Infrastructure Is a Priority
The sad condition of much of the United States’ rural road system was the subject of a recent New York Times article. The article examined conditions in central-west Wisconsin’s Trempealeau County, population 29,000. Cracked, crumbling and hole-pocked surfaces, missing guard rails and eroding shoulders are typical throughout the county’s road system, which averages 74 years old; the normal life span of an asphalt road is 30 years. The county’s highway commissioner foresees the next 10 years turning the roads “back into gravel” if nothing changes.
The article came at a time when politicians are debating infrastructure in the context of national elections. There was a brief period during which the two major political parties found common ground on the subject. Many of the Democratic candidates for president have taken positions on the nation’s physical infrastructure, proposing a trillion dollars or more to address needs.
In 2017 the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) estimated total infrastructure needs over the following 10 years required investment of over $4.5 trillion. The 2017 report covered surface, air, water and rail transportation, electricity, parks, schools, dams, levees and hazardous waste. Overall, the ASCE gives the country’s cumulative infrastructure a grade of D+. The country’s rail system was rated B, the highest of any category of infrastructure; a B indicates rail is in good condition and “adequate for now.” Ports, bridges and solid waste each received a C+, meaning requiring attention. All other categories received D+, D or D-.
The ASCE estimates current surface transportation conditions require additional investment of $2 trillion over the next decade to achieve a condition grade of B. Last year Forbes magazine reported the 10-year cost to maintain the reliability of the energy sector was $2 trillion itself. ASCE underscores the critical importance of infrastructure as “the backbone of the U.S. economy and a necessary input to every economic output.”
To demonstrate the role played by infrastructure in the U.S. economy, ASCE estimated that failure to close the funding gap would cause losses to GDP of $3.9 trillion by 2025, along with $7 trillion in lost sales and 2.5 million lost jobs. The Trempealeau County highway commissioner believes a “cultural change” must occur if infrastructure deficiencies are to be tackled. When he reminds residents and businesses requesting road improvements that they must expect an increase in their property taxes, they respond, “Oh, no, no, I don’t want that.”
Infrastructure spending is a discretionary category in the Federal budget, along with housing, education and others. All have demonstrably high-priority needs, and inadequate tax dollars to cover them. The highway commissioner is correct in assessing that infrastructure improvements will not occur without additional revenue raised through taxes.