America's Huge Hidden Issue

Governor Ed Rendell (D-Pa.), the new head of the National Governors Association, has announced a totally logical---if highly unexpected-- top priority for the Association: repair of the nation's infrastructure. Here are a few very uncomfortable facts:

"Rendell rattled off a string of statistics on infrastructure that had the governors reeling. The U.S. has a $1.6 trillion infrastructure deficit, he said—that is, it will cost that much just to rebuild what it already has. The administration of President Dwight Eisenhower spent 11.5% of its budget on infrastructure; the George W. Bush administration spends 2.5%. The European Union spends six times more than the U.S. on infrastructure as a percentage of gross domestic product.

A problem for big plans like that, he added, is that such basic-needs spending is out of favor with voters. And the reason for that? “The Bridge to Nowhere,” he said, citing a pet project championed by Alaska’s Sen. Ted Stevens and Rep. Don Young that was derailed following an outburst of public anger over the cost. Infrastructure “has become just a pork-barrel process in voters’ eyes,” he said."

This issue gets almost no attention from elected officials or the media and has no lobbying organization to raise public consciousness Last year's bridge tragedy in Minnesota---clearly the tip of an iceberg--- has slipped out of the public's conscience. Rendell has chosen the most logical forum for bringing this issue to the fore. We will keep an eye on it and urge our readers to report any state-level initiatives worthy of note.