway under a "compulsory civil service" program are going to work efficiently and create a quality product.
I don't know about trashing the F-35 program at this point but I certainly hope the contractors and not the taxpayers are footing the bill for all the reworks needed. How about we start by making the sure function of the DoD actually [b]IS[/BO for which there's no accountability? It's about time the CIA is restricted to gathering/analyzing intelligence and nothing more.
We should take a dramatic leap forward, trash all military aircraft that are not cargo to drone status.
A drone version of the F35 or F15 would be half the size, if not smaller then their predecessors, and would likely carry more ordinance.
As far as our failing infrastructure, we should sell the national highway system to private investors and turn them into tollways. Let the federal government worry about secondary access ways.
The interstate highway system was designed, not for consumers, not for over the road cargo, but for war. Eisenhower wanted a way to get American troops down the road with the quickness. So they made the interstate highway system.
Sell it to private investors to make tolls, with the side deal that if a national emergency happens the federal government can use the roads for free as they like, which is already law.
We should take a dramatic leap forward, trash all military aircraft that are not cargo to drone status.
A drone version of the F35 or F15 would be half the size, if not smaller then their predecessors, and would likely carry more ordinance.
As far as our failing infrastructure, we should sell the national highway system to private investors and turn them into tollways. Let the federal government worry about secondary access ways.
The interstate highway system was designed, not for consumers, not for over the road cargo, but for war. Eisenhower wanted a way to get American troops down the road with the quickness. So they made the interstate highway system.
Sell it to private investors to make tolls, with the side deal that if a national emergency happens the federal government can use the roads for free as they like, which is already law.
That's part of the problem. When we talk about infrastructure, most people think about our highway system. It's much larger than that. It includes our waterways, our solid waste disposal, water, sewer, the power grid (of which there is only 5 in the US BTW, and one is dedicated to Texas.) Rail, aviation, dams, parks and rec and schools all of which are failing at a faster rate than they're being rebuilt/repaired. Can you imagine what a sewer failure that affected even a 1/4 of NYC would be like?
That's part of the problem. When we talk about infrastructure, most people think about our highway system. It's much larger than that. It includes our waterways, our solid waste disposal, water, sewer, the power grid (of which there is only 5 in the US BTW, and one is dedicated to Texas.) Rail, aviation, dams, parks and rec and schools all of which are failing at a faster rate than they're being rebuilt/repaired. Can you imagine what a sewer failure that affected a 1/4 of NYC would be like?
We are talking federal money. Most waterways and sewers don't get federal funding. Some waterways do, not sure of any sewage systems.
But its the crumbling highway system that people are talking about. People I know who are familiar with the waterways that are under federal control really haven't noticed to many problems.
We already tried the New Deal, and economists say it prolonged the Depression for many years. Plus, we've already played the card of "beyond-imagination government borrowing and spending"--over and over and over. We're not only broke, we're so deep in debt that it will be catastrophic when we end up defaulting.
You can add the cost of delayed infrastructure improvements to things like the cost of the Baby Boomers' Social Security and Medicare--all of which must be paid for by either raising taxes EVEN MORE, or cutting government spending somewhere else. And while our government spends TRILLIONS on utter foolishness like foreign aid and pointless foreign wars that the taxpayers would love to see cut, the POLITICIANS who make the decisions will NOT cut those things, ever. All that graft and corrupt is payback for campaign contributions--and that's all that matters.
The Baby Boomers will starve before a penny of graft, corruption and waste is touched.
That's part of the problem. When we talk about infrastructure, most people think about our highway system. It's much larger than that. It includes our waterways, our solid waste disposal, water, sewer, the power grid (of which there is only 5 in the US BTW, and one is dedicated to Texas.) Rail, aviation, dams, parks and rec and schools all of which are failing at a faster rate than they're being rebuilt/repaired. Can you imagine what a sewer failure that affected even a 1/4 of NYC would be like?
It looks like everything in your list is the responsibility of the states or privately owned.
Why should MY taxes bailout a state who squander the money they collected.
As per your example, why should the rest of the country fix NYC's problem?
When are Americans going to learn to take responsibility serious and quit relying on Uncle Sam to bail them out?
It looks like everything in your list is the responsibility of the states or privately owned.
Why should MY taxes bailout a state who squander the money they collected.
As per your example, why should the rest of the country fix NYC's problem?
When are Americans going to learn to take responsibility serious and quit relying on Uncle Sam to bail them out?
Like they say, "You own it, you fix it."
Never.
And Congress will not act nor plan. Reaction and last minute financial funding is what they do now.
One continuation resolution after the other, one emergency funding bill after the other.
How long do you think this country can survive with a government like that ?
The House approved an 11 billion dollar short term fix for the federal highway trust fund. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers in their 2013 Infrastructure report card ASCE | 2013 Report Card for America's Infrastructure which gave our roads a "D" grade, the "Federal Highway Administration estimates that $170 billion in capital investment would be needed on an annual basis to significantly improve conditions and performance." So that 11 billion is just enough to keep us limping along for another year without much improvement to our highway system.
Because government is never responsible, capable, competent, or efficient.
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