roads no longer able to be completed, power cuts. The fringes have started to deteriorate and the core will be affectedsoon.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/09/opinion/09krugman.html?_r=2
America Goes Dark
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: August 8, 2010
The lights are going out all over America â literally. Colorado Springs has made headlines with its desperate attempt to save money by turning off a third of its streetlights, but similar things are either happening or being contemplated across the nation, from Philadelphia to Fresno.
Meanwhile, a country that once amazed the world with its visionary investments in transportation, from the Erie Canal to the Interstate Highway System, is now in the process of unpaving itself: in a number of states, local governments are breaking up roads they can no longer afford to maintain, and returning them to gravel.
And a nation that once prized education â that was among the first to provide basic schooling to all its children â is now cutting back. Teachers are being laid off; programs are being canceled; in Hawaii, the school year itself is being drastically shortened. And all signs point to even more cuts ahead.
Weâre told that we have no choice, that basic government functions â essential services that have been provided for generations â are no longer affordable. And itâs true that state and local governments, hit hard by the recession, are cash-strapped. But they wouldnât be quite as cash-strapped if their politicians were willing to consider at least some tax increases.
And what about the economyâs future? Everything we know about economic growth says that a well-educated population and high-quality infrastructure are crucial. Emerging nations are making huge efforts to upgrade their roads, their ports and their schools. Yet in America weâre going backward.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/09/opinion/09krugman.html?_r=2
America Goes Dark
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: August 8, 2010
The lights are going out all over America â literally. Colorado Springs has made headlines with its desperate attempt to save money by turning off a third of its streetlights, but similar things are either happening or being contemplated across the nation, from Philadelphia to Fresno.
Meanwhile, a country that once amazed the world with its visionary investments in transportation, from the Erie Canal to the Interstate Highway System, is now in the process of unpaving itself: in a number of states, local governments are breaking up roads they can no longer afford to maintain, and returning them to gravel.
And a nation that once prized education â that was among the first to provide basic schooling to all its children â is now cutting back. Teachers are being laid off; programs are being canceled; in Hawaii, the school year itself is being drastically shortened. And all signs point to even more cuts ahead.
Weâre told that we have no choice, that basic government functions â essential services that have been provided for generations â are no longer affordable. And itâs true that state and local governments, hit hard by the recession, are cash-strapped. But they wouldnât be quite as cash-strapped if their politicians were willing to consider at least some tax increases.
And what about the economyâs future? Everything we know about economic growth says that a well-educated population and high-quality infrastructure are crucial. Emerging nations are making huge efforts to upgrade their roads, their ports and their schools. Yet in America weâre going backward.
