For most of America's history, the vast majority of infrastructure was paid for at the state and local levels. A lot of it, like our power grid, was developed privately. The idea that somehow without enormous Federal spending we won't have highways, bridges, sewers, and everything else is bloody nuts. Infrastructure is not a Federal responsibility, with some exceptions like the interstate highway system. Granted, states are only too happy to feed off the Federal trough instead of pay for things themselves, but that's not the way it's supposed to work.
Number Two: the idea that all of a sudden our "infrastructure" is going to hell -- bridges usually being the prime example -- doesn't stand up either.
Here's a chart on bridges:
The famous collapsed bridge in Minnesota was a design deficiency. Ironically, it was being repaired at the time it went down.
Number Three: We can't borrow our way out of everything, no matter what the damn interest rate is. At some point, somebody is going to want to see some real money -- you know, the "principal" -- and kicking it down the road another few years is what everybody did a few years ago. It's already hitting the fan.
Current Events » in reply to Re: Debt hits 100 percent of GDP mark
Number One:
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- Debt hits 100 percent of GDP mark