Underfunded Infrastructure

[ysabetwordsmith]

Estimates for Biden's new relief plan run from $2 trillion to $4 trillion, averaging around $3 trillion. Some of that is going toward infrastructure, some to other things; at least most of the proposed projects look more practical than average for politics. So far, so good. But there are two problems: 1) the infrastructure share seems aimed at building rather than repairing, and 2) it's nowhere near enough to cover just the maintenance debt, let alone build anything new. In fact, building more sprawl just digs the debt deeper.


"In America, we have a ticking time bomb of unfunded liability for infrastructure maintenance. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) estimates the cost at $5 trillion — but that's just for major infrastructure, not the minor streets, curbs, walks, and pipes that serve our homes."

Now, if we wanted to target a high-need part of infrastructure, we could accomplish a lot with a large sum concentrated on one aspect:

"A recent estimate for the nation’s backlog of bridge repair needs is $125 billion."

To discourage a recurrence of this can-kicking problem in the future, simply require that any state, town, etc. receiving funds for infrastructure has to document their maintenance liability as part of their budgeting. At least that would make the debt more transparent.

Sadly, that doesn't look like part of the plan.

Comments

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

I don't think I've the fortitude to read the link just now.

We really need to take a look at elder skilled trades and historians adjacent as a kind of girding resource.

Ex.: Those windows that got top half covered during the 70s with metal? Solar film them instead of anchoring through the tile roofs.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> I don't think I've the fortitude to read the link just now.<<

That's totally okay.

>> We really need to take a look at elder skilled trades and historians adjacent as a kind of girding resource.<<

Well, it would have to be elders, since the trade education is all but destroyed. There's little respect left for people who work with their hands, and not much attention to training them. So then, much of the work is poorly done, and foolish decisions are made.

To look at it from another angle: Math is one of my worst subjects. At least I had the sense not to go into a field requiring lots of math. I still scored in the top third nationally. Consider that I am lucky to get the same answer three times running with a calculator. Two-thirds are worse than that. I routinely spot things in the economy that are obviously wrong and causing problems. It would seem that the other two-thirds, in addition to being terrible at math, do not have the sense to choose a career in some low-math field but feel free to become economists.

The stupid, it burns like hydrogen.

At this point, I think politicians will be lucky if they don't get lynched, whenever it comes clear that neither towns nor country can afford to maintain all the crap they've built. Because people have been paying taxes in honest belief that the government was, while not brilliant, at least capable of providing basic necessities such as roads and running water. Finding out that it would actually cost 5-10 times the total budget just to cover the maintenance backlog (depending on how overbuilt a city is) will likely exceed the tolerance of rational adults. It is a clear failure of care, to the point of fraudulent accounting.

Things like this are why people call America a third-world country.

Re: Thoughts

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

There are pockets of tradesmen still aware of the old ways. They are jaded and/or prickly; they had to deal with all the flush times before the housing bubble burst bringing in too many cocksure tech graduates prepared to abet flippers.

Plenty of decent housing stock was purposefully kludged into urban blight.

I have run into plenty of maintenance engineers who think they aren't good at various things and I find that there's a swath of people that cannot do fractions. I think if schools went back to manipulative (let the kids noodle about with simple machines like rubber band paddle boats) based foundations, there'd be less shame and animosity.

There are intersectional issues coming into play. See my comments re: how Hawkeye really would have spent the Snap interim. Taster: Being turned into arms and shoulders for Gerald whose wife Snapped but knows the town's steam turbine by relation to what he tended in the Navy. Cap's "Too Busy." would incorrect quote a dream.

Re: Thoughts

[(Anonymous)]

If all else fails, go to refugees/ immigrants, poorfolk, homesteaders, farmers, historical reenactors and the Boy Scouts. They'll all have various levels of 'fix it with what you've got.'

Re: Thoughts

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

I'm on that end like a sticking plaster. I have some possible destinations but may need intercession.

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

It's a good start, though.

Re: Thoughts

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

Are reports of bespoke vacuum tubes true and still accurate?

CAB can take one cold case off the total board; possibly more, but that exceeds my power of observation.