CBS 60 Minutes report: The politics of infrastructure

[cpzilliacus]

[H/T Alps]

The politics of infrastructure - Steve Kroft takes a close look into the nation's crumbling infrastructure and why it's a political "hot potato"

Comments and thoughts on this segment?

[mvak36]

60 Minutes is currently airing a segment on the funding shortfalls around the country and aging infrastructure. It's nice that finally someone is calling out the politicians.

Mods: If this is in the wrong section of the forum, please feel free move.

[rickmastfan67]

Here's a video segment from it.
http://www.cbs.com/shows/60_minutes/video/wDHgIRBoeP_q4gHkLL0kheu_bLmCiFD9/preview-falling-apart/

Figures they'd come to Pittsburgh to talk about it.

[silverback1065]

I thought it was a great report, I points out just how worthless congress really is. 

[Mr_Northside]

Here's a video segment from it.
http://www.cbs.com/shows/60_minutes/video/wDHgIRBoeP_q4gHkLL0kheu_bLmCiFD9/preview-falling-apart/

Figures they'd come to Pittsburgh to talk about it.

Yeah... I noticed the promos for it (without sound) during the football games, and was like "Shit, they're showing the Greenfield bridge situation", then after seeing all the other crumbling stuff, I figured that's what the piece would be about.

I did watch it.  While I don't know that I learned anything new about the situation, hopefully people less inclined to think about infrastructure watched it.

[ARMOURERERIC]

figures they would pic the 2 bridges that are already up next to be dealt with

[cpzilliacus]

USDOT commentary on the "60 Minutes" segment: On 60 Minutes and America's infrastructure deficit

Many of you might have watched last night's 60 Minutes segment, "Falling Apart: America's Neglected Infrastructure." I was glad to see CBS give this critical situation its due in primetime.

As Fast Lane readers know, this is an issue I've been talking about almost every day since taking office. I've been to 41 states, sounding the alarm that our infrastructure is crumbling and that we need Congress to step up and help us rebuild it. I've also put forward a plan —the GROW AMERICA Act— that would give Congress a roadmap to do exactly that...and help us maintain our transportation system for generations to come.

Unfortunately, Congress doesn't seem to share our sense of urgency, which prompted my predecessor, Secretary Ray LaHood, to suggest on 60 Minutes last night that Congress needs to have the political courage to solve this problem.

[billtm]

I hope I-74/73 isn't on that "roadmap".

[cpzilliacus]

NewGeography.com:  Raise the Gas Tax!

Driving just got a lot cheaper in America. The timing is great not only for American consumers, but also for America's infrastructure. The Highway Trust Fund simply can't keep up current spending levels without more revenue. Significant declines in pump prices have presented an excellent opportunity to raise the federal gas tax, while keeping pump prices lower than initially anticipated. Though a gas tax hike may not be the ideal approach, it is infinitely preferable to bailing out the Trust Fund with general revenue, or to putting the brakes on much needed infrastructure spending. This is a rare opportunity to improve America's infrastructure without putting an additional burden on American taxpayers. It would be a shame to miss it.

No one enjoys paying taxes, though they are much easier to swallow when the revenue produces visible results. Since the gas tax is deposited into the Highway Trust Fund, it is somewhat like a user fee, albeit, an imperfect one. From the standpoint of fairness, it makes sense that drivers should pay for using the roads. Aside from fairness, the virtue of the 'user pays' principle is that it helps to ration roadway use. If movie theatres were paid for through tax revenue and tickets were free at the point of consumption, everyone would be stuck waiting in line. The same principle generally applies to roadways, although tolls have a more direct impact on traffic congestion than gas taxes. There is some legitimate debate over the optimal mix of revenue tools to fund roads, but if it comes down to raising the gas tax or using general government revenue, raising the gas tax is the obvious choice.

NewGeography.com: Overselling America's Infrastructure Crisis

60 Minutes ran a segment recently called "Falling Apart"  that was another alarmist take on the state of American infrastructure.

We've seen this story before. America's infrastructure is falling apart and we need to spend many billions on upgrades, but politicians won't agree because they are too craven.

There's some truth to this point of view. The problem is that it's oversold using the worst examples. It also gives short shrift to the many infrastructure upgrades that we have been making. And it ignores how people and businesses make capital purchase decisions in the real world.

First, I'm not surprised to see that 60 Minutes spent a lot of time in Pennsylvania. In my experience, Pennsylvania is in a class by itself when it comes to infrastructure. Drive something like I-70 from Washington to the Ohio state line and prepare to be appalled. Pittsburgh legitimately has a massive infrastructure maintenance overhang. Philly too. And much of the infrastructure there was under built to begin with. The Schuylkill Expressway goes down to two lanes each way, for example. Similarly, 60 Minutes is right about some of the obsolete bridges on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. They may have easily included other high profile embarrassments like LaGuardia Airport or Penn Station. Or they might have taken a look at state of decay of Rhode Island's bridges.