Thursday, August 2, 2007

Bridge Collapse - who apologizes?

Who SHOULD BE apologizing now?

Tough one, NOT. America has aging infrastructure. OK, so what do we do about it? And who apologizes and/or pays for the steam pipe disaster in NYC recently, the Minneapolis bridge collapse, the levees in New Orleans? Is this another example of the crumbling empire that once was the Great America?


The numbers are imposing, but the cost of neglect can be even higher. Fuel is wasted in epic quantities by inadequate roads that slow transit and commerce. Immense business losses are incurred when flights are late 30 percent of the time. And how can you put a number on a New Orleans swept away and half its population displaced?

Much of Europe had to be rebuilt after World War II, and it has continued to fund improvements. Newer economies have new infrastructure.

We are forced to play catch-up.