Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Updated Infrastructure Report Card

Report Card for America's Infrastsructure

ASCE estimates that $1.6 trillion is needed over a five-year period to bring the nation's infrastructure to a good condition. Establishing a long-term development and maintenance plan must become a national priority.

Long commutes.
Dirty Water.
Delayed flights.
Failing Dams.

With each passing day, aging and overburdened infrastructure threatens the economy and quality of life in every state, city and town in the nation.


It is absolutely a top priority. It is just that other things are more important right now. It is very difficult to borrow money to pay for the things that threaten our economy and quality of life long-term (aging and overburdened infrastructure) when we're so busy borrowing money to pay for the things that threaten our economy and quality of life short-term (war, a tapped out consumer, a housing slump, parabolic energy prices, and parabolic food prices).

Perhaps we can find a way to borrow money for all of that while simultaneously strengthening our currency so we can afford those things. I really should be a politician. The solution seems obvious. Pandering! I'm surprised nobody thought of that.

Gas Tax Holiday -- A Vacation from Common Sense

Nevermind. Somebody did think of it.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Stag,

http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/BearsLairHome

You may have already red this. I sure hope Hutchinson is wrong with his inflation & growth forecasts. I don't think the boomers could handle a 1970s re-run.

A dot comb bust followed by a housing bust followed by a long drawn out grinding bear market. Definitely an even worse scenario than a sudden and severe correction.

Stagflationary Mark said...

MAB,

You can pretty much guess what my thoughts are on your link's title!

The draining national prosperity

A dot comb bust followed by a housing bust followed by a long drawn out grinding bear market. Definitely an even worse scenario than a sudden and severe correction.

As you know, I'm not even remotely in the short and shallow camp. 30-Year I-Bonds looked pretty good to me as did 20-Year TIPS. Time will tell.

The movie is already getting very expensive. Just look at the price of popcorn.

http://futures.tradingcharts.com/chart/CN/M

That being said, Albertsons is having another cereal sale. Buy ten boxes at $2 a box and get $10 off. That's just $1 a box. My previous cereal hoarding has yet to pay off and actually seems to be working against me. Cereal is still a food item, isn't it?

Perhaps a hyperinflationist could explain cereal math to me. I keep bracing for potential extreme (10% or more) inflation that never quite seems to arrive (other than gasoline). On the other hand, perhaps an extreme deflationist could show me a rapidly shrinking CPI. I've yet to see that either, not that I am bracing for it.

Welcome to the muddle and wallow economy.