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OpEdNews Op Eds    H2'ed 6/2/11

Our Crumbling Infrastructure: This Time, It's Personal

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Jared Bernstein

from the Huffington Post

For the second day in a row, there is no power in the building which houses my employer, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (the CBPP website is still up, though). Apparently, a number of buildings in that part of town are out. PEPCO, our local utility, says we'll be back on at noon today, but we'll see.

OK, so let's get this straight. We've got major infrastructure deficits in this country, including an electricity grid that's demonstrably unreliable. I get that systems come down, but a city block...for two days! That's a little scary.

And my situation is, of course, a microcosm of a larger, known problem. Check out the 2009 Report Card from the American Society of Civil Engineers:

Aviation D

Bridges C

Dams D

Drinking Water D-

Energy D+

Hazardous Waste D

Inland Waterways D-

Levees D-

Public Parks and Recreation
 C-

Rail C-

Roads D-

Schools D

Solid Waste C+

Transit D

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Jared Bernstein joined the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in May 2011 as a Senior Fellow. From 2009 to 2011, Bernstein was the Chief Economist and Economic Adviser to Vice President Joe Biden, executive director of the White House Task Force (more...)
 
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