Preface:
Make no
mistake about it, I am an American and a proud American at that; but,
I am sadden by the fact that our once great nation is no longer great
in many areas while still being great in others.
And, those areas in
which we are now finding ourselves less than great, are simply
getting worse instead of better.
While I personally seem to have no
problems allocating the necessary funds to keep my home and property
in good working condition, our Federal Government, it's elected
officials, and constituents DO NOT seem to be treating America with
the same respect and courtesies.
Published on February 14, 2015 on
America's Economic Report – Daily:
Our once great nation is falling behind the rest of the
developed countries in many areas. One of those areas is our
infrastructure. In fact, globally the U.S. ranks 16thin quality of
infrastructure. America went from having the world’s most
modernized roadways and highways in the mid-1900s to an outdated and
hazardous infrastructure today. In 2013 we were ranked 19th and last year we went up 3 spots, not because we have improved our infrastructure but because other countries’ infrastructures worsened. When will the United States actually achieve a higher ranking better because of actual improvement and not because of the failures of other countries?
Our investment in infrastructure continues to lag, even though the American Society for Civil Engineers gave the U.S. infrastructure a D+ in its annual report card saying that we need to invest $3.6 trillion by 2020 to upgrade our infrastructure to acceptable levels.
This would also open up 13,000 jobs per year. However, something needs to be done now about our roadways and bridges because people are dying. Dangerous roadways have contributed to the 33,561 highway deaths.
“People are dying because of the infrastructure,” said Jami Owen, a Midland, Texas resident who whose spouse Mark, perished in a 2009 crash. “My husband died because of the infrastructure.”
And, according to numerous other online
resources, Infrastructure is the basic physical and
organizational structure needed for the operation of a society or
enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy
to function. It can be generally defined as the set of interconnected
structural elements that provide a framework supporting an entire
structure of development. It is an important term for judging a
country or region's development.
- roads
- bridges
- tunnels
- water supply
- sewers
- electrical grids
- telecommunications
Viewed functionally, infrastructure facilitates the production of goods and services, and also the distribution of finished products to markets, as well as basic social services such as schools and hospitals.
At this point, let me simply share a situation with you but not in a rhetorical because I want you to think about it silently to yourself.
More and more people are gravitating into our urban areas as they relocate themselves and their families from our rural areas. On the surface, this migration makes sense because it opens up more and land on which crops to feed everyone can be planted and harvested. However, it puts increased stress on those urban areas to provide:
- adequate housing
- education & healthcare
- food & clothing
- water and sewer
- garbage collection
- transportation
- police & fire protection
So, here is my concern... what happens when growth of the people living in our urban areas increases to the point that it out strips those urban areas ability to provide adequate infrastructure?
Ladies and Gentlemen, this is exactly what is happening all over America at this time and all you have to do is perform a little internet research on this subject to see that we already have a huge problem on our hands.
NO PROBLEM you say... we'll just borrow more money from China. Wrong!
OK, still not problem, you say... we'll just print up some more money. Wrong!
NOW, you are making me angry, you say... because you are refusing to accept either of my ideas.
Fine, I reply... let me explain...
China refuses to loan us anymore money and if we print up more money to actually increase the supply then that process will devalue our own dollar and we will have inflation.
Now, I see this deer in headlights look on your face and suggest an alternative solution...
We could, I say, stop fighting wars in other countries, at least, long enough to divert some of that money to fixing our own internal issues and then a few years later, pick back up where we left off...
That is the silliest thing I have ever heard you say... you tell me and write down the following:
ROGLMAO
Then I say... you know what.... I don't think you are in the mood or the right frame of mind to listen yet?
Conversation Over!!!
But, we still have the problem and it is still getting worse and the longer we delay, the more it will cost us to fix it.
Holly Giermann, writing for Arch Daily, had this to say:
With structurally unsound bridges, unsafe dams, and derelict roads becoming increasingly common problems, infrastructurehas been brought to the forefront of many political agendas. However, limited funding in this area brings to mind the question of economics: how will improvements to North America’s major trading channels be made without driving the nation further into debt? This is what Jordan Golson addresses in the article,It’s Time to Fix America’s Infrastructure. Here’s Where to Start. Although not all of these infrastructural problems can be resolved in the foreseeable future, according to Golson, however some smaller improvements in the next few years can be a manageable starting point. Use this link to read the full article.
The terrorists don't have this problem because they just steal the money from those who live in the lands that they occupy with their military... Hey!!! Isn't that the same thing America does?
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