Our Crumbling Infrastructure: This Time, It's Personal

For the second day in a row, there is no power in the building which houses my employer, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (the CBPP website is still up, though). Apparently, a number of buildings in that part of town are out. PEPCO, our local utility, says we'll be back on at noon today, but we'll see. OK, so let's get this straight. We've got major infrastructure deficits in this country, including an electricity grid that's demonstrably unreliable. I get that systems come down, but a city block...for two days! That's a little scary. And my situation is, of course, a microcosm of a larger, known problem. Check out the 2009 Report Card from the American Society of Civil Engineers.