$3,600,000,000,000: the price to repair America

We have unlimited money for war, but not for our infastructure?

We have money for perpetual war and can afford generous foreign aid, tax subsidies and cuts for the wealthy, but we cannot find the money to fix a pothole or repair a collapsing bridge. This is the sorry state of affairs U.S. infrastructure is in as we let the nation crumble.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) - More concerned with bathrooms than railways and bridges, Americans are directing their outrage towards non-existent crises while the real crisis develops under their feet.

According to reports, 60,000 bridges in the United States need major repairs. Odds are at least one such bridge is in your community, or very close by. The problem with fixing bridges, some of which are nearly a century old, is that it's expensive. Repairs to the Arlington Memorial Bridge, which is crossed by 68,000 vehicles per day, is anticipated to cost $250 million.

Presently, we pay for most of these repair projects via the gasoline tax, which in 1993 has been fixed at 18.4 cents per gallon. Unfortunately cars are becoming ever more fuel efficient, which means declining tax revenues, and less money for bridges.

But the problem isn't tax receipts either. We take in plenty of money, but our government spends it on programs that provide no discernible benefit to the public. The waste is legendary and while most Americans are aware of the problem, few are willing to vote against politicians who will change the system. Worse, the choices people are given rarely include someone who will tackle the problem.

To repair the bridges would cost an estimated $76 billion. Adding roads, airports, railroads, water projects and more could easily multiply that number to approximately $3.6 trillion to fix everything.

The U.S. has a substantial number of people who are unemployed, or under employed, or who are receiving public assistance. We also have a large number people who are employed, but are earning less than a living wage and asking for more.

Why not employ this labor on various projects, much as we did during the Great Depression? All workers can be paid $15 an hour, or whatever the living wage may be, and chances are it will be cheaper than the thousands of payola schemes that are highly priced and not keeping up with the improvements we need.

Good infrastructure pays for itself, mostly in the form of enhanced business revenue. Shorter commute times, more efficient means of getting products to market, a tighter supply chain all mean more profits for business. It means more time at home instead of in traffic. It means clean, safe drinking water for hundreds of millions of people.

We do a great job of bombing other countries, then rebuilding them. Perhaps it's time to bring some of our rebuilding expertise back home. The workers, the shovels, and the people are ready, all we need is the fiscal discipline to make it happen.

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