Third World America

By the way, speaking of rotting infrastructure: Happy Tax Day.

Oliver Wendell Holmes once said "Taxes are the price we pay for civilization." Conservatives have a different idea, of course. Most of the nation's seriously conservative state officeholders--it is one of the ways they prove that they are seriously conservative state officeholders--sign a public pledge, conceived by Republican bullyboy Grover Norquist, that they will never increase taxes. Ever. No matter what. As of last month, 1187 state legislators and 7 governors have signed the pledge. Norquist thinks taxes are something government steals. Just about all conservatives believe at least a softer version of that conviction--"that money belongs to you."

Fine. I'll take you at your word. The money belongs to you. If you think Americans pay too many taxes, I'm not going to argue. Just do me this one little favor: read the American Society of Civil Engineers' grades for your, my, and our children's infrastructure. I've already pointed that the "wastewater" grade is D-. Here's the rest:

Aviation: D+ (in 2001 it was D)

Bridges: C (2001: C)

Dams: D (2001: also D)

Power Grid: D ("Maintenance expenditures have decreased by 1% per year since 1992." Are we using more electricity than we were in 1992? The question answers itself.)

Hazardous Waste: D (2001: D+)

Navigable waterways: D- ("Of the 257 locks on the more than 12,200 miels of inland waterways operated by the U.S. Army Corps of engineers, nearly 50% are functionally obsolete. By 2020, that number will increase to 80%.")

Roads: D (2001: D+)

Drinking water: D- ("Federal funding for drinking water in 2005 remained level at $850 million, less than 10% of the total national requirement.")

But hey! Who needs drinking water?

Governing a great nation by making politicians take an anti-tax pledge is like starting a diet by shooting yourself in the stomach.

Views expressed on this page are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Campaign for America's Future or Institute for America's Future