Poor Infrastructure in the U.S.
Mr. President, may I suggest that the most important issue facing the
United States today is the state of its infrastructure. America’s infrastructure
is failing. Every day Americans drive on roads and bridges and live near dams
that pose a serious safety hazard. The United States government needs to
spend more money to rebuild and repair America’s deteriorating
infrastructure—for the safety of the American people.
Congress needs to provide states with resources to repair as well as
rebuild bridges.
The duty of any government is to serve and protect its people, and one of
the crucial ways the government serves and protects is by maintaining the
country’s infrastructure. Roads and bridges and railways allow us to travel
freely and allow businesses to function. Without a properly functioning
infrastructure, the United States cannot operate. Without an up-to-date, fully
inspected and repaired infrastructure, the citizens are not safe. Therefore it is
the moral obligation of government to adequately maintain the infrastructure of
the United States. It is unethical for state and federal government to continue
to ignore the state of our infrastructure.
For example, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers, as of
2007, there are 1,826 deficient dams in the United States that pose a high
hazard to people living downstream of the dams and the rate of dam repair is
not keeping pace with the number of dams becoming deficient each year.
America’s drinking water is also threatened. In its Report Card for America’s
Infrastructure, the American Society of Civil Engineers says that “the nation’s
drinking-water systems face staggering public investment needs over the next
20 years … [and] face an annual shortfall of at least $11 billion…to replace
aging facilities.” Deficient dams and outdated drinking-water systems pose
serious threats to the safety of Americans. What about our roads?
Our roads are contributing to the economic crisis in this country. It is
estimated that the 4.2 billion hours a year that Americans spend sitting in
traffic costs the economy $78.2 billion. What a waste! And according to the
New American Foundation, those delays caused Americans to waste 3.9 billion
gallons of fuel and contribute needlessly to environmental pollution. The poor
conditions that plague our roads cause motorists to spend an estimated $67
billion a year on vehicle repair. And one third of our roads need major work to
improve the safety of those traveling on the roads. Overall, the condition of
America’s roads received a letter grade of D by the American Society of Civil
Engineers. Bridges were given a grade C due to structural issues. According to
the Transportation for America report, nearly 12 percent of America’s bridges
are structurally deficient and require replacement.
Mr. President, as the leader of this great country, it is your moral duty to
provide for the safety of its citizens. Our roads, bridges and drinking-water
systems are not safe. You need to make repairing and replacing key elements of
our infrastructure a priority, and you need to enlist the aid of Congress in this
endeavor. The states cannot maintain and upgrade our roads, bridges, water
supply and railways without financial assistance from the federal government,
and it should be your goal to guide the federal government in assisting the
states. Mr. President, it is crucial to our safety and economy that more money
goes towards infrastructure. As the president, you have a moral obligation to
ask Congress to appropriate more federal funds for infrastructure—or we will
be left at an economic disadvantage because of our failing infrastructure.
Other countries and regions such as China and Europe spend far more
money on building and repairing infrastructure than America. Even poor
countries like Haiti have money flowing into its government for rebuilding
damaged infrastructure. America spends only 2.4% of gross domestic product
(GDP) on infrastructure while China spends 9% of its GDP on infrastructure.
The European Union (EU) has always made infrastructure projects its first
priority. The European Commission also wants to expand the types of
infrastructure that the EU can finance.
In order to help put America’s infrastructure back on its feet I can
contribute in a few different ways. One way would be to write letters to my
representatives in Congress. Another way would be to inform the public by
using social media. Just as the government has a duty to serve and protect its
citizens, we citizens also have a duty to be informed and proactive. I can do my
part by helping educated my fellow citizens about the crumbling state of
America’s infrastructure.
America’s infrastructure needs to be rebuilt for the safety of all
Americans and for the health of America’s economy. America should not have
unstable bridges or roads in poor condition. We should have a stable drinkingwater supply and dams that are not a threat to those who live downstream. Mr
President, the government needs to spend more money on our infrastructure to
keep Americans safe and productive.