$1.7 trillion infastructure shortfall in US

[RedEarth]

Engineers See Dangers in Aging Infrastructure

......

Referring to the collapse in Minneapolis, he said “This type of event could become more common.”

“We have a major infrastructure problem in this country,” said Maureen L. McAvey, an executive vice president with the Urban Land Institute, which recently published a report on global infrastructure issues. “The civil engineers have estimated that we have a $1.7 trillion shortfall in this country alone”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/02/us/01cnd-engineer.html?ex=1343707200&en=48220e6d524f049d&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss

[Bluebear]

1. Projected cost of Iraq war: $1.6 trillion nt

[rzemanfl]

2. Just about what Iraq and the tax cuts for the rich cost. n/t

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

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[rzemanfl]

10. When you fish, do you cast or just drag the lure behind the boat?

Just askin'.

[TahitiNut]

12. It's apparently a matter of waiting until the bait is 2 years old and even stinkier.

It helps to not look at it very closely, too - since it's not at all what it's supposed to be.

[progressoid]

15. Tee hee hee.

[EstimatedProphet]

13. That's not even close to what happened

You so funny!

[liberal N proud]

3. Republicans had a choice fix the infrastructure or play war

They chose to screw the American people by ignoring the infrastructure and concentrate on trying to make glass in Baghdad

[rucky]

4. the new debate has been framed. n/t

[DemoTex]

7. 10-4 Good Buddy

See the state-by-state report card of the American Society of Civil Engineers (a radical group by any measure!):

http://www.asce.org/reportcard/2005/states.cfm

[rucky]

9. I saw that thread. Ohio needs help.

and you'd think, with all those endless road-construction contracts Blackwell awarded... to the same company...

[Quantess]

14. Yes!

It easily begs the question.
That's some good ammo for our side!

[Crazy Dave]

5. I actually have had discussions with workers from our electric company

They talk about year after year cutting back on routine maintenance and replacing older equipment after so many years versus waiting until it fails. Year after year they raise our rates but our service gets worse. A small thunderstorm makes the power go out for over four hours. All of the employees I've spoken to have warned of massive, long term, city wide blackouts in the not too distant future. That's just one area I've become acquainted with. I'm sure transportation, water and public safety are also in the same circumstances.

[rzemanfl]

18. Do you live in Florida? We have the same kind of problems.

Our telephone lines are ancient, too.

[Crazy Dave]

19. You guessed correctly

In my neighborhood the phone service is getting worse too but the fact that the electric company is doing less preventive maintenance anymore and it's being said by it's own employees that massive failures are immanent should be considered criminal negligence. In technical terms I can't remember which parts the one guy said that before it was mandatory to replace every eight years before they broke down, now they just wait until they break down and with ten of thousands of parts ready to fail out there, well one little problem can cause a chain reaction and then you have a city wide blackout for days.

However the city did find enough money to build a multi-million dollar equestrian center so all of our little republican mayor's friends from all over the state can come play with their horsies. I took pictures of all (and only) the out of town license plates to send to my city councilman but then again....he's a republican too :shrug:

[HeraldSquare212]

8. Engineers think we need to hire engineers

I'm sure our infrastructure needs work, but I'd hate to see some kind of multi-trillion dollar special spending bill come out of this. Do we really need to encourage driving so much? Do we really need a full employment program for engineers and construction companies? What about the health care issue everyone was so concerned about over the last few weeks - how many people died yesterday because they couldn't afford health care? A dramatic event should not drive policy.

[xchrom]

11. oh i think you're in safe looneytoon company.

after all -- we're the country that hates the government and hates taxes, right?

what's it matter if a few more bridges fall down and kill few people here and there?

what's it matter if it increases the costs of transportation -- because they have to fuckin go around?

what's it matter if the whole infrastucture goes to hell right -- after all it was just one dramatic incident.

:eyes:

[Crazy Dave]

20. Welcome to DU heraldsqure

Just as many people if not more in this country probably die from no health care or medications available to them as there are deaths in Iraq. Remember, Americans have short and limited attention spans and cannot remember or handle more than one crisis or major media event at a time. All it will take to make people forget about this disaster and move on is another celebrity getting a DUI, going to jail or rehab, or another democratic candidate getting a high priced haircut.

[matt819]

16. Only 1`.6 trillion?

When there was that steam explosion in NY a few weeks ago, I read a reference to the cost of updating NYC's infrastructure is $1,600,000,000,000.

When You drive through parts of New England you see small towns that look like something out of the third world, with boarded up businesses and potholed state roads. Bridges that were intended to be temporary 50 or more years ago, pending a more permanent structure, are still in place. We are a nation that has no vision.

[Joanne98]

17. But but we have ro rebuild Iraq!