infrastructure problems

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

We, as a nation, have a serious infrastructure problem, a serious  
level of poverty, a serious health shortage, etc etc, All need  
attention and money. We have a military that was designed to fight  
the cold war; we have a poke barrel legislature; we have foreign  
adventurism that consumes resources; we have a deficit that current  
tax policy will be increasingly hard to handle etc etc.

We need leadership the likes of FDR and we have ...

Dave

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Steven M. Bellovin" <smb () cs columbia edu>
Date: September 11, 2005 9:20:33 AM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: infrastructure problems


There's an article in today's NY Times that analyzes the root of the
problems caused by Katrina: we're not spending nearly enough money on
infrastructure.  For example, the American Society of Civil Engineers
says that we need to spend $1.6 trillion over the next five years to
prevent further deterioriation; planning calls for spending $900
billion.

That in turn leads to interesting decisions.  For example, do you fund
all projects at a low -- and inefficient -- level, or do you postpone
some while finishing others?  How much should we spend on
infrastructure?  In the Eisenhower through Johnson years, when the
interstate highways were being built, it was about 3% of GDP.  It's now
just below 2%, but in the 1980s and 1990s it was considerably less than
that.

It's also important to realize that there are consequences.  13,000
fatalities a year are attributed to inadequate highway maintenance --
far more people than were killed by Katrina, though obviously without
the massive property damage.

The full article is at http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/11/business/ 
11disaster.html

        --Steven M. Bellovin, http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~smb




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