Posted on 05/08/2007 9:03:10 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
Airports, roads, rail, bridges and other transit infrastructure are deteriorating across the U.S. because of insufficient investment, according to a report.
Chicago needs $6 billion to bring its subways into good repair, says the report to be released today by the Urban Land Institute and Ernst & Young LLP. Rehabilitation or replacement of the Tappan Zee Bridge north of New York City could cost as much as $14.5 billion. And in Atlanta, current rush-hour trips by car could take 75% longer by 2030.
The report, entitled "Infrastructure 2007: A Global Perspective," says the failure to address what the co-authors call an emerging crisis in mobility will undermine the ability of the U.S. to compete internationally. "At some point, the system is going to grind to a halt," says Dale Ann Reiss, global director of real estate at the New York-based Ernst & Young accounting firm and vice chairman of the Urban Land Institute, a land-use think tank in Washington.
More foreboding, the report warns that further inaction will lead to disasters on the magnitude of the levee failures in Hurricane Katrina.
The report underscores the broader disrepair of transit, power and water systems in the U.S. In 2005, the American Society of Civil Engineers graded as "poor" the condition of the nation's transit infrastructure as well as power grids, dams and systems for drinking water and wastewater. The U.S. faces a $1.6 trillion deficit in needed infrastructure spending through 2010 for repairs and maintenance, today's report says.
A lack of political will because of fear of raising taxes is mainly responsible for the shortfall, the report says. It predicts an array of higher taxes but also says help is needed from the private sector and public-private partnerships, which it predicts will help fund, construct, operate and manage transit projects.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
You mean massive social spending haven’t kept the infrastructure in good working order? Go figure.
You forgot the increase in population ... rapid increase.
BS. They say this as if raising taxes is the only alternative. Cutting social spending and entitlements would do the job just as easily--the only real lack of political will is in the absolute terror of cutting spending. Most politicians are only too ready to raise taxes.
You hit the nail on the head. Most of government is transfer programs. The unfunded pensions at the state, federal and local level is over $20 Trillion. Government long ago shifted towards socialism. It's astounding the number of citizens that get paychecks or other largess. It will only get worse. Government would be wise to terminate socialist programs and shift funds to infrastructure. That will not happen; instead they will say government is "cut to the bone" and taxes need to be raised. If one truly looks at the scope of government power, it is obvious difficult decades for Liberty lie ahead. Sad.
Screw mass transit problems and roads full of potholes. There are higher priorities. Chicago needs the Olympics and cameras on every lamp pole. /s
No big deal: We’ll all have flying cars by 2030, like the Jetsons.
... or this .. 
Flying car will never be mainstream and it will be heavily regulated.
We are already suffering from over 40,000 automobile deaths yearly.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
The money they need is already promised in the gold-plated pension and retirement health plans for government employees at all levels (city, county, state and federal) - who, by the way, have some of the best (taxpayer financed) pensions in the country, with benefits far above the pensions of the average worker who, by the way, is paying for the great government-employee benefits with their taxes.
Here’s an idea — cut social spending and entitlements.
Done.
Around here, the price of road construction is through the roof. The flower-sniffers have passed all sort of rules requiring 101 kinds of “environmental mitigation” that has helped to triple the cost of new transportation infrastructure over the past 15 years. Not to mention the prevailing wage fraud that has sign wavers being paid engineer’s wages.
A possible solution to all this would be to privatize roads. They will be all paid for by toll roads.
I can guarantee that every city that is complaining about lack of money to fund infrastructure projects has a new city-funded sports stadium in town built in the last 20 years.
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