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The World Socialist Web Site reports
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released its quadrennial "Report Card" last month on the condition of infrastructure in the United States. Once again, the association gave the country an overall grade of D+, the same as in 2013.
The report is a damning appraisal of the state of American society under capitalism, and the Obama years, which saw essential social needs starved of funding while the stock market tripled in value and vast public resources were squandered on war. This will only accelerate under Trump.
The ASCE report assesses the state of sixteen different categories of infrastructure: aviation, bridges, dams, drinking water, energy, hazardous waste, inland waterways, levees, parks and recreation, ports, rail, roads, schools, solid waste, transit and wastewater.
Twelve of the sixteen sections evaluated earned a D grade. The report defines a D grade as "The infrastructure is in poor to fair condition and mostly below standard, with many elements approaching the end of their service life. A large portion of the system exhibits significant deterioration. Condition and capacity are of serious concern with strong risk of failure."
According to ASCE, the total costs to bring all US infrastructure into an adequate condition would exceed two trillion dollars.
[...] ASCE's answer to this crisis is not only inadequate but downright reactionary.
[...] In the section of the report titled "solutions to raise the grade" the authors suggest that "Infrastructure owners and operators must charge, and Americans must be willing to pay, rates and fees that reflect the true cost of using, maintaining, and improving infrastructure." Other sections advocate "user generated fees", hiking the gasoline tax, and other regressive proposals that would disproportionately affect the country's poorest citizens. The report also calls for more "public-private" partnerships, along with the streamlining of approval for private investment in public infrastructure projects.
Such free-market measures would only create an ever-greater class-based infrastructure system, where only those who could afford to will be able to drive on high toll expressways and bridges, send their children to quality schools, drink clean water, and live in areas not threatened with constant flooding or environmental disasters.
View the ASCE's report card here.
(Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Monday April 17 2017, @05:20AM (4 children)
The gas tax is a fixed amount per gallon. Since 1993, it has been 18.4 cents per gallon. That little feature combined with inflation has done more to cut revenue than improved mileage has. It should have been a percentage all along. That it isn't is a huge gift to Big Oil.
Yeah, the report can't help but be biased, try as they might to be neutral. The writers are interested parties who stand to benefit by the growth of their profession from all the infrastructure work they recommend.
I should like to see growth in other means of transport. We wouldn't need so many highways if people weren't joined at the hips to their cars.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Monday April 17 2017, @05:36AM (3 children)
Efficient transportation would be high speed trains. Directly into city cores, TSA free and even if someone brings something bad. Trains are tough vehicles.
At least between larger cities some kind of train autobahn would probably be profitable.
Japan, China, Europe can do it, but not USA?
(Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Monday April 17 2017, @01:36PM (2 children)
That's politics for you. For decades, there's been talk of building a high speed passenger rail line between Dallas and Houston. Texas is very pro-transportation, yet it has never been done. Texas is not so keen on public transportation. Among others, airlines oppose the idea. Many among the public are easily spooked into feeling that passenger rail enables poor, crime prone people to get around better, and will therefore cause a rise in crime. Dallas recently connected its 2 major airports with light rail. Somewhat predictably, taxi drivers were opposed. There are always some special interests to take the anti-social side of a non-issue issue.
Another long discussed route for high speed rail is San Francisco to Los Angeles. California is of course much friendlier towards public things. But they are very much against tearing up even a little of the environment to build more roads. A blindingly obvious road improvement they ought to do but haven't is extend I40 to I5.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Monday April 17 2017, @07:46PM
Maybe time for Schweitzer style of governing. If enough people sign a petition it is to be voted on by constitution. And the result is the law.
In the end there are certain parameters that make a society successful. Whenever people for whatever reason steer outside of these parameters degradation follows.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Monday April 17 2017, @08:05PM
Some additional thought. If the politics get the country stuck then the society at large will fall behind and others will take the economic and technological lead. This affect the doctrine of cultural values too, like freedom, rule of law, self determination etc.