[Vice] America's Infrastructure Is Crumbling

[FliX]

I realize this video is a year old, but it just popped up on my feed, and it's a pretty stark reminder of how boned the US' infrastructure is. For all categories; Highways, bridges, trains, dams, ports,....
The video makes a good job of explaining how crumbling and malfunctioning infrastructure costs the economy billions and it's only getting worse.
It also ends on how foolhardy it is to rely on ppp to fix the problem.

 

[shnurgleton]

Buttigieg has his work cut out for him

 

[DekuBleep]

Yeah it's sad what happens when people stop wanting to pay taxes. And forget that taxes actually pay for things like infrastructure.

 

[Tatsu91]

I realize this video is a year old, but it just popped up on my feed, and it's a pretty stark reminder of how boned the US' infrastructure is. For all categories; Highways, bridges, trains, dams, ports,....
The video makes a good job of explaining how crumbling and malfunctioning infrastructure costs the economy billions and it's only getting worse.
It also ends on how foolhardy it is to rely on ppp to fix the problem.

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i have lived in many Big cities and been to them From Cleveland Ohio to Detroit MI to Chicago and Des Moines IA they all have some sort of Infrastructure problem in different areas of the city. I imagine it is worse in the Rural Areas surrounding these places.

 

[wholahay]

Imagine if we had a competent left-leaning government that created thousands upon thousands of new jobs by implementing a nationwide infrastructure revitalization program! A fantasy, I know.

 

[Volimar]

This video is pretty evergreen. Could be 30 years ago and be just as true. Drivin under some of those underpasses is pretty scary.

 

[SwampBastard]

There was a news story here in Indy a couple years back stating that it would cost $730MM just to get our streets improved from 'poor' to 'fair'. That's a tremendous amount of money and it's just to kinda improve things in one city. We are going to have to spend an absolute fortune to fix the problem (and we should).

 

[Hollywood Duo]

It already crumbled

 

[Sunster]

but infrastructure week

 

[FliX]

This video is pretty evergreen. Could be 30 years ago and be just as true. Drivin under some of those underpasses is pretty scary.

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The thing is it is kinda widlely recognized that spending a dollar on infrastructure now will save many times that over the years to come... But... fuck them kids I guess?
It's one of the problems of having politicians only be accountable for a relatively short time while they are in office or seeking office.

 

[PawPrints]

You mean all those infrastructure weeks didn't do anything?

 

[Elfgore]

John Oliver did an interesting piece on infrastructure as well.

 

[FliX]

You mean all those infrastructure weeks didn't do anything?

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I realize it's funny, but this is hardly a Trump issue.

 

[The Albatross]

Thankfully it's infrastructure week at Mar a Lago!

Agreed with the core of the video. As an aside, I wish we'd broaden our understanding of "infrastructure." Infrastructure often comes to mean roads and bridges, trains and dams, windmills and the electrical grid... basically like ... if you're pouring concrete it's infrastructure. I really wish we'd extend the idea of infrastructure into social programs, like early childhood education, universal pre-K, nationwide fundamental broadband to every house on the grid. Can't get more infrastructure than that. Just make all the teachers wear hard hats and it'll get funded.

Optimistically, though, I think big infrastructure bills are coming, and while the Federal government never had "infrastructure week!" like Trump promised in his 4 years, there was a lot of funding from within states for critical infrastructure over the last 8 years. It wasn't any Trump or Obama policy that did this, but the strong economy from 2012-2019. States run responsibly over the last 8 years had deep cauffers for major construction projects, and 2020 was one of the best years to do it as things shifted remote.

 

[Thordinson]

I wish more cities focused on public transportation. Highways often don't alleviate problems and are discriminatory in their implementation.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Yeah it's sad what happens when people stop wanting to pay taxes. And forget that taxes actually pay for things like infrastructure.

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Same thing that happened to vaccines, quality subsidized housing, and labor unions happened to infrastructure. A generation was raised with all of these social benefits, grew fat and healthy and wealthy, and immediately pivoted to amassing more wealth for themselves instead of passing along those benefits to their children.

 

[Ricelord]

i think they mean it "Been" crumbing

 

[SteveWinwood]

infrastructure week!

 

[Mantrox]

infrastructure weak!

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FTFY

 

[Duxxy3]

Just keep kicking that can on down the road.

 

[teruterubozu]

People have been pointing this out since that bridge collapsed in Minnesota almost 15 years ago. But yeah, no sense of urgency.

 

[Ferrio]

Just keep kicking that can on down the road.

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Can't, keeps getting stuck in potholes!

 

[nsilvias]

theres always construction going on in chicago but our stuff is still shit.

my neighborhood redid large parts of the towns roads but they already look kinda jacked up

 

[SteveWinwood]

John Oliver did an interesting piece on infrastructure as well.

Click to shrink...

6

years

ago

 

[Mirk]

Imagine if we had a competent left-leaning government that created thousands upon thousands of new jobs by implementing a nationwide infrastructure revitalization program! A fantasy, I know.

Click to shrink...

This isn't directed at you and more the thought of these jobs. Who would do them? Because it sure as shit wouldn't be americans. No one wants to do those jobs anymore. I work in manufacturing and it has been impossible to find people to do this work anymore. I have spent the last 5 years installing robots and other automation to get the job done because the people are just not there anymore.

 

[Duxxy3]

Can't, keeps getting stuck in potholes!

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Potholes are like baskets in basketball. Two points for every time you sink one. Just take out the can and keeping going. Go for that high score!

 

[Elfgore]

6

years

ago

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SHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! You'll ruin the surprise!

 

[JoeHisaishi]

*Budgeting session*

Right people I have drawn up a budget list. But we're struggling with infrastructure.

Education: $700 Billion
Social Security: $600 Billion
Police: $200 Billion
Bailouts to Stock markets: $1.6 trillion
Governance: $50 Billion
CIA/FBI/TSA/NSA/HOMELAND SECURITY/DDS/TCPS/XQJPH/ WASD: $Limitless
War Budget: $4.7 Trillion
Infrastructure: $70 dollars

Where can we save an extra 100 billion 🤔

Well we could....
Republicans: "No"

 

[Ryuelli]

I never realized how truly behind America's infrastructure is until I moved to South Korea for a few years.

 

[VariantX]

Yeah it's sad what happens when people stop wanting to pay taxes. And forget that taxes actually pay for things like infrastructure.

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Folks don't care about things they dont personally use.

They don't have kids, their kids are in private school, or kids are no longer in school therefore they don't want to pay taxes that support public schools.
They complain about how shitty the roads are, but don't want to pay the gas or vehicle taxes that would go into maintaining the roads or public transportation to keep people from needing cars to get around that would accelerate the damage done to roads.

All kind of shit they don't want to pay for but bitch all day that the money isnt being spent to maintain these things which in turn makes them want to pay even less taxes. Its a shitty, shitty cycle with no end in sight.

It was a running joke(not really) that our infrastructure here in this state was 20 something years behind some other states.

 

[808s & Villainy]

You don't have to tell me. I live in Boston and they've been updating the T and T Stations for who knows how long

 

[LegendofJoe]

We need less cars on the road. We have too many miles of highway to adequately maintain it. Or in other words we need to build a fuck ton of new train lines.

 

[Dyle]

Not just infrastructure, everything in America is crumbling and has been for decades.

 

[Doomguy Fieri]

I'm sure the free market will sort it out any day now.

 

[shnurgleton]

*Budgeting session*

Right people I have drawn up a budget list. But we're struggling with infrastructure.

Education: $700 Billion
Social Security: $600 Billion
Police: $200 Billion
Bailouts to Stock markets: $1.6 trillion
Governance: $50 Billion
CIA/FBI/TSA/NSA/HOMELAND SECURITY/DDS/TCPS/XQJPH/ WASD: $Limitless
War Budget: $4.7 Trillion
Infrastructure: $70 dollars

Where can we save an extra 100 billion 🤔

Well we could....
Republicans: "No"

Click to shrink...

spend less on candles

 

[kirby_fox]

Anytime I think of infrastructure, it makes me wonder how long until our main bridge across the Ohio falls into the river. They've been looking at replacing it since 2008.

 

[Deleted member 1086]

it's interesting because as a result of poor roads your car goes through more wear and tear and now you have to spend money to repair the cars or even replace them sooner than would otherwise be necessary. So instead of paying taxes now you are paying untold thousands of dollars on your cars because the surfaces they drive on are crumbling beneath them.

 

[Trey]

As an aside, I wish we'd broaden our understanding of "infrastructure." Infrastructure often comes to mean roads and bridges, trains and dams, windmills and the electrical grid... basically like ... if you're pouring concrete it's infrastructure. I really wish we'd extend the idea of infrastructure into social programs, like early childhood education, universal pre-K, nationwide fundamental broadband to every house on the grid. Can't get more infrastructure than that. Just make all the teachers wear hard hats and it'll get funded.

Click to shrink...

Well said, and I couldn't agree more. Pay teachers more, expand child care safety net to be all inclusive, invest in the people who have "fallen through the cracks of society." This should be a holistic mission that encompasses a bunch of governmental departments, not just interior and transportation.

 

[Deleted member 82064]

*Budgeting session*

Right people I have drawn up a budget list. But we're struggling with infrastructure.

Education: $700 Billion
Social Security: $600 Billion
Police: $200 Billion
Bailouts to Stock markets: $1.6 trillion
Governance: $50 Billion
CIA/FBI/TSA/NSA/HOMELAND SECURITY/DDS/TCPS/XQJPH/ WASD: $Limitless
War Budget: $4.7 Trillion
Infrastructure: $70 dollars

Where can we save an extra 100 billion 🤔

Well we could....
Republicans: "No"

Click to shrink...

If I ever move to US I'll be tax dodger. I honestly can't understand why politicians won't spend money on infrastructure. Generated jobs alone would be win for any politician. Not to mention all the other improvments infra projects bring to cities and towns.

 

[Gwarm]

A major bridge in Seattle was forced to close due to rapidly worsening damage last year. The cracks in the West Seattle bridge were known for years and years but we did nothing and now face an astronomically expensive repair or replacement, all while routing traffic through surface streets and alternative bridges that were never meant for this many people.

 

[Jeremy]

Because they didn't do reconciliation last Congress, they can do two this year. The Democrats will almost certainly use the second for a massive infrastructure package (i.e. Biden's Build Back Better).

It is almost guaranteed to happen this year.

Build Back Better: Joe Biden's Jobs and Economic Recovery Plan for Working Families | Joe Biden for President: Official Campaign Website

 

[FliX]

Anytime I think of infrastructure, it makes me wonder how long until our main bridge across the Ohio falls into the river. They've been looking at replacing it since 2008.

Click to shrink...

The example in the video is wild where there is just one bridge over the river that is basically going to collapse any day now and when it does people and businesses will have to travel another 4 hours to get over the river...

 

[Djalminha]

A good opportunity to invest in greener infrastructure. Better trains and less highway expansions. What happened to Obama's plan to invest in fast and reliable modern train systems inspired by Europe and Japan?

 

[Autumn]

They also need to train people to fix the infrastructure.

 

[Rover]

I was watching a video of the Acela train in the NE Corridor the other day, and despite it being one of the fastest trains we have in the country, its speed and capability is held back dramatically by the old rail that it runs on.

 

[tangeu]

What's wild is the same road has been torn up and resurfaced 3 times in a row by me. First year because of the train tracks, which crisscrossed the road, getting redone so it got torn up along with that and resurfaced, second year just regular resurfacing, tear it all up and re do it even though it was fine and there are other terrible roads/bridges around here being ignored, third year they were redoing the sewage and conduit that ran under the road so the whole thing got torn up again. I believe portions of it is planned to get ripped up again this year and be replaced with cobblestone to foster a more "main street feel". Sure invest in infrastructure but maybe plan things a little better.

 

[Kaiken]

Crook County. I have no idea what my taxes are paying for. Marijuana is selling like hot cakes but yet my taxes still go up.

 

[cowbanana]

I gladly pay 40% income tax and 25% VAT on everything I buy with the money I have left, so that the society I live in doesn't crumble and we continue to have free education and free health care.

Imagine if the richest Americans actually paid taxes worth a damn, then the richest country in the world might actually look it.

 

[UltraGashInferno]

Crook County. I have no idea what my taxes are paying for. Marijuana is selling like hot cakes but yet my taxes still go up.

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weed was legalized a year ago, it's about the last thing you need to point out abt cook lmao

Edit: the weed money went to keeping a lot of ppl in jobs during quarantine fyi

 

[Tater]

I think a big part of it is the optics. It's not sexy to fix a bridge or repair a road, maybe we need to make it that way again. Highlight all the positive benefits of infrastructure - the jobs it creates, the improvements to the community, etc. And quite frankly, we should be calling out and honoring civil engineers the same way we do firefighters / police / paramedics. We worship first responders when a bridge collapses , but not the engineers that build bridges that don't collapse in the first place!

As anyone in IT can tell you, the guy pulling all nighters to fix a production issue is hailed as a hero; the architect that designed dozens of other systems that function properly is ignored.