The world is an inter-connected place, so there is no reason to believe that the explosion near Grand Central on Wednesday was an isolated event. The papers have mentioned the Gramercy Park explosion from 1989, but it is more of a side note than a beginning of an in-depth look at whats going on with our infrastructure. Reading the DMI Blog this morning, Elana Levin's "When Infrastructure Attacks" put the big picture on display with great style. Loved the title too.
From The DMI Blog:
I should probably explain this blog post's title. When chasms in the earth open up near Grand Central the media tends to report it. Even Fox. But what you won't see in the media by and large is a discussion of why it is that these accidents take place. Sure they'll explain how the explosion was caused by water hitting an antediluvian steam pipe but they just won't make the connection between the lack of investment in our country's infrastructure and things going kablooie. You see it takes money to keep any locality running. And localities get that money through our taxes.
Infrastructure is quite literally crumbling beneath our feat and to paraphrase Rick Perlstein "it's not the terrorists, it's the tax cuts". You see you can't have modern society without infrastructure, like emergency services, a working sewage system and a power grid. And if your only goal as a society is to cut taxes eventually you are left with asbestos covered steam pipes from 1924 that explode and kill people - and yes, damage business interests.
One thing I really like about Mayor Bloomberg's PlaNYC is that his plan seriously addresses infrastructure as a long term investment for our city. As a major economic engine for the country we all need to be concerned about NYC having ongoing access to clean water, the ability to safely meet (and reduce) our need for electricity, and get all of our roads into safe condition, just to name a few tasks highlighted in the plan. It's not just NYC that needs to plan ahead- it's the whole country.
The problem with the country and infrastructure is that there is a trend starting to form that privatizes the repair of America's wires and pipes. It's a free-market libertarian's dream but a nightmare for the rest of us. As Elana said in the post, our money goes a lot farther when it is collectively put together for the common good. When companies propose to fix infrastructure for profit, its the bottom line that comes before the common good.
President H.W. Bush signed an Executive Order allowing for the privatization of infrastructure back in 1992. It is already happening with our highways. The more our pipes fall apart, the greater the demand of corporate America to seize the opportunity to increase their profits. With an Administration hell bent on destroying the capabilities of our government and cities that are desperate to fix the problems that can't be fixed without federal dollars (excluding cities like New York with large tax bases).
The Congress needs to draft legislation to appropriate money to fix our infrastructure so that we can keep on having the civilized society that we enjoy. Repairs can also make the system more energy efficient as well. And we won't have to worry about market-based solutions that provide access to customers that only increase returns such as what is starting to happen in the Telecom industry in relation to rural customers where it is more expensive to reach them, the same thing can happen with wires, steam and especially water.
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