Report Blasts American Infrastructure

[NNN0LHI]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&ncid=716&e=8&u=/ap/20030904/ap_on_re_us/aging_infrastructure

WASHINGTON - America's infrastructure is full of cracks, leaks and holes and is getting worse, according to an analysis by civil engineers that gives the nation's transportation, water and energy systems an overall grade of D-plus.

A report by the American Society of Civil Engineers released Thursday said the condition of 12 categories of infrastructure hasn't improved in the past two years. The report blamed a weak economy, limited federal programs, population growth and the threat of terrorism, which diverted money to security.

"Americans' concerns about security threats are real, but so are the threats posed by crumbling infrastructure," Thomas Jackson, ASCE president, said in a statement. "It doesn't matter if the dam fails because cracks have never been repaired or if it fails at the hands of a terrorist. The towns below the dam will still be devastated."

Schools received the worst grade — D-minus — from the engineers, who said three out of four school buildings are inadequate. They estimate it will cost more than $127 billion to build new classrooms and modernize outdated schools.

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[saigon68]

1. MAD AS HELL NO MONEY FOR THIS

Is anyone as outraged as I am over this???

$70,000,000,000.00 to blow the crap out of a country that has all the demeanor of a homeless drunk and panhandler on the streets of D. C.

I guess we have NO---

1. Children to educate in the U.S.

2. Seniors who need prescription drugs.

3. Unemployed workers here.

4. Veterans of this or prior Wars to take care of.

5. Crumbling infastructure to fix.

6. Electrical or water grid problems.

7. Problems with social security.

8. Lagging economy with 2 million fewer jobs than 3 years ago.

[lindashaw]

2. Yes, I'm mad. We're sending billions of tax dollars to build new roads...

schools, an electric grid, etc. and insuring all the children of Iraq, while we do without. It's criminal.

[smirkymonkey]

3. I am!!

So angry I could spit WMD's...I can't even get my mind around how F**ed up this is!! :mad:

[ramapo]

6. yep

But fixing our infrastructure is so dull. Can't ride in a jet and land on a repaired dam and jump out in your cool flight suit. Can't even make exciting speeches, talking tough about the evil, crumbling water pipes.

Besides nobody wants to pay taxes or have a big government that might actually fix some of our problems. Actually Amurika has no problems because it's the greatest superpower in the world. Fox News says so.

What's wrong with spending $70B or $700B to protect our crumbling infrastructure from the evildoing Iraqui evildoers? That's good work for the defense contractors and Halliburton.

sigh....

[UpInArms]

12. kick for the evening news readers

:kick:

[underpants]

4. Wasn't this a campaign issue back in '92?

I don't know if Clinton ignored this or if his efforts (if any) were blocked by the Repubes who found reasons to spend the money otherwise.

Infrastructure and specifically school infrastructure has obviously been in need of work for that long.

[qb]

5. Bush wants an infrastructure disaster

That way he can appoint an infrastructure official to clean up "Clinton's mess" and pretend he's actually doing something beneficial. The media & American sheeple will certainly fall for it.

[alfredo]

7. Out of date, unsafe infrastructure hurts business.

Maybe if it gets bad enough, more businesses will move overseas.

[xchrom]

8. we're broke

and the bills just keep coming in.
amazing -- lets destroy countries that pose no threat -- and then bill the american tax payer to put it back together.
let's ignore the worsening problems in our country, and hide the bills.
this is like alice through the looking glass.

[donsu]

9. the bloody hands bushgangs sucks up the money and runs

the "sucking up the money" part is their prime goal. the public of america or any other public be damned. If things get too hot for them they will just take their money and fade into the woodwork leaving a gang of their lawyers to provide cover.

[reprobate]

10. The United States of America died January 20, 2001.

George W. Bush and minions are the murderers. When will the country begin to recognise that?

[AlabamaYankee]

11. There's only one obvious solution

PRIVATIZE!

Either that or another tax cut.

Those seem to be the only options this maladministration has ever put forward. After all, just look at how privatization has improved our electrical grid. The blackout only took out New York, a couple of midwestern cities, and parts of Canada, fer cryin' out loud, and they don't count as part of the "real Amurka"

I am really feeling sarcastic today.