INFRASTRUCTURE IN AMERICA

Is America the greatest country in the world? Absolutely not - it needs serious rehab!

For this discussion I hope you're sitting down though pacing might help you shed pent up frustration while you read. With what I discovered...I know pacing helped me! 

America does have the greatest PR machine. And, MainStreet voters continue to buy into a vast mass-marketing program from every state and federal politician - working diligently to keep the following realities as quiet as possible.

Ahhh, but on the heels of Election 2020 [and a midterm election around the corner] armed with even a tiny slice of information, voters can ask serious targeted questions and insist on serious targeted answers - not double-talk excuses or vague; "I'll look into that."

It is the People living on MainStreet America who make America great - America's political leadership not so much...MainStreet functions with a practical, logical straightforward approach - while [most] politicians do-not. 

When candidate Trump labelled DC a "swamp" - he was mistaken. The Hill in the District of Columbia is actually one  l-o-n-g  and  w-i-d-e  BUFFET  from which far too many ranking employees and federally elected, fellow citizens, who hold a public position of trust - FEED...

Members of Congress and the Senate are busy shuffling budgets-supported by our taxes. From one ledger column to another pet projects that only make a difference to a campaign contributor or lobbyist; like banks, military contractors, insurance, medical research, etc...[and hundreds of others] get far more attention than the general voter...Unless - voters become more aware between elections.

AIRPORTS...The last time America's national airports received a major overall update was in the late 50s and early 60s. Since then many systems have been patched together not even on a regular schedule - but too often only after a malfunction that narrowly averted an incident. And, it wasn't due just to aging radar or technology, but a stressed electrical grid. [Nationally an investment of  130 Billion or 26B a year for five years, would bring our airports up to 2015 technological standards.]

ELECTRICAL GRID...If you don't want to lay awake nights terrified then don't read Gretchen Bakke's book; "The Grid".  Between the mid 1950s and 1980s major power outages averaged less than 5 in a year. In 2007 there were 76 reported. By 2011 the increase was more than 300 a year. Though taxpayers have invested millions in subsides for the development of renewable energy, America isn't able to take advantage of green-energy like more solar and wind power because most of it can't be integrated into the aging grid. Our electrical grid is not capable of 'storing' the additional power. Worse yet, our national electrical grid is a national security risk - weak and unstable - a fact not secret to factions with the capacity of crashing it.  [The estimated cost to update America's electrical grid is a cheery 5T. That's Trillion, my fellow travelers!] 

MASS TRANSIT...One hundred years ago the public transportation system in America was the envy of the world. One hundred years later - much of America's mass transit is still 100 years old. Most rural communities once relied on train service that moved people and goods between towns and cities. Much larger urban areas also enjoyed an above ground trolley system that ran off clean electricity later converted to buses that ran on electricity as well as the underground subways. However by the 1920s a gasoline powered motor car for every family had become almost a quest, more so than even a house. This new form of mass-transportation was spurred on by a growing lobby structure. Vehicle and petroleum industry executives - who golfed with or had lunches with, or vacations with or contributed to elections were influential. The lobby-pitch held influence with politicians with the lure of higher employment - for voters. Naturally, with higher employment came an increase in tax revenue [enacted in 1913] - from voters. Ohhh, but wait, where did all our tax money go? Was it or has it been spent wisely? Hmmm...In each state, depending on population, updating and restructuring public mass transit varies greatly from city to city. [Regardless, the minimum $ price tag starts with a 'B'] Though more change centers around turning it over to private enterprise so that public-transit becomes true user-pay. But, would it be affordable?

U.S. SEA PORTS...Our ports have become another open border option for disturbingly illegal conduct. From sea to shinning sea our east coast, west coast, along the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes - America's ability to keep pace with the rest of the shipping world peaked in the mid 1980s. We have an archaic technology security structure with tracking procedures that hold water like a coffee filter. If the U.S. could export farm crops, manufactured goods, natural gas, oil and raw materials more efficiently, at a higher volume it could also mean a better balance of trade. [The cost here, relatively speaking, is only in the millions of dollars for updated general technology that could interface with what factories and shipping companies already have in place for their own inventory. Structurally at ports, companies also keep their own warehousing and storage facilities sound.]

WATER...Through the 1920s, but slower in the 1930s and 1940s - then resuming through the post war boom of the 1950s and 60s - a vast sewer system of  POTWs [Public Owned Treatment Works] and clean drinking water, was the pride of every community from small towns to large cities. However, less than 12% of the sewage POTWs or pipes carrying drinking water have been replaced in original areas since. Unless there was a main break that required localized repair the issue never rose to the surface [excuse the pun] which is what happened in Flint, Michigan [2018]. Even the 'newer' water systems engineered in our ever expanding suburbs during the 1970s, 80s and 90s have remained out of sight, out of mind for most municipalities. And since we're already 20 years into the 21st Century every pipe laid prior to 1980 is now an exhibit for the Antique Road Show. [I don't like this number either, but the estimate for a national-overdue-plumbing update is - 384 Billion.]

Beyond the water needed for all neighborhoods to homes and businesses, is a threat to our water source itself that is vulnerable. The average age of America's 91,000 Dams is 52 years. 

**With slashed budgets causing inadequate maintenance factored with environmental issues, we can expect that any dams built between 1930 and 1970 are already - or on the verge of being structurally compromised. 

The dams that failed [May, 2020] in Midland County, Michigan caused 10,000 Edenville residents to evacuate. All had poor federal inspection reports for twenty years straight! WHY? Who was the federal inspector and why after five years or eight years wasn't structural weaknesses corrected by the Army Corp of Engineers or FEMA then the cost subtracted from some of Michigan's federal funding? Was someone paid off or pressured to look the other way? If the population of Edenville had been 100,000 instead of 10,000 would that have made a difference? Perhaps Midland's federal representative John Moolenar could answer that...[In the meantime the cost to correct dams that if they failed would threaten significant loss of human life, is estimated at 45 Billion. To properly correct all structurally compromised dams, the cost estimate is at 64 Billion.]

BRIDGES...The vast majority of America's 'newer' bridges are already 60 years old. Just addressing the backlog of tackling those maintenance and improvement projects would take five consecutive years. [The cost to correct all presently unsafe bridges is 189 Billion.]

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY...If you have been impressed with the stats so far then you're gonna luv how our government departments are running. The latest I.T. was first installed and in use when Nixon ran for President! I kid you not! This - besides being connected to an aging grid - is also a National Security/cyber security issue. Which is why so much outsourcing is done to private contractors - but is that a cost savings, they need to update technology too and who are these private contractors? How do we monitor them with antique technology?

Federal I.T.-A..Our Defense Department has a 53 year old [backup] system to send and receive nuclear emergency action messages running on a 1970s computer that uses 8-inch floppy disks incapable of anywhere near the storage of modern flash drives. Replacement parts are difficult to find so thank goodness for 3D printers. It was set for a complete replacement in 2020 however, the Chief Information Officer reasoned that the system was secure - because - it was a closed system. [An outhouse is a closed system too, but let's see a show of hands for those who want one.]

Besides an aging federal information technology gap, local civic overspending followed by severe budget cuts in nearly every state in the Union [since 2008] has been exposed publicly due Covid19. 

When millions of people applied for Unemployment Insurance Benefits - it wasn't the number of people applying that caused nearly every state system to freeze - it was aging technology unable to handle increased traffic. [5G may be possible, but not at any government department near you...] Once again who gets inconvenienced? Who gets inconvenienced are the very people whose taxes pay for state and federal infrastructure. Mismanaged public funds has been chronic for decades because there is no voter oversight and mismanagement continues because there is no consequences for careless fiscal performance. 

Federal I.T.-B...The master file at the Internal Revenue Service where the public's taxes are assessed and refunds are generated runs on a 1950s 'assembly-language-code'. This early code can only run on a single computer that is difficult to maintain and is a main reason the IRS makes mistakes and has difficulty addressing refund fraud.

Federal I.T.-C...Our Social Security Administration has a slightly 'newer' system that is only 31 years old. However, it has been patched together with no less than 162 subsystems - some of which run on an early 1960s programing language called COBOL...[See also IBM museum archives!] And if you have a weak heart then don't read about Medicare.

Federal I.T.-D...A 26 year old computer system used by the State Department to track and validate annual visa information for about 55,000+ foreign nationals is no longer supported by the original vendor. And - its system like all the other government departments eats up a large chunk of the annual budget in maintenance that would be significantly reduced and more efficiently used if replaced completely then kept updated. Gosh - do you suppose we might need to track who shouldn't be here like, oh I don't know - someone who's a possible criminal or national threat.? 

Federal I.T.-E...Then again the cost of maintaining the Transportation Department records to monitor thousands of companies that make, and ship, and store hazardous materials has steadily increased annually - with a database record system that pretty much parallel's that of the Sate Department. It too is patched, outdated and vulnerable.

**February 2018 [then] President Trump presented an Infrastructure Plan to the 115th Republican [majority] Congress. The proposal was a cost savings for voters with joint spending of $200 Billion in federal funding and 1.5 Trillion from the private sector. Democrats opposed that Plan due to its structure of state and local funding with private investment. 

So - was that desperately needed Infrastructure Plan so flawed that the Republican majority couldn't work with most Democrats? Though at the time - there was a persistent undermining Republican faction led by John McCain [R-AZ] supported by Jeff Flake [R-AZ] and Mitt Romney [R-UT]  and  a government shut-down and  the Muller Investigation of President Trump...This meant, that once again, what was 'best' for America as a whole was sacrificed and by both sides.

Far too many politicians don't look ahead beyond 'their' next election campaign. For the record I'm a registered Independent who voted for Bush George H. [1st term], Clinton B. [1st term], Bush George W. [both terms], Obama B. [both terms] then yup - Trump D. [1st term]  because  he wasn't a career politician.

Moving on...The important point here is that year after year - decade after decade - generation after generation voters were born then died while infrastructure that needed regular budgeted attention, was neglected.

The 10 best states for maintaining basic infrastructure: Oregon, Washington, Utah, Nevada, North Dakota, Minnesota, Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska and Georgia. The 10 worst states for infrastructure: Mississippi, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, West Virginia, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Naturally each of the other 30 states [not including our 5 U.S. Protectorates] fall somewhere in the middle. Look up your state - know what is weak then start making phone calls and writing emails to your elected representatives...Even if you didn't vote for them you still pay their salary so they work for you.

Think of your voter responsibility like any task in your life that requires upkeep. It would be nicer if we only needed to mow our lawns once in the spring or toss clothing and linens out when they need laundering. However, the grass needs cutting each week and our clothing and lines need cleaning each week. It would be nice too if our carpets never needed vacuuming or our cars never needed to be washed...you get the idea.

America is vast and complicated, but WeThePeople have either been too trusting or too complacent for too long. We can no longer leave unlimited, valuable assets in the hands of too many people in positions of authority who have truly let MainStreet down either through incompetence or compromised ethics. Each voter needs to become a rational, but persistent vocal energy. With steady involved effort voters can't be ignored.

In relative infrastructure areas: *U.S. Trade - Katherine Tai  *Secretary of Defense - Lloyd Austin  *Secretary of Energy - Jennifer Granholm  *Commerce Secretary - Gina Raimondo  *Homeland security - Alejandro Mayorkas  *Secretary of Transportation - Pete Buttigeg  *Treasury Secretary - Janet Yellen 

 https://medium.com/@BraveNewFilms.org/heres-how-to-contact-all-535-members-of-united-states-congress-call-email-tweet-20b8a1c54195

Sherrie Todd-Beshore is an award-winning mystery suspense novelist and  former journalist...

Via amazon.com or patchworkpublishing.com

Mystery-Suspense: "Come Sit In My Kitchen"

Suspense-Thriller: "24 Sussex Drive"