In commenting on my last diary, John in Cleveland opines that we have reached the limit in tax receipts and we simply cannot afford all the governmental programs now in existence. Giving the Interstate Highway System (IHS) as an example, he notes that "Stuff just costs exponentially more to do now than it used to." The question of limits invites further exploration, but for this piece, I will stick to John's example.
And with the exponentially increasing costs comment I agree. I would even argue that President Eisenhower (a Republican, BTW) made a huge mistake in initiating and promoting the construction of the system. At the time, we had a comprehensive and efficient rail system which served us well in moving men and materiel throughout the country during WWII. The IHS has all but destroyed that rail system and has had other deleterious effects as well, such as enabling urban sprawl.
But we're now stuck with it.
So much of our commerce moves over it, that a major disruption would threaten economic catastrophe, particularly since so many of our manufacturing and and distribution activities depend on "just in time" delivery of raw materials, parts, and finished products. Walmart, for example, would wither and die without prompt delivery of its inventory (OK, maybe not such a bad thing, but that's another story).
But a major disruption is what is looming if we fail to maintain the IHS. The existing rail system would be an inadequate substitute. So we face a Hobson's choice: pay what we must, no matter how exorbitant, to maintain the system, or face an eventual economic collapse.
Is there no third option? Well, theoretically there is. We could start beefing up the rail system and gradually abandon the IHS as we encourage more and more rail usage. But it isn't going to happen.
Debate of issues such as this is simply not part of our political discourse. Instead, the media mull over trivialities ad nauseum. Sex scandals, endless dissection of campaign tactics, gaffes in speeches--such is what passes for political news and comment.
And meanwhile the potholes enlarge and the bridges weaken. Entropy just don't get no respect.