Why Is Infrastructure a Bad Idea?

This weekend, I went to an event for Mayor Setti Warren, the candidate I’m supporting for U.S. Senate.  My train was supposed to pull into the destination at 1:43, but instead we got there at 1:58.  I loudly complained when I saw the person picking me up, and she commiserated.  Unfortunately, this is a problem during the week as well. 

An hour later, Mayor Warren was talking about the issues that are important to his campaign.  The subject of jobs came up, and he mentioned infrastructure.  But here’s the thing: he talked about it as if it were something he was going to fight for.  I blinked, and then it hit me.

76 years after the creation of the Work Projects Administration, improving our infrastructure is a rebellious, radical idea that we have to fight for. 

I stridently disagree with a lot of positions, but at least I understand them.  Almost ninety years after Woodrow Wilson noted his surprise that the matter was still being debated, people are still ready to get into fistfights about evolution.  Science, by its nature, is constantly yielding new discoveries, so why put too much weight on it?  By the same token, global warming deniers are correct- predictions about climate change haven’t been accurate.  The actual changes have been much more extreme and moved much more quickly than scientists thought they were going to.  Why listen to them?

Ironically, the same people who question Darwin’s teaching about biology are in many cases full-fledged social Darwinists.  They seem to believe that if you need a helping hand, the best thing for the country is not to extend it.  Thus arguments about the efficacy of healthcare, food stamps, welfare and social security are sneered at.  Again, I disagree, but at least I understand how people got there.  I also get why some people oppose funding education and programs like Head Start.  It’s got the same waiting period as real estate or the stock market- 12 to 20 years- but there’s so much that can go wrong thanks to parents, communities and curriculum du jour.  It’s just too risky as investments go.

Specious, ill-advised arguments- but at least there are arguments.  What could possibly be the argument against infrastructure investment?

Forget about job creation, although jobs would be created- there just aren’t enough skilled robots out there yet.  Jobs are the future.  I want to talk about the present.  Someone explain to me why we don’t need infrastructure improvements right now. 

Anyone who has ever waited on the platform at knows about MBTA delays.  Admittedly, we on the Orange Line usually get off pretty easy- the Red and Green Lines are the ones that seem to more frequently lose power or suffer fires.  And it’s not just the MBTA.  Last year, when I needed to go to New York City, our train was delayed by two hours as we approached Providence.  That evening my return train didn’t pull into Penn Station for another two hours.  Everyone else shrugged- that always happened. 

It’s not just the rails.  Does anyone in Boston enjoy driving in the winter or early spring, when our roads have magically sprouted new potholes?  How about walking on the increasingly uneven sidewalks?  Try getting around those streets with a stroller- or a wheelchair. 

Our infrastructure impacts our productivity right now.  I’ve heard people talking about the sorry state of our infrastructure since 1995, but similar statements have been getting a lot of ink since the end of the Bush administration.  This is not a new idea or a new problem.    

But maybe I’m wrong.  After all, the Audi A6 can do a lot of the thinking for you to help you navigate the crumbling highways.  And for the low, low price of $45,000 this can be yours.

Oh good.  Who needs Congress when you’ve got smart cars?