by Ken Vincent, Featured Contributor
A HIGH PERCENTAGE of our population is aging out of the work force. They have been dubbed the “baby boomers”. But, they are not the only part of our country that is aging. Our infrastructure is also aging out of safe usage.
Roads, bridges, dams, the power grid, water and sewer treatment plants and delivery systems, railroads and subways are just for starters. To repair/replace these aging and often dangerous structures will take trillions of dollars. Our elected officials in their great wisdom continue to say that we don’t have the money unless we raise taxes and usage fees.
Am I the only one that wonders if perhaps their priorities are a bit off center? What about all that money we send to other countries, some even our avowed enemies? What about those hundreds of billions of dollars we spend on educating, feeding, housing, and medicating illegal aliens? What about all that money that is going to build sports stadiums, court houses, and parks? What about all that wasted money on duplicate agencies?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against things like city parks. But, I do feel that perhaps those are less critical that interstate bridges and overpasses collapsing. Is giving money to Pakistan a higher priority than upgrading our power grid? Is trying to police the world, spread democracy, and even trying to enforce human rights in other countries more important than safe subways, and drinking water?
Are our priorities due for an overhaul?