Twilight of the Infrastructure

"About 200 people were trapped inside the 630-foot Gateway Arch for about two hours after an aparent power outgage, authorities said..."

Once more, the same relief: it wasn't terrorism.

Once more, the same explanation suggests itself: a national failure to adequately fund a public resource.

"The 630-foot-tall structure is operated by the National Park Service..."

And, lo and behold, see here. Every year since 2000, President Bush has promised to hack through the maintenance backlog at the National Parks. Surprise, suprise, he's turned to privatization to do it—corporate charity, basically. And, surprise, surprise, the backlog has grown, not decreased. Expect more tourists trapped atop national treasures. Says the legislative director of the National Parks Conservation Association, “If you don’t deal with the maintenance backlog problem, maintenance facilities will start to crumble and we will lose cultural and historical resources forever."

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