The link in this post goes to a must read editorial on the current state of this country's infrastructure. It states very clearly that the infrastructure our generation inherited is falling apart due to neglect.
Just like our failing schools and the faltering health care system, the physical infrastructure of America is suffering from a lack of attention, a lack of adequate funding. At a time when the Bush administration can somehow find the funds to finance a war that no one wants, that is unjustified in the eyes of the world, our roads and bridges are literally crumbing down around us.
We need a new priority in this country, we need to build our strength from within, not flex it in an ill-conceived, unneeded war abroad. We need to educate our children and care for the sick and injured. We must recognize the lessons taught by the generations before us, that economic might and intellectual progress is paid for through infrastructural improvement, by investing in the future, not by throwing good money after bad in a failed venture like the invasion of Iraq.
I have relatives in the Twin Cities, it could have been them on that bridge. And it makes me mad to think of the families in mourning today for loved ones lost in an accident that likely could have been avoided had the money just been spent to care for the legacy we inherited. To all those families, my heart goes out to you in this most difficult time.
Popular Mechanics: Minn. Bridge Collapse Reveals Brittle America: Expert Op-Ed
1 comment:
According to the American Society of Civil Engineering, it will cost $9.4 billion a year for 20 years to eliminate all bridge deficiencies.
A total over 20 years of $188 billion, or about $24.5 million a day
A 2006 estimate by MSNBC said the war is costing $200 million each day.
Hmmm…
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