Infrastructure

One of the biggest news stories over the last several months has been about infrastructure.  The federal government talks about it, your business or place of employment is dependent on it, and it appears to be collapsing around us.  Our constant efforts to stave off disasters and to keep America running is evident all around us.  If you are not sure where, just ask yourself this simple question, how often do you get stopped in road construction?

The Roads

America’s interstate highway system is the single largest and most expensive project the federal government has undertaken.  It is always evolving, improving, and it is in constant use.  Without it, companies do not function, stores do not restock goods, and we will be unable to travel.  This system is the backbone of the American way of life, and it is slowly degrading.  Bridges need repair, traffic patterns are always shifting, and erosion is a constant enemy.  Most of us complain about construction delays and how long repair work takes, but if we ignore issues our whole way of life will collapse around us.  According to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, over 200,000 bridges across the country need repair.  We must ask ourselves what is stopping progress?

The answer to this question is simple, money.  We all want nice roads and bridges, but we do not want to pay a higher tax rate.  The funds for improvement projects must come from somewhere.  Toll roads do exist but most of the revenue they generate goes to upkeep costs that are already in place.  As a result of this, the talk of supporting American infrastructure is the hot topic in politics.  The only problem is agreeing on a way to fund the repairs.  Political affiliations aside, people are never going to agree.  The government could raise taxes but what specific tax should be levied.  Do we tax gasoline at the pump or people’s income?  Do we tax large corporations or assess tariffs on imports?  These are complicated problems with no agreeable solution.  The only thing we do know for sure is we must address the issue of road maintenance.

Buildings

The infrastructure surrounding our cities is complicated and as recent events in Florida have shown us, ignoring the needs of city structures can have drastic consequences.  Although, the structural soundness of a building is not always the governments responsibility.   The building’s owner is responsible in ensuring that everything is in good working order and safe.  An owner can be an individual, a corporation, or an ownership association.  How each repair is addressed and funded depends on how a building is owned.  A simple way to look at this is most of us own a home and we are responsible for anything that happens to the building or buildings on our property.  That is why most of us have insurance.  The same set of responsibilities fall on a large building’s owner or ownership group.  However, unlike with our homes, a single person might not be responsible for funding repairs.  An ownership group or association must all agree that a repair is warranted, and they must levy a fund to pay for it.  That is why a lot of apartment and condo buildings begin to decline in value after a while.  Typically, these properties devalue when the owners ignore long term issues and do not repair them when they should.

This lack of repair also effects government properties as well.  The best example to investigate is America public education system.  According to ABC News most public school’s systems need to make some sort of repairs.  Some will accomplish these goals while others will fail at it.  It all depends on the neighborhoods.  Most cities, counties, or states will levy some sort of tax to be voted on to fund these repairs.  Districts whose citizens vote for the raised tax will have better schools.  It is in the power of the people to make these repairs happen but like with other infrastructure issues people disagree.  Some people will never vote for a higher tax, and some will, it is a person choice.  Just remember we get what we pay for in life, so if you vote against a school tax levy you should not complain about the state of your public school district.

The roads and buildings of America are the backbone of our way of life.  Maintaining them will help support America’s thriving business infrastructure.  So next time you hear about a tax increase or learn about a long-term construction project that affects your commute, remember these are necessary to support the American way of life.  Our infrastructure is what sets us apart from the rest of the world and maintaining it is crucial to our future.