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Catch up with Smarter Nations: Support Senate Infrastructure Compromise, Restore Climate Change Action

It looks like we’ll get at least $109 billion in new roads and bridges, $55 billion in unleaded water pipes, and hundreds of billions more in infrastructure improvements, thanks to President Joe Biden’s ability to get the Senate’s poop in a group.

This $1.209-trillion federal investment would still leave us playing catch-up with other nations that more highly value their roads and pipes and even our own healthy pre-Reagan priorities:

…older cities across the nation face staggering infrastructure needs, which they can’t tackle on their own. They are calling for increased federal investment, with supporters of higher spendingnoting that only 2.4 percent American gross domestic product is applied to infrastructure, in comparison with 5 percent in the European Union and 9 percent in China.

Advocates of increased infrastructure spending also note that before the 1980s there were greater federal commitments to at least some local projects. In the 1970s, the federal government paid to update many drinking and wastewater systems to bring them up to newly instituted environmental standards. But federal investments in water infrastructure fell during the 1980s.

Without federal support, many communities have struggled to remain up-to-date with their infrastructure needs. The water crisis in Flint, Mich., is only the most striking example of the consequences. In other areas like Ferndale, where inequities are less extreme, there is still a funding gap between aging localities’ needs and their means [Jake Blumgart, “Small Cities Can’t Manage the High Cost of Old Infrastructure,” Governing, 2021.06.24].

Alas, ideologically blinkered Republicans demanded that President Biden compromise away many of the climate-change provisions of his original American Jobs Plan, even though climate change is a big reason local governments are facing higher infrastructure costs:

All of these issues will only be heightened by the climate crisis. Many western states are facing growing water shortages. Flooding is becoming increasingly common in other parts of the country, with many of the nation’s largest transit agencies coping with expensive risks to their underground infrastructure (as Hurricane Sandy proved in New York and New Jersey). Even landlocked localities like Ferndale face an increase in flooding risks. As Michigan gets hotter and wetter, the city is seeing more rainfall. In 2014, torrential storms flooded 80 percent of its residences [Blumgart, 2021.06.24].

Local governments need more federal investment in infrastructure and climate-change prevention, not less. Let’s prime the pump with the current compromise bill and keep working toward more investment in the vital roads, pipes, and other infrastructure that America needs to keep up with the future.

7 Comments

  1. Richard Schriever

    “…..federal investments in water infrastructure fell during the 1980s……” Yet another example of why it was/is Reagan, and not trump – who has been the worst US president EVER. He did deeper, more serious, systemic damage to the US culture and economy than the last guy ever dreamed of, which of course made the vulgar orange puff-ball’s presidency even possible.

  2. Donald Pay

    There’s infrastructure and then there is waste, boondoggles and destructive projects. I love good infrastructure investments, but a lot of what Congress funds are boondoggles and destructive projects that should never be built. So, I disagree with Richard above when he talks about the Reagan era decline in water infrastructure funding. Primarily that decline was in boondoggles and destructive projects, not good projects. Carter started the effort to halt those bad projects, but he had a Congress that was intent on wasting money. Reagan’s crew came in and said, fine, if these projects are so good, put up some local money, we’ll kick in federal dollars. A lot of stupid projects fell off the gravy train just by requiring local buy-in. Look, Reagan was a bad president for many reasons, but he did follow through with reforming the water project boondoggles that Carter wanted to do. In South Dakota, George Mickelson did the same with South Dakota’s water project funding. I agree that some poor communities got the shaft under Reagan’s reforms, and that part should be corrected.

  3. Too bad we can’t have train rides like the Marseille to Paris, under four hours and cheap. When will that happen? Scott killed it in Florida, but then he’s a felonious monk.

  4. Arlo Blundt

    Well…I like rural water systems. You’d be amazed at how many people have to live with some really poor water…quantity and quality.Donald is opposed to the old ditch to nowhere…Oahe project–and it was grandoise, but none the less, without some rural and municipal water program all we got from the dams were walleyes and a permanent flood. And the folks in Fort Pierre and Running Water would surely argue about the flood control.

  5. Harley Hansen

    what was the big thing that the 1980 had oooo yea DARE on one hand while the CIA and Republicans under Reagan imported the most Cocaine and Crack than the cartels Drugs, America’s Real Economy = DARE

  6. leslie

    DOI got lucky w/ Sec Haaland’s confirmation. A good read on the climate catastrophe and racism. Unfinished Business: Muir in Native America, SIERRA ,(Mar-April 2021) featuring native Mandan Gerald Baker, ret. Superintendent of Greasy Grass Ntl Mon and then “six grandfathers mountain (Little Big Horn and Mt. Rushmore). Big stuff. Relates too to Ryan’s rant about race.

    Renaming Black Elk peak which we championed here was instrumental in the forgiveness movement Indians have proffered at Standing Rock’s international facedown of the militarized violence stopping that pipeline.

  7. leslie

    By Rebecca Solnit

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